Snuff bottle and spatula made from metal, coral, and turquoise. The bottle is elaborately decorated, with stone insets. The spatula is made of white metal and is also used as a lid for the container. Label: one yellow exhibition label, printed.
19th century Tibetan snuff bottle. Snuff (a mixture of tobacco, cardamon and other spices) was popular in Tibet. Nomads carried their snuff in animal horns or wooden containers, but the nobility carried ornate bottles like this (and often used finer ones of materials such as jade imported from China). Smoking was rare before 1950, although sometimes used medicinally to cure headaches.
