Snuff Bottle with Flowers and Rocks

Unknown artist

Snuff, or powdered tobacco, was brought to China by Jesuit missionaries in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Its use spread quickly, as did demand for small containers to hold it. Snuff bottles were produced in large number and an astonishing variety of media, including metal, jade, ivory, bamboo, lacquer, and glass. Not all bottles were functional: many were collected as exoticisms or treasured for their precious materials and exquisite craftsmanship.