Snuff Bottle
maker
Unknown
Dateearly 19th century
Place MadeChina, East Asia
MediumGlass with polychrome appliqué and coral stopper
Dimensionshieght 9.6 cm (3 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsVessels
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberU18e63.a-b
eMuseum ID723315
Previous Number492.7
Previous NumberU18e63
Previous NumberU18e55.7
EmbARK ObjectID15418
TMS Source ID3986
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb Commentary
This bottle was created to hold snuff—a flavored powdered tobacco inhaled through the nose. Snuff—introduced to China by European missionaries and merchants—was widely used in the 1800s. Made from a variety of materials and sometimes elaborately decorated, Chinese snuff bottles have an airtight stopper to protect against humidity and a small scoop for removing the tobacco.
One side of this milk glass snuff bottle is decorated with bathing horses. The other side features a candlestick, a teapot and two cups, a water caltrop, and a squirrel standing on an overturned vase under which the rear end of a second squirrel emerges. Isabella Stewart Gardner may have purchased it on her travels in China in 1883.
BibliographyNotesYasuko Horioka. "Chinese Snuff Bottles." Fenway Court (1971), pp. 28-32, fig. 7.
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 30-35, no. 10g. (as Chinese, dated early 19th century)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 446-47, figs. 9, 10.
Victoria Kitirattragarn, “Mesmerizing and Masterful Miniatures: History and Treatment of Snuff Bottles,” Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 5 September 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/mesmerizing-and-masterful-miniatures-history-and-treatment-snuff-bottles
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 30-35, no. 10g. (as Chinese, dated early 19th century)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 446-47, figs. 9, 10.
Victoria Kitirattragarn, “Mesmerizing and Masterful Miniatures: History and Treatment of Snuff Bottles,” Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 5 September 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/mesmerizing-and-masterful-miniatures-history-and-treatment-snuff-bottles
MarksNotesInscribed (recto): Picture of horses bathing [translation from Chinese]
Inscriber (verso): Maker's mark in Chinese
Inscriber (verso): Maker's mark in Chinese
ProvenanceNotesPossibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Peking (Beijing), 26 September 1883.
