How much are old snuff bottles worth?
An imperial glass snuff bottle can be acquired for under $3,000, while superb and rare examples can range from tens to hundreds of thousands. Imperial, 18th-century bottles with reign marks tend to achieve the highest prices at auction, particularly those in painted enamel on glass or metal.
What makes a snuff bottle valuable?
Original snuff bottles from the Qing period are a desirable target for serious collectors and museums. A good bottle has an extra quality over and above its exquisite beauty and value: that is touch. Snuff bottles were made to be held and so, as a rule, they have a pleasant tactile quality.
When did they stop making snuff bottles?
They stopped using snuff in China about the 1920s; however, there were still artisans who continued to make them, primarily for the foreign collectors market. You may notice that there’s an enormous fake market going on now, selling reproductions as if they were 18th- or 19th-century bottles.
What was a snuff bottle used for?
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.
What is in a Mongolian snuff bottle?
In Mongolia, snuff bottles were often made out of precious stone long-revered for their special powers. Coral stone, for instance, was one of the most expensive and desired stones with which to produce and fashion a bottle, regarded for its healing and protective powers.
What is a glass snuff bottle?
Glass Dictionary A small bottle (in China) or box (in Europe) for powdered tobacco, or snuff. The habit of inhaling snuff, which spread to Europe from the Americas in the 17th century, was introduced to China in the 18th century. snuff bottles.
What is a cinnabar snuff bottle?
This particular bottle is made from cinnabar, which is a type of lacquer that is a vermilion-red in color. During the Qing Dynasty, snuff bottles became a fashion accessory, and because the snuff was considered to be a medicine, these bottles were typically carried around on the person of the owner.
What are Chinese snuff bottles worth?
Despite their tiny stature, there is high demand for Chinese snuff bottles at auction. Prices may range from $150 to $10,000 depending on the age, material, or other rare qualities of the individual piece.
Are snuff boxes valuable?
The most valuable snuff boxes are worth more than one million dollars. However, the majority of snuff boxes will be worth less than $1,000. There is no price guide for snuff boxes.
What goes in a snuff box?
Snuffboxes were used for containing snuff, a mixture of ground tobacco and scented oils, and were very popular in the 18th century when snuff-taking was fashionable. Highly decorated and valuable objects, they became collectors’ items in the 19th century.