Snuff Bottle thumbnail 1
Snuff Bottle thumbnail 2

Snuff Bottle

1796-1850 (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.

  • Snuff Bottle
  • Stopper
Brief description
Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1850, Qing dynasty; porcelain, with painted decoration in underglaze blue depicting four lions playing with a ball.
Physical description
The bottle is a squarish flattened flask form, with shoulders sloping to a broad neck and a dome-shaped stopper.
It is made of porcelain, painted in underglaze blue; the stopper of porcelain coloured orange to imitate coral and gold to imitate metal.
The decoration depicts four lions playing with a brocaded ball and there is a similar design on the reverse.
The low foot, continuous with the body, has a curved glazed indentation underneath containing the mark of a lion in blue.
Style
Credit line
Mrs A. Cameron Bequest
Object history
Bequeathed by Mrs. A. Cameron, accessioned in 1909. 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.12&A-1909

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Record createdSeptember 26, 1998
Record URL
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