Snuff Bottle and Stopper

Object Name: 
Snuff Bottle and Stopper

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Object Name: 
Snuff Bottle and Stopper
Place Made: 
Accession Number: 
82.6.59
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 6.4 cm, W: 3.5 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
1850-1911
Credit Line: 
Bequest of Marian Swayze Mayer
Web Description: 
黄套紫砂(红)玻璃猴子偷桃纹鼻烟壶 The habit of taking snuff (inhaling powdered tobacco) spread to China from the West following the establishment of the Qing dynasty in 1644. While the smoking of tobacco was forbidden at that time, snuff was regarded as a remedy for a wide variety of diseases. Powdered tobacco and other Chinese medicines were dispensed in bottles rather than in boxes, as was customary in Europe. Snuff bottles were made of various materials, including hardstones, porcelain, ivory, and glass. The glass in many snuff bottles imitated semiprecious stones. Most of these bottles were oval with flattened sides, making them easy to carry. Small stoppers, often in contrasting colors, were attached to tiny spoons used for taking the snuff. The best bottles were carved, enameled, or painted on the inside with tiny landscapes, portraits, or inscriptions.
Provenance: 
Mayer, Marian Swayze (d. 1982), Source
1982-09-30
Inscription: 
83.261
label
base
Primary Description: 
Snuff Bottle and Stopper. Opaque yellow and brown glass, amethyst stone, ivory, cork; blown, cased, cameo-carved. (a) Flattened, long, ovoid form; brown overlay on yellow; disk- shaped rim with circular opening for a stopper; brown rim; the sides with finely cameo-carved scene of a man climbing up a tree, a ladder alongside, another man hands up a basket, while another rests alongside; on the opposite side, a peach fruit, rock and a fantastic tree with monkeys in branches above; carved brown oval foot rim. (b) Domed amethyst stone disk mounted on a tapered cork stopper, and orange-stained slender ivory spoon with oval spatulate bowl.
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1982-05-01 through 1982-10-31
Cameo glass, one of the most costly and difficult decorating techniques since first century B.C., is documented and illustrated in this catalog. Included are examples from Rome, Islam, and China, as well as English 19th-century masterpieces by John Northwood and George Woodall among others. For the purposes of this catalog, the term “cameo glass” is used to refer to cased glass objects with two or more differently colored layers. The outer layer is usually an opaque or opalescent white, and the outer layer or layers have been carved in to leave the decoration standing in relief against a body of contrasting color. Shading is produced by thinning down the carved layer; highlights are created where the glass is left thickest. Both this catalog, and the exhibition for which it was created, documents the 2000-year cameo glass tradition.
Glass Snuff Bottles of China at Steuben Glass
Venue(s)
Steuben Glass, Inc. 1981-09-09 through 1981-10-03
 
La escultura en vidrio (2017) illustrated, p. 142 (fig. 3.41, 2nd from right);
Escort Guide to the Galleries (2013) illustrated, p. 26, second from right; BIB# 134015
Escort Guide to the Galleries [V4/2013] (2013) illustrated, p. 26, 2nd from right; BIB# 134856
The Corning Museum of Glass, A Guide to the Collections (2001) (2001) illustrated, p. 98, second from right; BIB# 68214
Uncovering treasures in the Empire State (1999) p. 130, fig. 3; BIB# AI43699
The Corning Museum of Glass and the Finger Lakes Region (1993) illustrated, p. 13, #21, fourth from left; BIB# 35681
A Short History of Glass (1990 edition) (1990) illustrated, pp. 36-37, #30; BIB# 33211
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking (1982) illustrated, p. 39, 106-107, #26; BIB# 30609