Snuff Bottle with Flowers and Rocks

Snuff Bottle with Flowers and Rocks

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Snuff Bottle with Flowers and RocksSnuff Bottle with Flowers and RocksSnuff Bottle with Flowers and RocksSnuff Bottle with Flowers and RocksSnuff Bottle with Flowers and Rocks

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.