Snuff Bottle thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Snuff Bottle

1796-1850 (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, 1796-1850, Qing dynasty; porcelain, with decoration in underglaze blue depicting dragons.
Physical description
The bottle is a cylindrical form, with a splayed neck and no stopper.
It is made of porcelain, with decoration in underglaze blue.
The decoration depicts two dragons chasing a flaming pearl amid clouds; waves below, from which one of the dragons emerges. There is a debased spearhead border and dots around the neck. The bottom section of the bottle is blank except for two lines.
The receding foot is unglazed and there is a glazed indentation underneath containing a four-character Yongzheng (1723-35) mark in blue regular script.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7.1cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
four-character Yongzheng mark in blue regular script.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Mrs A. Cameron
Object history
Bequeathed by Mrs. A. Cameron, accessioned in 1909. 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
C.13-1909

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Record createdSeptember 23, 1998
Record URL
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