Chinese snuff bottles

When Jesuit missionaries introduced snuff to the Qing Imperial Court in the 17th century, it would have been hard to imagine that a bottle created to house the fiery mixture of tobacco, aromatics, spices, camphor and jasmine would one day achieve £2.1m at auction.

Sold from the revered Chinese snuff bottle collection of Mary and George Bloch (comprising 1,720 bottles in the process of being divided into 10 sales), this particular enamelled-glass bottle was made in the Beijing palace workshops between 1736 and 1760, and is “the greatest example of a snuff bottle commissioned for the Emperor”, says Colin Sheaf of Bonhams Asia, the house that auctioned the bottle. in November 2011. “It’s exceptional because of the western lady painted on it – which is a very rare design.”

Enamelled-glass bottle, sold for £2.1m by Bonhams

The import and use of snuff (an alternative to smoking, which was banned at court) created a vogue for these artisanal bottles. Standing just 2-4in high, they were based on traditional Chinese medicine bottles and sealed with a cork to keep out the humidity, and each was made with an internal ivory spoon with which to sniff from.

They quickly became a lavish accessory. “At court, a snuff bottle was a status symbol, like a Rolex or diamond ring is today,” says Michael Bass of the Chinese Art Department at Christie’s New York, which holds Chinese Ceramic and Works of Art sales twice a year in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong, where bottle estimates in recent years have ranged from £900 to £39,000.

“The most sought-after are the imperial snuff bottles made at the request of the emperor in the 17th and 18th centuries,” says John G Ford of The International Snuff Bottle Society based in Baltimore, Maryland. “The Imperial Palace in Beijing had its own workshops, and the emperor would give a snuff bottle as a reward for a noteworthy accomplishment or to a departing senior official,” says Sebastian Kuhn of European Ceramics and Glass for Bonhams, whose Asian Art sales in London, New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong often include snuff bottles. “As time went on, the materials and techniques of the artistry became more valuable and complex.” Each bottle soon took on the status of a miniature work of art.

Their designs are imbued with meaning, which appeals to today’s collectors just as it would have done four centuries ago to those at court, where bottles became popular bribes. There might be symbols of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, or significant imagery: “Double gourds on a bottle symbolise the wish that the beneficiary may have many sons, while a cat and a butterfly demonstrates a hope that the recipient reach the age of 70,” says Robert Kleiner, a London-based snuff bottle dealer.

Emperor Xianfeng bottle, £2,600, from Robert Kleiner | Image: Charlie Bibby

Just as Chinese art is rising in value in an international market, top-class bottles are appreciating rapidly, says Kleiner. In March, the bottles of Hildegard Schonfeld, a well-regarded collector, were auctioned at Christie’s New York, with many tripling their estimates. The finest, sold for £113,355, is a carved green-and-pink tourmaline bottle made at the Imperial Palace workshops between 1760 and 1799. The value is such because the best tourmaline stones were reserved for imperial use and the thick walls of the bottle are a rarity.

With interest from both Chinese and western buyers, bottle prices have quadrupled in 10 years. Kleiner speaks of European clients who are successful doctors, bankers and lawyers, while Clare Chu, owner of LA-based Asian Art Studio (whose current stock includes an 18th-century imperial ruby-red glass bottle overlaid with turquoise, and a translucent fiery amber bottle with an opaque coral and turquoise stopper, 1750-1820, both from a private English collection and price on request) cites a Chinese property developer and department store owner as collectors.

Glass and turquoise bottle, price on request, from Asian Art Studio

Eastern and western tastes vary, however. “The Chinese love jade,” says Kleiner, adding that anything with an imperial reign mark is highly sought-after. He currently has a porcelain bottle decorated in under-glazed blue and white for sale, for £2,600, that boasts the mark of Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1862). A gold-ground porcelain bottle made for Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) has his reign mark on the base: “There is an almost identical bottle in the Palace Museum, Beijing, so this could reach more than £65,000,” he says.

Sheaf points to a trend for buying examples in a variety of media, for bottles “were made in every kind of material available to the court; jade, porcelain, bronze, ivory, glass”. Most of Kleiner’s collectors, however, “like to have one good bottle rather than five average ones”.

Tourmaline bottle, sold by Christie’s for £113,355 | Image: Christie's Images Limited 2012

For LA-based collector Robert Chasin, a lawyer, it’s all about the workmanship of individual pieces: “I love the artistry of these bottles, which often incorporate the highest forms of calligraphy. I’m fascinated by them: snuff bottles are a microcosm of all the arts of China.”

Some collectors may lock them away but for the most part bottles  are displayed like an art collection. “Much of their appeal lies in the fact that they’re small and delicate,” says Sheaf. “Unlike a big sculpture, they’re easy to transport and have a jewel-like quality.”

Given the intrigue of the ancient Chinese courts combined with the current appetite for Asian heritage, it’s no surprise that these bottles are passing the sniff test with flying colours and being rapidly snapped up.