Curator

  • Art Institute Chicago
  • Harvard art museum
  • My Exhibition
Snuff Bottle with Garden

Snuff Bottle with Garden

Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

China

China

Snuff – powdered tobacco infused with aromatic substances – was introduced to China around the 1700s. Made to be inhaled up one’s nose, the snuff was typically stored in small bottles with ivory spoons attached to the stoppers. The snuff containers are often made of precious materials, such as lacquer, rhinoceros horn, mother of pearl, ivory,silver and gold. They are small enough to fit into the palm, yet often showcase remarkable craftsmanship and artistic finesse. Snuff bottles became widely popular as collectible items in China and beyond.

This snuff bottle is adorned with intricately inlaid patterns that imbue the object’s surfaces with spatial complexity. On one side, a lady strolls in an enclosed garden beneath a pear tree. The reverse side offers a semi-indoor perspective from behind a screen, behind which a red parrot gazes down from a tree branch at an incense burner. The combination of these motifs likely took inspiration from paintings. When paired with a lonesome female figure, the parrot – a bird often caged yet known for its intellect – may symbolize the loneliness and yearnings of women in the domestic spaces of traditional society.

Lacquer inlay

Arts of Asia