chinese snuff bottles exhibition at

asian civilisations museum

took the mrt to raffles city and walked to the asian civilisations museum to view the exhibits of chinese snuff bottles. 355 snuff bottles, including masterpieces from the 17th century, from the personal collection of mr denise low were on display on the second floor. admission is free and the exhibition is on until november 2007.

snuff bottles were used by the chinese to contain powdered tobacco mixed with aromatic substances during the qing dynasty. 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 medicine. snuff bottle are comparable to the snuff box used by europeans.

the size of a snuff bottle is small enough to fit nicely inside the palm. snuff bottles were made out of many different materials including porcelain, jade, ivory, wood, tortoise shell, metal and ceramic, though probably the most commonly used material was glass.

the stopper usually had a very small spoon attached for extracting the snuff. though rare, such bottles were also used by women in europe in victorian times, with the bottles typically made of cut glass.

chinese snuff bottles were typically decorated with paintings or carvings, which distinguished bottles of different quality and value. decorative bottles were, and remain, time consuming in their production and are thus desirable by today's collectors.