Snuff bottle, China, 1750-1909
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1750-1909
Snuff bottle, China, 1750-1909 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 1750-1909. The museum's brief description reads: Scu, China, carving, stone Scu, China, carving, stone. Museum description: The bottle is a tall flattened flask form, narrower towards the base with a three-part stopper. It is made of jadeite, green flecked with darker green. The stopper is of shattered quartz stained pink, and yellow glass. The high splayed rectangular foot has a grooved indentation underneath. The angular form, especially the concave planes of the shoulder surfaces, are similar to features in C.1608-1910, where the shoulder lugs are concave. The museum record gives measurements Height 6.8 cm; place associated: China. These details come from the holding museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
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
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 characteristics
- Dimensions
- Height 6.8 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Bottle: jadeite; Stopper: Yellow glass base, with a cabochon of quench-crackled quartz (with red dye as a simulant of pink tourmaline) - and a nephrite jade finial
- Place recorded
- China
Identification
- Museum object name
- Snuff bottle
- Museum object number
- C.1603&A-1910
- Museum system number
- O8401
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 materials, dimensions, maker and wider type against the holding institution and a specialist reference.