(07-08/10) Snuff Research and Ideas

The main differences between the western snuff containers and the bottles created during the Qing Dynasty were the social viewings of each. Where it became an art form, reinventing what Europeans had exposed them to, in China that was used as gifts on special occasions, a most prized possession. In Europe there was much more differentiation between social classes and what the boxes looked like, whereas in China all classes had ornamental snuff bottles, the material is what seems to differ the most between social classes. What could be achieved with the most unlikely material was a novelty that was adopted by higher classes, the more outrageous and gaudy the bottles get.