Snuff bottle, porcelain, Jingdezhen, 1910-1930
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1910 - 1930
People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. The bottle is a large round flattened flask form with no stopper. It is made of porcelain, painted in famille vert enamel colours, red, green, pink, yellow and blue, with outlines and shading in black. The decoration depicts a peach tree growing from a rock with waves, clouds, a bat and magic fungus; on reverse, two butterflies, Buddha's hand citron and peony.
It has a high foot, unglazed at the edge, with high curved glazed indentation underneath; Qianlong (1736-95) mark in red. A peach tree growing on a mountain together with a bat and waves represents the traditional birthday greeting 'May your hapiness be as deep as the Eastern Sea and may you live to be as old as the Southern Mountaitn' (Bartholemew, 1985).
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Notes on significance: Imitation of Qianlong period style: rebus represents traditional birthday greeting, 'May your happiness be as deep as the Eastern sea and may you live to be as old as the Southern mountains'
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Porcelain painted in enamel colours, with outlines and shading in black enamel
- Dimensions
- Height: 7.7 cm
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Jingdezhen
Design
- Marks and inscriptions
- 'Da Qing Qianlong nian zhi'
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O9017
- Museum object name
- Snuff bottle
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- CIRC.628-1931
- Museum system number
- O9017
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.