A beautiful Qianlong period Peking
Glass Snuff Bottle with Jade stone
lid.
The story of Chinese snuff bottles
stems from a curious and interesting
cultural development that occurred
during the last years of the Ming
Dynasty (AD 1368-1644). In 1639,
Emperor Chongzhen (who reigned as
the 17th and last Ming Emperor from
1627 to 1644) issued a national ban
against smoking tobacco and
stipulated that tobacco addicts faced
death penalty. In 1673, Qing
Dynasty Emperor Kangxi expanded
the death penalty even to those who
simply possessed smoking tobacco.
Curiously enough, possession and
use of snuff (powdered tobacco,
sometimes mixed with herbs and
spices) was considered exempt from
these prohibitions, as the Chinese
considered snuff to be a medicine
rather than an addictive substance, a
remedy for common illnesses such
as colds, headaches and stomach
upsets. Snuff became immensely
popular and was carried around
(much like other medicines) in a
small bottle. The stopper usually had
a very small spoon attached for
handily extracting a dose of snuff for
inhalation.
