Chinese snuff bottles are made of a wide variety of materials. These include coral, ivory, jade, mother of pearl, quartz, malachite, turquoise as well as gold, silver and many more exotic materials. Despite the number of exotic materials to choose from, glass remained the most popular substance to use. The most charming and truly fascinating snuff bottles are those with paintings painted on the interior walls. These are painted from the inside out through a special technique. First, the bottles are painted inside with iron oxide mixed with water. This creates a milky white surface suitable to take the paints. Though snuff bottles are small in size, the accomplished artist can produce on the limited apace the whole gamut of traditional Chinese painting -- human portraits, landscapes, flowers and birds, and calligraphy.
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