Description:

In this snuff bottle two types of red glass have been moulded together to look like red lacquer (or possibly marble). The bottle is shaped like a bottle-gourd, a hard-shelled fruit traditionally used in China as a container for medicine. The gourd shape became a symbol for health, appropriate here as snuff-taking was thought to be good for the health.

Glass
Height: 6.5 cm, width: 4.5 cm, depth: 2.1 cm, neck diameter: 1.8 cm

Creator: Unknown

Date: 1800-1900, Qing dynasty

Copyright: Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives

Object ID:E2058