Snuff Bottle
1796-1900 (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 in underglaze blue |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1900, Qing dynasty; porcelain, with decoration in underglaze blue depicting dragons. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a cylindrical form with a very short flared neck and no stopper. It is made of porcelain, with decoration in underglaze blue. The decoration depicts two dragons, with clouds and waves, chasing a flaming pearl. The receding foot, unlglazed at the edge, has a curved indentation underneath containing a mark of a dragon in underglaze blue. The wide flat neck surface suggests a purpose-made snuff bottle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | dragon |
| Credit line | W. G. Gulland Bequest |
| 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 | CIRC.579-1931 |
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| Record created | September 23, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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