Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Photo: citybyday; Cover photo: Afar.com
The Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection of approximately 186 Chinese snuff bottles sits within one of the great encyclopedic museums of the United States, displayed in Chinese galleries that underwent a comprehensive renovation and reinstallation in 2019. Among the collection's most distinguished holdings are a number of stunning imperial enamel bottles produced in the Palace Workshops, representing Qing court production at its most refined.
A distinguished group of imperial Palace Workshop enamel bottles anchors the Philadelphia Museum of Art's snuff bottle holdings, representing Qing court artisans working at the peak of their technical and aesthetic ambition.
Additional resources
From the collection
Amber carved with boys, flowers and fungus
China, 1736–1795, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Snuff bottle. Translucent light brown amber carved with boys, flowers, and fungus; white and green jade stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-628.
Mottled green on white glass of rectangular form
China, 19th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Mottled green and white glass of rectangular form; jade stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Vera Prock Ransom and Lucille Prock Dean in memory of Lillian W. and Harry A. Prock, 1990. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1990-86-11a,b.
Famille noire enamelled glass with flowering tree
China, 18th–19th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Opaque white glass decorated in famille noire enamels with a flowering tree; green and brown glass stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-557.
Opaque yellow glass of spade form
China, 18th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Opaque yellow glass of spade form; pink tourmaline stopper with green jade finial and ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-636.
Reticulated blue-glazed porcelain with dragon among clouds
China, 1770–1820, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Reticulated blue-glazed porcelain with gilt decoration depicting a dragon among clouds; porcelain stopper with gilded metal spoon. The Bloomfield Moore Collection, 1899. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1899-1008.
Enamelled glass with pastoral scene of pavilion and lotus pond
China, 19th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Opaque white glass decorated in enamels with a pastoral scene depicting a pavilion on the shore of a lotus pond; carved coral and blue glass stopper. Gift of Eugenia Fuller Atwood, 1977. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1977-256-37a,b.
Pale green fluted glass of bulbous form
China, 1760–1880, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Translucent pale green glass of bulbous fluted form; pink tourmaline stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-655.
Faceted rock crystal with shou symbol
China, late 18th–early 19th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Rock crystal of ten-sided faceted form with a roundel shou character at the center; jadeite and ivory stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-650.
Pink glass carved with prunus
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Snuff bottle. Translucent pink glass carved with prunus; jadeite stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-631.
Glass imitating realgar
China, 1736–1795, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Snuff bottle. Translucent glass mottled with brown and green, imitating realgar; pink tourmaline and yellow glass stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-622.
Multicolor overlay on lotus root powder glass with confronting chilong
China, 1736–1795, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Snuff bottle. Translucent oufen (lotus root powder) glass with overlay of red, green, blue, yellow, and amber glass carved with confronting chilong; coral stopper with ivory finial and ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-605.
Red overlay on bubble-suffused glass with dragon, phoenix, and taotie masks
China, late 18th–early 19th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Bubble-suffused glass with red glass overlay carved with a dragon, phoenix, and taotie masks; jadeite and yellow glass stopper with horn spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-599.
Enamelled glass with prunus and butterfly, Guyue Xuan mark
China, 1767–1860, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Colorless glass decorated in enamels with prunus and a butterfly; Guyue Xuan mark; tourmaline and glass stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-580.
Enamelled metal with birds and tree
China, 18th century, Qing dynasty. Snuff bottle. Metal decorated in enamels inside and outside with birds and a tree; metal stopper with enamel decoration and ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-587.
Imperial porcelain of fluted tapered form
China, 1736–1795, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Snuff bottle. Porcelain of fluted tapered form with enamel relief and gilt decoration; green-stained ivory stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-574.
Enamelled porcelain with Western lady and dog
China, 19th–early 20th century. Snuff bottle. Porcelain decorated in enamels with a Western lady and dog; ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-571.
Enamelled glass with millefleurs design
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Snuff bottle. Opaque white glass decorated in enamels and gilt with a millefleurs design; jadeite stopper with ivory spoon. Gift of Major General and Mrs. William Crozier, 1944. © Philadelphia Museum of Art. Accession number: 1944-20-556.
The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society
2 Hamill Road, Suite 353
Baltimore, MD 21210 USA
410-467-9400
