Snuff Bottles

Chinese hand-painted glass snuff bottle craft originated in the Qing Dynasty
and has a history of two hundred years. It was first designed as a fancy
container carrying remedy for common illnesses like cold, headache and stomach
disorder. With the exquisite craftsmanship, using and collecting the rarest and
finest snuff bottles has gradually become the trend of Chinese upper class and
nobles.

“Inside painted” snuff bottles is the product from that trend, which has
pictures and often calligraphy painted on the inside surface of the glass
bottle. These delightful scenes are only an inch or two high and are painted
while manipulating the brush through the neck of the bottle may be only a
quarter-inch across, and also painted in reverse.

Usually, a skilled artist may complete a simple bottle in a week while
something special may take a month or more and that the best craftsmen will
produce only a few bottles in a year.

Click to Enlarge