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Snuff bottle

Snuff bottle

  • Place of origin:

    China (made)

  • Date:

    1796-1850 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Porcelian, with painted decoration

  • Credit Line:

    Salting Bequest

  • Museum number:

    C.1692-1910

  • Gallery location:

    On Display

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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.

Physical description

The bottle is a cylindrical form with a very broad flat neck and no stopper.
It is made of porcelain, painted in underglaze blue and overglaze iron pigment giving brown and black.
The decoration depicts a man leading a camel train thorugh a mountainous landscape with buildings and bridges.
The bottle does not have a separate foot and the base edge is unglazed. There is a high unglazed indentation underneath with the mark of a horse in underglaze blue.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

1796-1850 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Porcelian, with painted decoration

Marks and inscriptions

horse

Dimensions

Height: 8.0 cm

Descriptive line

Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1850, Qing dynasty; porcelain, with painted decoration depicting a man leading a camel train.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109.

Materials

Porcelain

Techniques

Glazing (coating); Blue and white and brown

Subjects depicted

Men; Buildings; Mountains; Bridges (built works); Camel

Categories

Containers; Ceramics; Personal accessories

Collection code

EAS

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Qr_O9072
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