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 an elongated ovoid form without a stopper. It is made of porcelain, painted in black and green. The painted decoration depicts a dragon spouting a fish. The bottle does not have a separate foot, but there is a high glazed indentation underneath with a four-character Yongzheng (1723-35) mark in regular script in red, the foot edge unglazed. Place of Origin China (made) Date 1796-1900 (made) Artist/maker Unknown Materials and Techniques Painted porcelain Dimensions Height: 6.6 cm Descriptive line Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1900, Qing Dynasty; porcelain with painted decoration depicting a dragon spouting a fish. 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. Production Note The original register entry describes this bottle as nineteenth-century. Materials Porcelain Techniques Painting (image-making) Subjects depicted Fish; Dragon 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 an elongated ovoid form without a stopper. It is made of porcelain, painted in black and green. The painted decoration depicts a dragon spouting a fish. The bottle does not have a separate foot, but there is a high glazed indentation underneath with a four-character Yongzheng (1723-35) mark in regular script in red, the foot edge unglazed. Place of Origin China (made) Date 1796-1900 (made) Artist/maker Unknown Materials and Techniques Painted porcelain Dimensions Height: 6.6 cm Descriptive line Chinese snuff bottle, 1796-1900, Qing Dynasty; porcelain with painted decoration depicting a dragon spouting a fish. 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. Production Note The original register entry describes this bottle as nineteenth-century. Materials Porcelain Techniques Painting (image-making) Subjects depicted Fish; Dragon Categories ELISE; Containers; Personal accessories; Ceramics Collection East Asia Collection