Snuff Bottle
1750-1909 (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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Brief description | Scu, China, carving, quartz Scu, China, carving, quartz |
Physical description | The bottle is an irregular flattened ovoid form, with a curved base so that the bottle does not stand up. It has a dome-shaped stopper. The bottle is made of quartz, grey, with a skin of milky white chalcedony, with decoration carved in relief; the stopper of glass coloured green to imitate jade. The carved decoration depicts a tall jar containing ruyi sceptres or magic fungus and a fly-whisk; a man with his hands in a squat jar or vat; a crackled vase containing perhaps coral. On the reverse there is a lotus plant. The bottle does not have a foot or a flat base. On one side the chalcedony skin is carved to depict the main subject matter, with little carving of the background material; on the reverse the quartz itself is carved. The decoration may contain a pun on the word for 'jar', guan, which also means 'official'. |
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. |
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 | C.1807&A-1910 |
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Record created | August 11, 1998 |
Record URL |
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