Snuff Bottle
1750-1895 (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 | Jasper with a stopper of jasper and nephrite jade with carved detail and coloured glass |
| Brief description | Scu, China, carving, jasper |
| Physical description | The bottle is a flattened flask form with rounded shoulders and a flat three-part stopper. It is made of jasper, mottled brown and green; the stopper of blue glass, brown jasper and grey nephrite jade. The character de meaning 'virtue' is inscribed on the circular plug of grey stone in the centre of the stopper. The bottle has a faceted oval foot with a shallow indentation underneath. The decorative interest lies in the rich natural colouring of the stone; the inclusion of a circular plug of grey stone flush with the flat surface of the stopper is unusual. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| 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.1714-1910 |
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| Record created | August 4, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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