Snuff Bottle
1821-1910 (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 | Opaque white glass, with overlays of glass coloured red, yellow, blue and green, carved in relief |
| Brief description | Opaque white glass snuff bottle, with coloured glass overlays, carved in relief, China, 1821-1910 |
| Physical description | The bottle is an elongated oval flattened flask form without a stopper. It is a made of opaque white glass, with overlays of glass coloured red, yellow, blue and green, carved in relief. The decoration depicts peonies growing from rocks, and a butterfly. On the reverse is a lotus plant and there is a crackled vase on a stand on each shoulder. The high foot is partly formed by blue overlay, with an indentation underneath. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Boone Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. Thomas Boone, per Mrs. Temple (24 Ulster Place, Regents Park.), accessioned in 1903. 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 | 927-1903 |
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| Record created | June 12, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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