Yixing ware snuff bottle in the form of a pod
Medium:Hand-made stoneware; carved bone
Geography: Yixing Xian, Jiangsu province, China
Date: mid 18th-19th Century
Period: Qing Dynasty
Dimensions:2.4 x 10 x 4.8 cm
Object number: 922.20.343
Credit Line: The George Crofts Collection
DescriptionThis small bottle was used for storing snuff, a finely ground tobacco inhaled through the nose. While there are accounts of smoking tobacco in China from the early 17th century, there is no official record of snuff until 1684, when it was among gifts presented to the Kangxi emperor by European missionaries. The habit of snuff taking immediately became popular at court and miniature decorative bottles were specially designed to hold small quantities. As the practice spread beyond the court, the demand for snuff bottles grew, fashioned from almost any material that could be formed in the shape of a bottle.
