Snuff bottle - Porcelain

Authentic Chinese porcelain snuff bottles from the late Qing dynasty, dating to the nineteenth century, circa 1850 to 1870. This type of compact utilitarian item was produced at the famous porcelain town Jingdezhen for the wealthy bourgeoisie and the export market. The bottle has a characteristic flat, oval shape and weighs nineteen grams, with very compact dimensions of 5.4 cm in height, 2.5 cm in width and 1.5 cm in depth. The sides and shoulders are covered with a conspicuous thick turquoise-green glaze with a palpable nodular texture. This granulated texture served as an imitation of shagreen, or ray skin, and also provided the user with extra grip in the palm.

The front and back faces are carved into flat, white-glazed panels that are hand-decorated. The front features a minimalist floral motif of grass or an orchid in iron-red and black ink, while the back is decorated with a few abstract, calligraphic brush strokes. The neck rim is finished with a dark brown glaze that imitates a metal mount. The underside shows an irregular, hand-formed stand ring in unglazed biscuit porcelain, which, in keeping with expectations for this type of folk-art porcelain, contains no maker's mark or stamp. The object is in a lived-in, authentic condition with clear signs of age and glaze wear around the opening, and the original stopper with the dosing spoon is missing.

Dimensions: 5.4 x 2.5 x 1.5 cm
Weight: 19 g