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 painted decoration in underglaze blue |
| Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1850, Qing dynasty; porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze blue depicting birds, magic fungus, rocks and a pine tree. |
| Physical description | The bottle is a cylindrical form with no stopper. It is made of porcelain painted in underglaze blue. The decoration depicts eight birds, a pine tree, rocks and magic fungus. Stopper of red lacquer, into which is fitted an ivory spoon. There is no separate foot, the base is unglazed at the edge and there is a glazed indentation underneath containing a four-character Yongzheng (1723-35) mark in blue script. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | four-character Yongzheng mark in blue (regular; under base) |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Julia C. Gulland |
| Object history | Given by Mrs. Julia C. Gulland, accessioned in 1907. 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 | 667-1907 |
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| Record created | September 26, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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