Snuff bottle, 1750-1909 (C.1857-1910)

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 elongated heart-shaped flattened flask form with a dome-shaped stopper. It is made of amber, brown and yellow with carved decoration; the stopper of red glass set in metal. The decoration depicts a vase on a stand with a flowering spray and two birds carrying twigs in their beaks; on the reverse there is a flowering tree growing from a rock, a butterfly and an animal, probably a cat. The curved foot has an indentation underneath.