Antiques Info Magazine July 2009

Chinese snuff bottles, an investment not to be sniffed at.

It was probably the Native American Indians who were the first to use snuff, around 1500;   the Europeans became huge fans by 1700 and produced an array of small boxes in silver enamel, papier- mache and a variety of other materials. It was however, the Chinese who turned snuff taking into an art form. Smoking tobacco was deemed unhealthy, but snuff was thought to have medicinal qualities, be beneficial for the mouth and eyes and was used as a pain killer and to treat asthma. Consequently snuff was carried in bottles much like other Chinese medicine bottles, the quality of the bottle showing the social standing or rank of its owner.

The glory days of the Chinese snuff bottle were the 18 th and 19 th centuries, during the Qing dynasty. Bottles were produced in every conceivable form, in the shape of fruit and vegetables, carved as miniature temples or in shapes inspired by nature.

The collection of Margaret Goldney , which sold recently at the Surrey Auction House, began in the 1950s when she worked as a private  secretary in Hong Kong. Her early collecting was rather haphazard but as her collection grew so did her knowledge by the time she returned to England nearly 30 years later she had a collection of over 300 bottles and was a quiet authority on the subject. In the mid 20thc Century there were very few fakes around, now the market is awash with them. Collectors nowadays need to be very savvy.  Learn all they can on the subject and buy from reputable sources. Glass bottles with internal painting are very widely copied as are overlaid glass examples. Some of the copies are very well done and it takes an expert to tell the difference. There also some artists in china today who produce very fine examples that are highly prized and likely to increase in value in the future.

The present surge in the market is largely due to Chinese and Taiwanese buyers spending their relatively new wealth on buying items that have been in European private collections for some time. There has also been a change in buying patterns from established collectors, as in other areas of the Antiques and Art market; it is quality and rarity that sells well, more common wares having fallen in price. The Goldney collection sale had all the right ingredients, some top quality lots, very good provenance, realistic price guides and very good marketing, including advertising in Antiques Info magazine. It was a real fire cracker of a sale many of the buyers who had known Miss Goldney  were there to take home something from her collection but prices were particularly strong on the jade snuff bottles, when the hammer came down  many of them were heading home to the  East. Snuff taking is unlikely to gain the popularity of its heyday but the appreciation of Chinese snuff bottles is still growing and prices are set to reach new, heights.

Wellers Surrey Auction House holds regular sales of Antiques and collectables, quarterly Fine Art sales and specialist sales of 20thc Design, Decorative Arts and Vintage Fashion.

The International Chinese Snuff Bottle society regularly publishes articles on the subject and has society meetings.