A Short History About the Chinese Snuff Bottle

A Short History About the Chinese Snuff Bottle

Snuff originally became extremely popular in Britain. It is for this reason that the more beautiful and revered Chinese Snuff bottle is not as well renowned as it's simpler cousin. However, with the growing popularity of snuff bottles and a general increase in the supply, their popularity is quickly growing to new heights. A Chinese snuff bottle is a better buy because of it's expensive, artistic and curious nature.

The reason the Chinese snuff bottle was created was to carry snuff, a sort of smokeless tobacco. This smokeless tobacco became popular in China during the Qing Dynasty. The snuff bottles were used by middle and upper class men in the 19th century. Snuff was also generally consented to be a great cure for colds and dyspepsia. It was also used as a method to greet a friend. If you offered a guest a pinch of snuff while they were in your home, it meant that you were offering them a hand of friendship. It also meant that the host was accepting that they were also a gentleman.

The fact that these snuff bottles were used by the upper class men of the time, meant that the snuff bottles were often designed in a specific way. The materials used in their construction are expensive and were a status symbol amongst the users of snuff. The most common materials were porcelain, precious stones, glass and coral. The more unique and expensive the material, the more pleased the snuff user was with his bottle. It is for this reason that now snuff bottles are so elaborately decorated.

A Chinese snuff bottle made from precious stones were carved with certain textures or pictures. This was done so it would highlight the natural beauty of the stones. If a Chinese snuff bottle was made from either porcelain or glass than it was normally painted on. The paintings were done in a traditional Chinese watercolor.

As time passed, however, the creation of the Chinese snuff bottle has changed significantly. The shape and the style has stayed the same but the materials used are very different. Most of today's snuff bottles made are made out of glass. Chinese craftsman have also started using a technique that is called "inside reverse painting". This technique is extremely rare and only known by a handful of people around the world. A artist will paint the inside of the bottle with a tiny brush. The watercolor paints are generally mixed with acid so that the color sticks to the inside of the glass.

After learning about the basics of the Chinese snuff bottle you can understand why it is seen as an exceptional piece of art.

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