Snuff Bottle with Stopper

Object Name: 
Snuff Bottle with Stopper

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Object Name: 
Snuff Bottle with Stopper
Place Made: 
China
Accession Number: 
82.6.48
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 7.1 cm, W: 5 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
about 1780-1880
Credit Line: 
Bequest of Marian Swayze Mayer
Web Description: 
黑套粉红玻璃吉祥八宝纹鼻烟壶 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.

More Info

Department: 
Early Modern
Provenance: 
Mayer, Marian Swayze (d. 1982), Source
1981-12-22
Color: 
Black, opaque pink
black
Technique: 
blown, overlay, carved
overlays
Inscription: 
751
label
: 
base paper label

Description

Primary Description: 
Snuff Bottle with Stopper. Black, opaque pink glass; blown, cased, cameo carved. (a) Ovoid form; pink overlay on black; flat rim with central opening for a stopper; short, spreading neck; rounded sides; the pink overlay carved in a series of symbols of “Ba Bao (Eight Treasures of the Buddha)”, including a wheel, a shell, an umbrella, a flag, a flower, a jar, a fish and a knot, standing in relief against the black surface; carved oval pink foot rim; paper label on the bottom, inscribed in ink "751". (b) Domed mottled green and white jade cap, mounted on a thin black plastic disk, tapered cork stopper, and slender brown-stained ivory spoon with oval spatulate bowl.

Exhibitions (2)

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
 

Publications (9)

La escultura en vidrio (2017) illustrated, p. 142 (fig. 3.41, 2nd from left);
Escort Guide to the Galleries (2013) illustrated, p. 26, second from left; BIB# 134015
Escort Guide to the Galleries [V4/2013] (2013) illustrated, p. 26; BIB# 134856
The Corning Museum of Glass, A Guide to the Collections (2001) (2001) illustrated, p. 98, second from left; 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, second 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, #24; BIB# 30609
Glass Snuff Bottles from China from the Mayer Collection (1980) #72; BIB# 30686