Snuff Bottle
1660-1680 (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 decoration painted in underglaze |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1660-1680, Qing dynasty; porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze depicting a carp among waves. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a bottle gourd form with no stopper. It is made of porcelain, painted in underglaze blue and red. The decoration depicts a carp among waves in two bands, one on each section of the gourd, enclosed by blue lines. There is no foot and the base is unglazed with a circular indentation and ridges. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology |
| Object history | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology (Jermyn Street, London), accessioned in 1901. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Production | The early date of this bottle makes it unlikely to have been originally made to hold snuff, but it was described as a snuff bottle on its transfer to the Museum from the Museum of Practical geology in 1901 and may well have been used as such during its history. |
| 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 | 4838-1901 |
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| Record created | September 17, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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