Snuff Bottle
1723-1795 (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 | Yellow and red glass bottle, with pink glass stopper |
Brief description | Glass snuff bottle coloured yellow and red, stopper of pink coloured glass, China, 1723-1795 |
Physical description | The bottle is a baluster form with rounded shoulders and short slightly flared neck. It is made of glass, yellow mottled with irregular patches of red to imitate the mineral realgar. The flat stopper, made of pink glass, is too large for the neck and not original to this bottle. The bottle has a faceted foot with an indentation underneath. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Credit line | Brooks Bequest |
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.1238-1926 |
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Record created | June 10, 1998 |
Record URL |
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