My apologies if this is a reposted question (I tried the search field): What are people’s experiences using stone or glass Chinese-style snuff bottles on a regular basis? There are a good deal of seemingly reasonably priced and gorgeous bottles on ebay, and they seem perfectly practical in theory…
I’d be worried about a glass one breaking if it wasn’t for use at just home, and seeing as they’re so fancy I would be tempted to take it out and show it off! I think as long as the seal was tight it would keep snuff well, I think everyone just uses whatever they use for personal preference. I imagine the glass ones are more of a traditional thing than a practical one if you use pinches.
Kind of related, I saw this the other day :
I don’t know about the chinese ones, but I use a glass snuff bottle and frequently carry it around with me. Though mine is made of a small brown medicine bottle that is very old and made of pretty thick glass. But if the chinese bottles are also fairly thick glass I wouldn’t worry about carrying it with you unless you work construction or some equally hard work.
Thanks all. How about stone (jasper, jade, agate, quartz) and their ability to retain moisture? @GreenGrass You probably mean “fake” as in not antique or not whatever the descriptor is… but surely they are still bottles? /snarky
I have a stone one, the cap just sits on it loosely and the bone spoon in quite small, no way you could carry it in a pocket without the top falling off, so mine sits on my work bench and holds Rooster, at the moment.
I have quite a few bottles of different types. Some, I can tell you are fake. These are made with resin and are not hollowed out but for a shallow drilling. Any one with a spoon in the cap is for real. Bone and stone are my favorites. Glass and porcelain are nice too but the porcelain bottles don’t normally have tight fitting lids. None of them keep snuff for very long, similar to a wood snuff box for that matter. The metal Tibetan trinkets with chain usually have a few holes in the welds. I would encourage you to try getting a few different types. They can be very inexpensive and are great to carry around snuff with.
Both pictures are a little old. Here is a better one.
I bought a couple of stone ones on ebay for a fair price. They are wonderful both aesthetically and functionally in my experience.
Great info, all. I’ve got a few coming now. @Juxtaposer Nice collection! Is that a Kwan Yin silver & red jade bottle on the upper left?
@UsualSnuspects Yes, with a nickel glued to the spoon top because the red half sphere fell off. It is full of Dholakia Ganga which does keep quite well in it. It’s a little heavy to carry around and the “silver” could break if not careful so this one stays at home. Ganga is a bedtime snuff for me so this is perfect. My collection is about twice as large now. The shelves need dusting so I’ll get some new pictures up.
OK Here we go!
wow … nice, @Juxtaposer … very nice.
On display
I’m the proud new owner of a signed Ironwood/Red Palm turned snuff bottle by L. Vo. The wood is sealed, the top is threaded, and it’s essentially airtight when closed. It’s holding ~3g of Toque Natural right now and is begging to go in my pocket.
I highly recommend checking out this artisan’s work, especially of course the “pill bottles” that so far seem perfectly acceptable as a quotidian snuff vessel: Ebay and Etsy.
@UsualSnuspects They look difficult to pinch from and difficult to pour from but very classy.
The majority of Chinese snuff bottles on ebay are listed as antiques, but they are really just modern reproductions. Viewing them for what they are, the quality of some of them aren’t really that bad. Of course, since few Chinese use snuff nowadays, people buy snuff bottles to merely decorate their homes. The inner painted glass ones in particular, since they are painted in the inside, they are meant for viewing only, not really for storing snuff.
@Juxtaposer I’ve been tapping it out into my ASB all day, no problem. I’ve been talking with the artist meanwhile, pointing him here and there for a survey of what’s out there, as well as giving my take on what modern snuff takers are looking for in a container (mostly from lurking on this and other boards). Namely, moisture control, airtightness, ergonomics for pinchers (seems to be the most popular method), and portability. We’ll probably see a result soon enough, but in the meantime, I’m sure he’d appreciate hearing from someone more qualified than me. You can contact him through the links from a couple posts ago.
The painted Chinese glass snuff bottles are works of art.
I feel the same way about my metal snuff bottles from Tibet.
The orifice in my scrimshawed ivory snuff bottle is too small to fill the bottle in a reasonable amount of time, so that one is for display too.
I just keep them for display… For everyday use I’d rather use a Bernard’s flast or a porcelin on brass flask from India. If you are going to use a flask with a cork stopper in it, eventually the cork will wear out or go brittle. Find a crafts store nearby to get some replacement corks.
I use a rubber stopper. Cork’s more appealing I suppose, but rubber is more reliable. I nabbed it from a cheap dollar store glass olive oil dispenser that my wife picked up.
Great tips, thanks! I just received my first two bottles (jasper & glass), so now have some idea what I’m working with. They seem so… dainty?