That’s the snuff!
AGO Gallery Guide Carmen Chan shares her love for part of our Thomson Collection of European Art: Ken Thomson’s prized Chinese snuff bottles.
Chinese. Snuff Bottle, Moulded in the form of Li Tiguei, The drunken poet, 1780-1850. Porcelain, Overall: 6.2 x 3.1 x 1.9 cm. The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario. © 2017 Art Gallery of Ontario AGOID.108443
At the AGO, you can see art from many different places and times throughout history. Ken Thomson’s prized collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles is a “must-see” for your next visit. Take a trip to the Thomson Collection of European Art (Gallery 111 on Level 1) to uncover some of the fascinating details and little known facts about these treasured pieces of Chinese art history.
Snuff bottles are containers designed to carry small quantities of snuff – a form of powdered tobacco popularized in China during the Qing Dynasty for its health benefits. Small enough to fit in your hand, snuff bottles were handcrafted by artisans from many materials including wood, porcelain, jade, ivory and other stone and stone-like materials. Prized for their intricate carvings, these bottles were made to be held in your palm allowing the owner to feel the details and textures of each piece.
First used by the social and political elites of Beijing, the bottles were created with colours, designs and materials that signaled wealth and social status. In fact, snuff became so popular that people collected and traded snuff bottles for goods and services.
Ken Thomson was an avid collector of these beautiful objects, which are on view at the AGO as part of the Thomson Collection. Among them you will notice bottles made of amber, a stone prized by the Chinese for their belief that it represented the soul of a tiger. You may also notice several yellow snuff bottles. Though some lack ornate carvings, these bottles are particularly rare because of their famous owners. During the Qing Dynasty the colour yellow was reserved for the imperial family only, meaning these bottles once belonged to a Chinese emperor!
Look closely and you’ll notice bottles with finely painted landscapes and animals. This type of bottle is notable for the technique used to paint these beautiful scenes. Each of these bottles is meticulously painted from the inside, using a thin brush inserted through the bottleneck. Other notable bottles include several jade and a number of porcelain bottles that resemble human figures and deities from Chinese myth.
Though the use of snuff went out of style in the early 1900’s, collecting these objects remains a hobby to this day. Take a look at this video featuring Carmen Chan a Gallery Guide at the AGO, and learn more about the beautiful details and fascinating history of the Chinese snuff bottles in our Collection.
Admission to the AGO Collection and all special exhibitions is always free for AGO Members, AGO Annual Pass holders and visitors 25 and under. For more information, please visit the website.