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Chinese Snuff Bottle Discussion Forum 中國鼻煙壺討論論壇
March 28, 2024, 07:09:34 pm
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Beautifully carved wooden snuff box.

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forestman
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« on: March 09, 2017, 08:48:47 am »

I was gifted this by my father last night. He is getting somewhat obsessed with denying the tax man as much inheritance tax as he can which is understandable.

He bought it around 20 years ago and it was expensive then. The people on it weren't named but I imagine from their clothes/uniform they could be identified. The inside is lined with horn top and bottom.

The base has a hidden layer which unscrews on a hand cut thread and which is invisible to the eye and is shown in the last picture. I think they are playing leap frog on the back of a horse or something !!!!

I wonder when I see a snuff container like this that seals as well as it does if there wasn't some use of them in China initially. I have a couple of other snuff boxes which don't seal so would cause the snuff to cake which was a problem in China with snuff boxes but this box is not overly large.

Regards, Adrian.


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Rube
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« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2017, 10:50:59 am »

Adrian,

Thanks for sharing this as
I've never seen a snuff box before, it's quite nice, with a beautiful burl!
I'd side with the "or something" for the back scene!

Cheers,

Rheuben.
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Rube, 4th Generation Collector

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« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2017, 10:57:10 am »

Nice piece and thank you for sharing it !

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forestman
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« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2017, 11:39:21 am »

I've only just notice that whoever carved it seems to have made a mistake, they seem to have carved an extra leg on the horse. Oh, wait a minute, um, my mistake.  Grin
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« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2017, 12:22:27 pm »

I've only just notice that whoever carved it seems to have made a mistake, they seem to have carved an extra leg on the horse. Oh, wait a minute, um, my mistake.  Grin

Seems like the rider has an extra leg as well  Cheesy
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« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2017, 01:18:56 pm »

I think the horse might regret it if he tries to jump a hedge. Cry

The health and safety aspect of a woman in charge of a horse whilst being distracted in the manner she is don't bear thinking about.

I do wonder how many of the £199 snuff bottles are sold on ebay with the woefully bad and supposedly erotic pictures on them.

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« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2017, 02:21:41 pm »



I do wonder how many of the £199 snuff bottles are sold on ebay with the woefully bad and supposedly erotic pictures on them.



Perhaps woefully bad and erotic, but concubines and courtesans, women in Chinese erotic art, including snuff bottles are desirable.. It is just hard to find them on quality early bottles..
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« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2017, 03:14:44 pm »

Yes absolutely, genuine old erotica is a part of history and very collected and part of what my father paid for this snuff box was due to it's hidden carving. The history of Japanese shunga (erotic) woodblocks is interesting in a reflection of normal everyday life in Japan, the opinion of which totally changed due to Western missionaries. It's just a shame to see the relevance of history lost to seemingly titillate with no artistic merit at all in modern copies.
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« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2017, 03:42:55 am »

A nice snuff box Adrian. Beautifully (and cleverly!) crafted.

Interesting that it should be lined with horn. I used to wonder why there were so few Chinese snuff bottles made of horn. I was told that horn is considered a 'hot' material in the world of traditional Chinese alchemy, and snuff powder also being 'hot' it needs to be stored in a 'cool' material for 'balance' - a yinyang thing. I have no idea if this is true or not. Maybe one of our Chinese members can verify or bust the myth. 

Tom
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« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2017, 02:07:30 pm »

Hi Tom,

That's an interesting comment and I guess is part of what draws us deeper into everything that surrounds snuff bottles, they go beyond their obvious outward appearance in many ways.

Regards, Adrian.
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