The origin of the snuff bottle
The custom of snuff smoking originated from the Indians, the inventors of tobacco. Around the 14th century, the Italians selected fine tobacco leaves, mixed them with mint, borneol and other medicinal materials, ground them into powder, sealed them in cellars for aging, and produced commercial snus over several years.
Han people began to take snuff in the Ming Dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty, very few snuffs were imported, and only one place in Guangdong was smoked. Kangxi opened the sea ban, and Western missionaries brought a large amount of snuff and glass bottles containing snuff. Smoking snuff gradually became a fashion. The prime ministers of Western countries sent snuff and glass snuff bottles as tribute, first to Portugal, then to Britain, France and other countries. Emperor Qianlong often rewarded princes and ministers with snuff. This practice gradually became a social fashion.
A snuff bottle is specially used to hold snuff. In order to be easy to carry, it is generally the size of a pack of cigarettes. Among the surviving relics, there are more than 20 snuff bottles with bronze sculptures of Yunlong made by Cheng Rongzhang of Shunzhi, which are the earliest snuff bottles. Kangxi had a special liking for Western handicrafts. He recruited a group of Westerners who were proficient in glass snuff bottle making and enamel painting to make snuff bottles in the Forbidden City. The art of snuff bottles reached its peak during the Qianlong reign. The collection of snuff bottles became popular, and the use of snuff bottles gradually became secondary. All the techniques of traditional Chinese art: painting, calligraphy, porcelain firing, glazing, jade grinding, rhinoceros smelting, tooth carving, bamboo carving, lacquer picking, nesting, embroidery, gold and silver inlay, mother-of-pearl inlay, yellow paste, etc. are all used On the snuff bottle. During the Qianlong period, snuff bottles became a tool used to show one's status in rich fights.
The legend of the snuff bottle
There is an interesting legend about the formation of the inner painting. In the last years of Qianlong, a small local official came to Beijing to work. He was an upright person and an honest official. I hope that be processed through normal channels. Due to the low efficiency of court officials and the lack of bribes, his affairs were delayed again and again despite waiting for a long time. A local official ran out of money and food and had no choice but to stay in a temple in the capital. He was addicted to snuff. When the snuff in the glass snuff bottle ran out, he would use a cigarette stick to dig out the snuff stuck to the wall of the bottle. , many scratches were formed on the inner wall. This snuff bottle was seen by a scheming monk. Through experiments, the monk used a bamboo stick to bend and cut out a pointed tip, dipped it in ink and drew a picture on the inner wall of the transparent snuff bottle. This unique painting was born.
The original painted snuff bottles were transparent glass bottles with no frosted inner wall. Because the inner wall was smooth, it was difficult for ink and color to adhere to it, so only some simple pictures and patterns could be painted, such as: grasshopper, cabbage, dragon, and phoenix. and simple landscapes, figures, etc. Later, artists used iron sand and emery and water to grind back and forth on the inner surface of the snuff bottle. This made the inner wall of the snuff bottle look like milky white frosted glass, delicate but not smooth, and easy to adhere to the ink color. The effect Just like rice paper, the snuff bottles with interior paintings later appeared in some more sophisticated works, and later developed into fine works of art that include poetry, calligraphy and painting.
How are snuff bottles made?
Snuff bottles are a traditional handicraft that began in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. Snuff bottles with interior paintings appeared in the late Jiaqing and early Daoguang years. It is painted in a transparent pot with a special tiny hook-shaped paintbrush. The original painted snuff bottles were transparent glass bottles with no frosted inner wall. Because the inner wall was smooth, it was difficult for ink and color to adhere to it. They could only be painted with some simple pictures and patterns, such as grasshoppers, cabbage, dragons, phoenixes and simple landscapes and figures. Etc. Later, artists used iron sand and emery and water to grind the inner surface of the snuff bottle back and forth. This made the inner wall of the snuff bottle look like milky white frosted glass, which is delicate but not smooth and easy to adhere to ink. The effect is like rice paper, with snuff painted inside. Later, some more sophisticated works appeared on the pot, and later it developed into a fine art with both poetry, calligraphy and painting.
Hengshui Yihuzhai Crafts Co., Ltd. (formerly Hengshui Special Crafts Factory) is the birthplace of the "Ji School" painted snuff bottles. Founded in 1972.
After snus was introduced to China, the Chinese first used traditional medicine bottles to hold snuff, and then used a variety of materials and production techniques to perfect the snus containers.
During their use, they found that this kind of bottle with a large mouth and a small belly is more beneficial for storing snus. It can ensure that the snus does not deteriorate even after long-term use. It is easy to carry and the style has traditional Chinese beauty, so it is loved by snus smokers. In the Qing Dynasty of China, snuff was very popular among the emperor and the common people. The feudal nobles headed by the emperor were extremely extravagant. The snuff bottles they used often collected precious materials and were designed and manufactured for them by skilled craftsmen. Some international collectors believe that snuff bottles are a miniature art that embodies the culmination of Chinese arts and crafts.
Snuff bottles are divided into materials:
Metal, jade, organic matter, ceramics, interior painting
Introduction:
Snuff is ground into It is made by mixing fine high-quality tobacco powder with musk and other precious medicinal materials, and aging it in sealed wax pills for several years or even decades. Smoking this smoke plays a certain role in relieving fatigue. It originated from the American Indians and was later discovered by European travelers exploring the Americas. They were brought back to Europe and quickly became popular. At that time, everyone in the French court, including kings, princes, princesses, and servants, sniffed each other and regarded it as a fashion. Napoleon I was also a snuff lover. According to records, he consumed more than 7 pounds of snuff every month.
