Snuff bottle with landscape and story of Dongfang Shuo stealing peaches

1723-1735

The emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong invested deeply in the habit and accessories of snuff taking. European missionaries brought snuff—ground tobacco mixed with aromatics like camphor and jasmine—as tributes. Snuff bottles were miniature virtuoso sculptures. This one was likely a birthday gift to wish one’s parents a long life.

Porcelain with polychrome overglaze enamel

2 1/2 x 13/16 x 13/16 in. (6.4 x 2.1 x 2.1 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

33.1101

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Chinese Ceramics and Snuff Bottles from the Ming and Xing Dynasties, January 14, 2006 - April 2, 2006

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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