Snuff Bottle
1750-1795 (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 | |
Materials and techniques | Porcelain, painted and gilded, with relief decoration |
Brief description | Chinese snuff bottle, 1750-1795, Qing Dynasty; porcelain, painted and gilded, with relief decoration. |
Physical description | The bottle is a round flattened flask form with no stopper. It is made of porcelain, painted in red and gilded, with relief decoration. The decoration depicts a lotus. On the reverse there are flowering plants and on the shoulders, two squirrels and a vine in relief. It has a high perforated foot with circular open-work motifs and there is a high indentation underneath. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Credit line | Given by Miss E. Mackworth Dolben |
Object history | Given by Miss E. Mackworth Dolben, accessioned in 1892. 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 | 831-1892 |
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Record created | September 10, 1998 |
Record URL |
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