After the 16th century, snuff was introduced to Northeast China through Europe, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea, where the nomads could not smoke with chimneys on horseback. Therefore, the introduction of snuff was suitable for their characteristics of snuffing in the wild. In order to make the snuff bottles sturdy and not afraid of being dropped, the homeless people used various jade, metal, bone and angle materials to make snuff bottles. According to historical records, snuff played an important role in Mongolian social life at that time. Whenever a guest visited the host's tent, the host must bow and give the snuff to the guest with both hands, and the guest must also use the host's snuff with both hands. Pour out a little snuff, put it to your nose and inhale for a while, then return the snuff bottle to the owner with both hands. This very small act, but full of civilized etiquette, is designed to build mutual respect and trust.
Although snuff and snuff bottles were not born in China, but were imported products, they quickly became popular both inside and outside China after being introduced to China. The first foreign snuff bottles that came to China were all made of glass. Wang Shizhen wrote in "Jinzu Notes": "Snuff is stored in glass bottles. The images of the bottles vary, with colors ranging from red, yellow, purple, white, black, green, and white. Like crystal, as red as fire, very cute to play with, using the elephant's tooth as a key, just like the elephant's trunk, and holding it in the bottle." However, after all, the imported quantities were too small to meet the needs of the people. Smart craftsmen used a variety of materials to make exquisite snuff bottles, such as emerald, gems, ivory, jade, porcelain, lacquerware, aggregate, metal and other materials. . The more precious the tobacco bottle is made of, the more it reflects the identity of its owner. The snuff bottles made in China in the early 18th century have become a popular handicraft and gradually spread abroad through European businessmen, papal envoys, envoys, missionaries and officials from various countries. At that time, the Russian imperial ministers went to China to pay homage to Emperor Kangxi and presented a large number of precious gifts from Peter the Great to the Qing Palace. The gift Emperor Kangxi gave in return was a snuff bottle made by the royal workshop for each person. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese snuff bottles were spread overseas as the most precious gift for country-to-country exchanges and became famous far and wide.
Someone once commented on the snuff bottles made in the Qing Dynasty in China: "A small snuff bottle combines the essence of culture and art from all dynasties in one furnace. No Chinese art craft can combine so many changes in craftsmanship." . Therefore, as early as the end of the 19th century, European and American art collectors began to pay attention to the collection of Chinese snuff bottles. In Southeast Asia, the craze for collecting snuff bottles only appeared after 1989, and it is still in the ascendant, causing the price of snuff bottles to rise rapidly. On April 1, 1992, at an auction of Chinese art held by Swire Christie's in Hong Kong, a gold-bodied cloisonné enamel crane-pattern snuff bottle made during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty was collected by a Taiwanese collector for a high price of HK$1.045 million. Bought by a family, it set a world snuff bottle auction record.
Four schools of inside-painted snuff bottles:
Beijing School
The four schools of today's inside-painted snuff bottles all originated in Beijing, among which the Beijing School has the longest history.
Beijing was the imperial capital of China's Ming and Qing dynasties, and was also the birthplace of interior-painted snuff bottles. With prosperous industries, talent pools, and developed economy and culture, it was inevitable to cultivate the art of interior-painted snuff bottles. Interior-painting painters absorbed the profound culture of Kyoto. The foundation gradually formed the Beijing style of art that combines poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Beijing School interior painting is represented by Zhou Leyuan, Ma Shaoxuan and Ye Zhongsan, and the leader of the Beijing School today is Mr. Liu Shouben.
Lu School
The Lu School painters gathered in Boshan, Shandong Province. The Lu School drew its interior painting artist Bi Jiurong from Boshan, Shandong Province in the 16th year of Guangxu’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1890) from Beijing. It developed after returning to Boshan. The most distinctive feature of the Lu School is that it can use the glaze used on porcelain to paint on the inner wall of the snuff box, and then bake it to form a porcelain glaze painting with a snuff bottle painted inside. The painting will not be damaged even if water is poured into it. The representative figure of Lu School interior painting is Bi Jiurong, and today's famous interior painting artist is Mr. Li Kechang.
Ji School
Ji School is a contemporary formation. Although it was formed relatively late, it currently has the largest number of practitioners in the snuff bottle painting and related industries. The artistic characteristics of Hebei style interior painting are fine dyeing, accurate modeling, and elegant style. It uses a comprehensive expression technique of traditional Chinese painting and oil painting to simulate the effects of multiple painting types, especially in the creation of portrait themes. The inner painting tool used by the Ji School is the metal rod hook pen pioneered by Wang Xisan. Hengshui is where most Hebei painters gather, and Raoyang County has the largest number of snuff bottle practitioners in Hengshui. The founder of the Ji School is Mr. Wang Xisan.
Cantonese School
The Cantonese School is famous for its bright colors and decorative styles. It is also a young faction. The Cantonese school is in Shantou, Guangdong. The representative figure is Wu Songling.
The snuff bottle is the crystallization of the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures. After the 16th century, snuff was introduced to Northeast China. The nomadic people there could not smoke with chimneys on horseback. Snuff was suitable for them to smoke immediately, so it was very popular. Get popular quickly. In order to make snuff bottles strong and durable, nomadic people often use various jade, metal, bone and angle materials to make them. With its small and exquisite unique shape, wide variety of materials, and exquisite and meticulous production techniques, snuff bottles have gradually developed into fine works of art for people to appreciate and display their status. Chinese snuff bottles integrate calligraphy, painting, carving, inlaying, polishing and other techniques. They use blue and white, five-color, porcelain carving, nesting, skillful work, interior painting and other techniques. They absorb the advantages of various craftsmanship at home and abroad. They are an important part of Chinese and foreign culture and art. Typical artifacts of organic fusion.