Beautiful Tibetan snuff or medicine bottle made from a cow's horn, decorated with Tibetan silver plating, skull appliques and some (faux) gemstone cabochons. From vintage origin, but overall in good condition.
Snuff bottles were (and sometimes still are) used to store finely ground tobacco in, often mixed with various fragrant herbs. The snuffing of tobacco probably has its origin in China's Qing dynasty. During this time the smoking of tobacco was prohibited, but the snuffing of it was allowed, because it was believed to have various medical advantages. From there it found its way over the world, not only for its assumed medical benefits but also because the snuffing of tobacco became more and more a fashionable thing.
Snuff tobacco found its way into Tibet with the Silk route trading during the 17th and 18th century and with it a whole new area of craftmanship begin; that of making snuff containers, in which Tibet nowadays probably has one of the richest legacies all over the world. Tibetan snuff bottles vary from simple, purely functional objects to elaborately decorated and very valuable bottles. Often the used materials, designs, techniques and decorations form a distinct expression of the maker's and/or user's social standing, cultural and ancestral heritage and spiritual beliefs. They can be used both in daily life as in ritual settings, and are often hereditary objects that are handed down from generation to generation.
This cow horn snuff bottle is approximately 14 centimeters long (measured including the cap) and weighs 49 grams. It is from vintage origin and comes from Tibet. The skull appliques point to it having a tantric buddhist origin. The cap can be taken off and holds also a little spoon, used to bring the snuff powder to the nose.
