How to Buy Snuff Bottles
When buying you will be required to browse through the available designs in the market. Some of the types you will come across are listed below.
Glass
Most snuff glass bottles are made from blown glass carved from solid glass. Most of these glasses will also be painted on the inside with tiny brushes or sticks, a process that is lengthy and arduous but with great results. Other snuff bottles were sold without any decoration which helped show off their color and unique design. Other snuff glasses would be enameled and engraved or either. These artistic techniques have been widely used by European culture and learned and used as the art got better in the orient. Some of the glasses made with a glass overlay would be finished with either carvings of polishing.
Porcelain
the porcelain snuff bottles can either be molded, enameled, or molded with recessed décor, hand craved and even glazed or even left with the original finish. Colbalt blue as well as white bottles were mainly produced in the 19th century. The color contrast produced was favored during this time by most members of the high society.
Inside Painted
Snuff bottles made from glass or crystal and are painted on the inside with a tiny sliver bamboo or a paint brush with a few strands of hair were often referred to as the “inside painted bottles”. Thee glasses had a higher collectible value as the time and effort put to creating them was considerable and the finished products never failed to impress. In most cases, these glasses were not used to carry snuff but were commonly seen as collectible art rather than functional glasses. The inside painted glasses can be dated back to the early 19th century.
Jade
Jade is one of the highest valued stones in the Chinese culture. It therefore makes sense that jade can be used in the making of the snuff bottles. Bottles made from the jade stone can come in a number of colors and types. One of the most common designs is nephrite which is an opaque, cream color which is highly valuable once is possess a pure white or yellow tinge. Nephrite can also be found in gray, green and black colors.
Quartz
Quartz has a variety of different and unique stones. Some of them include chalcedony, crystal, agate, amethyst, jasper, citrine, carnelian and many more. Because of the vast variety of colors and shades, artists have the ability to express their creativity through different colors, textures, and even shine. Some artistic and inspiring snuff bottle are made from this stones.