Snuff Bottle
ca. 1700 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Snuff is powdered tobacco, usually blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century and became established in the 18th century. People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain with moulded and glazed decoration |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, ca. 1700, Qing dynasty; porcelain, with moulded decoration depicting lotus flowers. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a pear-shaped vase form with no stopper. It is made of porcelain, glazed in blue, with decoration moulded in relief showing as white through the glaze. The decoration depicts two clumps of lotus flowers. The high foot is solid and unglazed underneath. Probably an adapted miniature bottle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Acquisition method and source not identified in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1897. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Snuff is powdered tobacco, usually blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century and became established in the 18th century. People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production. |
| Bibliographic reference | White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.249-1897 |
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| Record created | September 17, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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