Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group

This very detailed out of print book is written by one of the world's foremost authorities on snuff bottles. It is referred to in many books and by all the major auction houses. It is profusely illustrated and explains in detail how to identify these largest variety of stone snuff bottles and their sub groups. It even explains how to identify the group or person that did the carving of pre-modern snuff bottles. I was amazed to find out that certain types of stone were not available for carving until the mid 20th century. Some of the finest examples of different types of quartz and silica snuff bottles from the best collections are pictured for your perusal. I am an avid collector and purveyor of snuff bottles that has found this book to be one of the most important reference books on my shelves. My biggest interest is in stone snuff bottles and I have found this book to be invaluable. If all the experts from the major auction houses and museums refer to this book in their descriptions, you know how important a work this is. Much thanks to the author for writing this book for all of the world's collectors. Very little is known about the beginnings of the snuff bottles in China. The first known reference to snuff bottles dates from the early eighteenth century, and it is not until late in the century that the picture became clear. From what little evidence there is, however, the following theory seems reasonable: The snuff bottle was an invention of the seventeenth century, and probably of the latter part of the century. The habit of snuffing appears to have been one that appealed first to the Manchus Tartars and initially snuff bottles would have been used mainly by the Manchus of the Imperial court and the upper classes. The snuff bottle, with the exception only of certain types, was not the work of an individual artist as we understand it. It was rather the product of craftsmen and artisans working at a profession.