A Mongolian Snuff Bottle

[Wattana]

     Just for a change, I'm going to start showing some Mongolian snuff bottles (mostly 20th century). These bottles are essentially like Chinese snuff bottles, sharing many of the same familiar features. What makes them different is that even the new ones are made for use, because Mongolians still practice snuff taking. So you will never find a poorly hollowed one. Having said that, they are generally quite thick walled to be robust enough to get knocked about without breaking. They are often carried around in a long silk brocade pouch slung under a waist sash, and if you are riding a horse at full gallop with this pouch flapping away on your hip.......well, you get the picture.     
     The most conspicuous feature for someone seeing a Mongolian bottle for the fist time is the stopper. It is very tall and domed, usually made of coral, and sports one or more metal collars, sitting on a wide neck. I heard someone once suggest that the stopper represents a phallus, but I have not found any evidence to support this comment. A far more plausible reason for the large stopper is a practical one. With temperatures below freezing for many months of the year the fingertips, if not completely numb, often have little feeling. Handling a small and dainty stopper on a narrow necked bottle in those conditions would not be easy.
     The first one being posted is quartz, with a nice creamy colour to it. One side is lightly mottled with darker inclusions, stopping abruptly on the lateral edge, leaving the other side plain cream with faint yellow swirls. A sort of very subtle 'yin-yang'.

Description:
     Creamy white quartz snuff bottle suffused with pale grey markings on one main side; of bulbous rounded rectangular shape, with a cylindrical neck and concave lip, resting on a wide recessed base surrounded by an oval foot rim. Tall domed coral stopper with a bronze collar.
   
Height w/o stopper:  5.8 cm

Modern (probably late 20th century)

Additional comments:
     This bottle was initially thought to be made of calcite, a relatively soft material. Close inspection reveals some striation, a characteristic of aragonite. However, a simple scratch test shows it to be of equal hardness to quartz. We must therefore assume it to be an opaque white form of agate.
     This no-nonsense bottle, with its tall domed stopper, is typical of the type preferred by the Mongolian, who needs a robust container that can withstand the knocks and bumps of a hard nomadic existence. Traditionally tucked into a long silk pouch (see first photo below) which is in turn slipped under and folded over the waist-sash of his clothing, the snuff bottle travels everywhere he goes, usually on horseback. The quality of carving is relatively basic, as befits the bottle’s utilitarian function.
     Snuff taking is still actively pursued by the nomadic herdsmen in Mongolia, and it would be difficult to date this kind of bottle with any accuracy. While there is a strong likelihood that it is of recent manufacture, it was made for use, and could have been made anytime in the last century.

[George]

I heard someone once suggest that the stopper represents a phallus, but I have not found any evidence to support this comment.
 

This would be in keeping with what I read about the overall intent of masculinity around the design of the high shouldered, more robust bottles.. Although these same stoppers are also seen on the narrower, sloping shouldered, "feminine" bottles as well...



 

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Tom,
thank you for the description of today use of this bottles by the Mongolians. Quite interesting. While reading, I was wondering why you did call it "Cremy white quartz", since I have never seen quartz with that looking, but then I did read your notes about the nature of the mineral. Still, I have some doubt. Are you sure that it is quartz and not some sort of jade?
I am also surprised by your dating. I don't know if modern mongolian bottles are shaped that way; without your dating, I would have dated it earlier because of the slightly everted neck and the concave mouth (at least it seems to me that it is concave).
Giovanni

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Tom,
    I think I  was the source of the 'phallic resemblance' reference. If so, I was trying to be humorous, based on what it resembled, in my eyes. I should have explained that it was my way of joking. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
   
Dear Giovanni,
      Those details can help in identifying earlier bottles, but  Tom has already described for us seeing totally new examples with those details. And the details would be similar, because these bottles, like the earlier bottles, are being made for use, not just to be sold to collectors.
I myself was thinking how beautiful and 'early' the raised footrim looked!

Shabbat Shalom to all from (so far) Sunny Seattle.
   Yesterday I spent  9+ hours with good friends who were very close to my late great friends Bob & Jessamine Snively. I enjoyed seeing their 400+ snuff bottles, which included a Jet bottle almost as good as Tom's (as good in detail, but a little shorter, so not as elegant in my opinion), BUT, with a matching snuff dish (GORGEOUS!)!
   They have about 20 superb realgar glass bottles, and about 50 superb nephrite jade bottles, but they have serious examples in almost every category of snuff bottles. And they are very serious.
   Only good IPSBs are 3 Bi Rongjiu and 1 Su Fengyi. They really have no interest in IPSBs, possibly because they basically started by buying a collection of about 100 bottles, most of them crappy tourist IPSBs...
   They are interested in joining the Forum.
George, I need to talk to you...
Best to all,
Joey

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Thank you dear Joey.
20 realgar glass SB? It is since long time that I am loking for one with no success!
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Giovanni,
      I was about 6 hrs. Looking at their bottles. Some are crap, but surprisingly few. These people started collecting 8 years ago,  and have amassed a very impressive collection.
You would be drooling, as I was, over their nephrite jades, their plain and carved glass, their hardstones, etc. In almost every category, they have serious examples. And numbers of them.
Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

[Wattana]

    I think I  was the source of the 'phallic resemblance' reference. If so, I was trying to be humorous, based on what it resembled, in my eyes. I should have explained that it was my way of joking. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

Dear Joey,

You were not the source of this remark that I had in mind, so no apologies are called for.  It was a YouTube link that George once posted, showing a Mongolian man describing the symbolism behind snuff bottle design, with sub-titles in English. As this was accompanied by a sniggering female in the background, and camera shake (presumably from suppressed laughter by the cameraman), I strongly suspected it was made up. 

