Snuff bottle, 1760-1812

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.

The bottle is an oval flattened flask form carved in relief from pale and dark grey nephrite jade with a dome shaped stopper of blue and pink glass coloured to immitate rose quartz. The decoration depicts a boy riding a buffalo through a rocky place followed by a man with a stick over his shoulder. Also depicted are three sheep. There is an inscirption on the reverse. The dark layer of jade is used effectively for the focal points of the carved decoration and the bottle has a very glassy finish.