Antique, Six-Sided , Chinese Inside Painted Glass Snuff Bottle. China 19th century.

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Antique, Six-Sided , Chinese Inside Painted Glass Snuff Bottle. China 19th century.

 

Size: 78 x 43 mm

 

 

Originally, Chinese snuff bottles were created simply to perform a specific function: the storage of ground tobacco. They began making their appearance in the early 18th century, during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty, but it wasn’t long before they evolved into a form of decorative art.

 

Talented craftsmen began to apply their skills to make snuff bottles desirable for more than just everyday use in the imperial court. The beautiful miniatures became a lavish accessory beyond the snuff-taking itself, and snuff bottles were added to the imperial collections.

 

The early snuff bottles were typically made with glass, but craftsmen soon experimented with other materials to achieve different artistic effects and to satisfy diversified aesthetic tastes. Snuff bottles can be found in a plethora of materials, including jade, various types of hard stone, porcelain, Yixing ceramic, metal and lacquer. Some incorporate organic materials such as fruit pits, coral, wood, needles, bamboo, bone, and even tangerine skin.