Snuff Bottle
1850-1850 (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 | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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Materials and techniques | Glass, overlay |
Brief description | Snuff bottle with green and pink glass overlaid on white |
Physical description | Bulbous oval flask form, slightly flattened; dome-shaped stopper that does not belong to bottle; stopper acquired with this bottle was a flattish ivory cap. Glass, opaque greyish white, with green and pink glass decoration appplied, in the form of a flowering branch. |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Boone Bequest |
Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. Thomas Boone, per Mrs. Temple, accessioned in 1903. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
Subject 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 | 917&A-1903 |
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Record created | March 5, 2003 |
Record URL |
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