OLD Tibet SILVER JADE Dragon&Phoenix Snuff Btl.W/SPOON

OLD Tibet Silver JADE Dragon & Phoenix Snuff Bottle W/SPOON.

3-1/8" Tall.   1" Deep.   2-1/4" Wide.      Wt. 7oz.       SPOON intact.

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Snuff bottles were used by the Chinese during the Qing Dynasty to contain powdered tobacco.  Smoking tobacco was illegal during the Dynasty, but the use of snuff was allowed because the Chinese considered snuff to be a remedy for common illnesses such as colds, headaches and stomach disorders.  Therefore, snuff was carried in a small bottle like other medicines.  The snuff bottle is comparable to the snuff box used by Europeans.

Chinese snuff bottles can trace back to the middle 1600's.  It is an epitome of Chinese art.  Chinese paintings, foreign paintings, calligraphy, engrave, inlay and bowlder, porcelain, lacquer, enamel and metal, etc., art all concentrated in snuff bottles.  Due to its exceptional versatility of style, technique and material, all in one small object, as well as the fine craftsmanship, these tiny masterpieces quickly became one of the most notable representations of the use of artistic skill throughout the Qing Dynasty and beyond.  The finer the snuff bottle, the more respected was its owner.

Snuff bottles were made out of every material of which the Chinese knew.  This included Gold, Silver, Copper, Porcelain, Bowlder, Coral, Agate, Jade, Crystal, Wood, Bamboo root, Gourd, Ivory, etc.  From the mid 1800's and on, the Chinese also began making glass inside painting snuff bottles and continue to do so today.  Snuff bottles are highly collectible and have different values to the collector whether very old or bottles of those made after 1900.

This snuff bottle was purchased from the estate of a private collector.