Evolution of the craft

The development of snuff bottles was closely related to interior painting, says Zhang Guangqing, a national arts and crafts master.

During the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Matteo Ricci, an Italian missionary, presented snuff as a tribute to Emperor Wanli. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the nomadic lifestyle of the Manchu people, who traveled on horseback, made snuff even more popular.

As a result, snuff bottles became a symbol of the aristocracy. However, with the rise of tobacco, snuff seemed to have, well, snuffed it.

But a surprising turn of events happened when the snuff bottles gradually lost their practical value. The aristocrats started to see them as playthings and added some bells and whistles, hence inside-painted snuff bottles coming into being.

"Interior painting once relied on a bamboo brush dipped in pigments, making it difficult to control the thickness of lines and variations in solidity," Zhang says.