Glad to hear you have recovered from your travel fatigue. I can think of no better way to refresh oneself than viewing a quality collection of snuff bottles, except perhaps snorting the stuff.   

Tom

[Wattana]

Are you sure that it is quartz and not some sort of jade?
I am also surprised by your dating. I don't know if modern mongolian bottles are shaped that way; without your dating, I would have dated it earlier because of the slightly everted neck and the concave mouth (at least it seems to me that it is concave).

Dear Giovanni,

I overlooked responding to your earlier post; in particular the two points quoted above.
 
Indeed, the stone may not be quartz. I have not seen this creamy white colour before. Also, the darker inclusions (on one side) are not a characteristic I normally associate with quartz. It has the hardness of quartz according to the 'scratch test', but I do not think it is jade either. Maybe George has some suggestions.

Your second point has been answered very well by Joey. Maintaining functionality is essential with Mongolian snuff bottles. The buyers are snuff users, not bottle collectors.  They are sold in department stores in Ulaanbaatar, the same way as cigarette lighters are sold in a European department store. Rows and rows of them are on display behind a glass counter. You call over the sales assistant, and point out the ones you wish to examine. Even though some may look old, I suspect that most are not. The sales girl, of course, knows nothing about the bottles, except their prices. She also sells fur hats, gloves, and leather belts, since the bottles are in the "Men's Accessories" department!

Regards,
Tom

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Tom,
very interesting, thank you. A trip to Ulaanbataar must be a funny and interesting experience!
Giovanni

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Tom,
   I didn't know you could buy them in Department stores in Ulaanbaatar! I may fly there from Beijing for a day or two, and buy some.
   Can you give me any advice re. Shopping, a tour guide, etc.?
Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

[Wattana]

Dear Joey,
     That was in 2005-2006, when I was going there regularly for a project. The situation may have changed since then. I will send you a PM with further information.
     Certainly, the experience of finding a place where people were still purchasing snuff bottles over the counter for personal use was, to me as a collector, akin to the paleontologist stumbling upon a lost valley where dinosaurs still live!

Tom
PS: Don't expect to find top quality bottles in UB, although such bottles do exist. Read my article in the JICSBS, if you haven't already (Winter 2012 issue).

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Tom,
   Oh, that is 8-9 years ago, now. I will re-read your article. Thanks,
Joey

[Wattana]

About time to post another Mongolian snuff bottle. There has been some discussion on another thread this week of conglomerate stone. While the bottle being posted here is NOT puddingstone, the talk reminded me of this one, which is some kind of conglomerate quartz.

Description:
     Quartz silica conglomerate snuff bottle of variegated red, brown, beige and dark grey agate, with patches of translucent white chalcedony; of flattened round form with a straight cylindrical neck and concave lip, supported on a small oval foot with concave base. Tall domed coral stopper with a gilt bronze collar.
     Height w/o stopper:  5.4 cm
     20th Century

Commentary:
     This bottle is composed of metamorphosed quartz silica, the predominant material being agate of various shades of red, brown, beige and grey, together with some patches of translucent, almost colourless chalcedony. The overall swirling effect is quite dramatic, and open to visual interpretation in a variety of ways; rising vapours in an alchemist’s workshop is one that immediately comes to mind. The attribute of ‘seeing’ a picture in a naturally formed common material is one that appealed to the artistic senses of the Chinese, and indeed Mongolian, mind.
     The bottle’s form is plain, and the carving is relatively basic, perhaps due to the fragmentary character of the stone. The low polish, patina and natural fissures contribute enormously to its tactile appeal.
     Snuff taking is still actively pursued by the nomadic herdsmen in Mongolia, and it would be difficult to date this kind of bottle with any accuracy. While there is a strong likelihood that it is of recent manufacture, it was made for use, and could have been made anytime in the last century, or possibly even earlier.

[Wattana]

Additional images I was not able to upload on the above post...

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Another very pleasing bottle, Tom.
Thank you for posting it.
Best,
 Joey

[George]

It is a nice bottle Tom, but I am struggling with believing this one being done by a Mongolian carver..

[Wattana]

George,
     I was told that most of the new plain stone bottles found in stores in Ulaanbaatar are made in China (somewhere around the Shanghai area). Any carved decoration is then added in Mongolia according to local tastes and motifs.
     And, of course, the stoppers are all made locally. Note that they never use cork for the seal, always twine.

Joey,
     Thanks for your comment.

Tom

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Tom,
     Are the stoppers real coral, or 'coral glass'?
Best,
 Joey

[OIB]

Tom,

This mongolian SB should be called ' Fiery Bottle ' or ' Fire of Hell ' !
It reminds me of some fiery opal which has such bright color hues in it.

Do bring some of these Mongolian stuff down to Singapore should you make the next trip.

Inn Bok

[Wattana]

Hi Joey,
    I have around a dozen Mongolian bottles. The stoppers are definitely not glass. I suspect some may be re-constituted stone or even resin, but I've never tried testing them.

Inn Bok,
    I like "Fire of Hell". A great name....!

Tom