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. Physical description The bottle is a cylindrical form made of porcelain and painted in enamel colours, green, red, yellow, blue, brown, black and pink. There is gilding on the flat upper surface of the neck rim and no stopper. The painted decoration depicts the Empress Wu Zetain from an illustration in Wu shuang pu, 'A Register of the Incomparable'. The inscription is a contracted version of her biography in that publication. The body of the bottle slops towards a sharp foot with a high curved indentation underneath. Place of Origin China (made) Date 1821-1850 (made) Artist/maker Unknown Materials and Techniques Porcelain painted in enamel colours, with gilding Marks and inscriptions Daoguang mark in red seal; under foot; painted; enamel A contracted version of the biography of the Empress Wu Zetain taken from the biography of her in Wu shuang pu, 'A Register of the Incomparable'. painted; enamel Dimensions Height: 8.1 cm Descriptive line Chinese snuff bottle, porcelain, depicting the Empress Wu Zetian, Qing, 1821-1850. Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no) White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109. Materials Porcelain; Enamel Techniques Painted Categories ELISE; Containers; Personal accessories; Ceramics Collection East Asia Collection
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. Physical description The bottle is a cylindrical form made of porcelain and painted in enamel colours, green, red, yellow, blue, brown, black and pink. There is gilding on the flat upper surface of the neck rim and no stopper. The painted decoration depicts the Empress Wu Zetain from an illustration in Wu shuang pu, 'A Register of the Incomparable'. The inscription is a contracted version of her biography in that publication. The body of the bottle slops towards a sharp foot with a high curved indentation underneath. Place of Origin China (made) Date 1821-1850 (made) Artist/maker Unknown Materials and Techniques Porcelain painted in enamel colours, with gilding Marks and inscriptions Daoguang mark in red seal; under foot; painted; enamel A contracted version of the biography of the Empress Wu Zetain taken from the biography of her in Wu shuang pu, 'A Register of the Incomparable'. painted; enamel Dimensions Height: 8.1 cm Descriptive line Chinese snuff bottle, porcelain, depicting the Empress Wu Zetian, Qing, 1821-1850. Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no) White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. 291p., ill. ISBN 1870076109. Materials Porcelain; Enamel Techniques Painted Categories ELISE; Containers; Personal accessories; Ceramics Collection East Asia Collection