Collections
The Röhsska Museum has an extensive collection of about 50 000 artefacts, spanning craft, design and fashion. The collection is divided into various smaller collections, inter alia furniture, metal, industrial design, textile, costume, sketches, prints and illustrations, glass, ceramics, book bindings and the East Asian collection. The museum also holds other kinds of collections with specific items, like the Japanese woodblock print collection or the Falk Simon donation which holds an impressive collection of gold and silver artefacts. Here is an introduction to some of our collections.
Snuff bottles
Despite Chinese snuff bottles being a popular collector’s item since the end of the 19th century, little is known about this category of artefacts. The earliest known dated snuff bottle is from around 1650, and they were made in bronze. Production of snuff bottles was particularly intensive during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and peaked during the 1700s. Smoking tobacco was prohibited, but snuff was permitted because the Chinese used the dried, finely ground tobacco leaf as a cure for colds and headaches, as well as for stomach problems and when giving birth. Snuff was regarded as a cure-all.
Medicine was often stored in bottles in China, so it was natural for snuff to be stored in them too. Slightly larger bottles were used at home and smaller ones could be carried in the robe’s wide sleeves or held in the hand. Some bottle shapes feel extra tactile and lie comfortably in the hand. The sizes of the Chinese bottles have remained the same over the years, but the materials, shapes and ornamentation have varied. A different shape of snuff bottle is called “Buddha’s hand” and represents a citrus fruit (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis) that symbolises wealth, happiness and longevity. Such a snuff bottle in white jade can be found at Röhsska Museum (RKM 1471-1915).
By the end of the 17th century snuff taking had become an important part of upper class rituals and, in 1680, palace workshops for producing snuff bottles were founded by Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722). Snuff bottles, sometimes with European motifs, were popular gifts among high ranking Chinese officials, but they could also be given as gifts by Europeans. In 1725, Pope Benedict XIII gave snuff bottles as a gift to China. He was able to do this thanks to the Jesuits he had previously sent to China to learn more about the producing miniatures in Beijing’s palace workshops.
The Chinese manufactured snuff bottles in most materials; agate, amber, glass, jade, porcelain and coral. Most of the more exotic materials, such as mammoth teeth, ivory, shell and fossils appear during the 1800s and were little used. The stopper and the small snuff spoon were often made in a different material to the bottle, such as coral. The Chinese snuff bottles owned by the Röhsska Museum are primarily porcelain, but also include glass, clear quartz, agate, ivory and enamel.
In the early 1700s, the Chinese succeeded in manufacturing snuff bottles of good quality glass; a Chinese speciality was painting the inside of the glass. The surface was prepared with a oxygenated powder after which the inside was painted using an extremely thin brush through the bottle’s neck. This technique was developed at the end of the 1700s and schools were established in the 19th century, to which several known artists can be linked. One way of representing the seabed and providing an illusion of seaweed was painting the fish inside a bottle of clear quartz with inlaid tourmaline. One such snuff bottle (RKM 1512-1915) was purchased in Peking by Torild Wulff. The bottle is signed Yeh Chung San (Ye Zhong-san).
Medicine was often stored in bottles in China, so it was natural for snuff to be stored in them too. Slightly larger bottles were used at home and smaller ones could be carried in the robe’s wide sleeves or held in the hand. Some bottle shapes feel extra tactile and lie comfortably in the hand. The sizes of the Chinese bottles have remained the same over the years, but the materials, shapes and ornamentation have varied. A different shape of snuff bottle is called “Buddha’s hand” and represents a citrus fruit (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis) that symbolises wealth, happiness and longevity. Such a snuff bottle in white jade can be found at Röhsska Museum (RKM 1471-1915).
By the end of the 17th century snuff taking had become an important part of upper class rituals and, in 1680, palace workshops for producing snuff bottles were founded by Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722). Snuff bottles, sometimes with European motifs, were popular gifts among high ranking Chinese officials, but they could also be given as gifts by Europeans. In 1725, Pope Benedict XIII gave snuff bottles as a gift to China. He was able to do this thanks to the Jesuits he had previously sent to China to learn more about the producing miniatures in Beijing’s palace workshops.
The Chinese manufactured snuff bottles in most materials; agate, amber, glass, jade, porcelain and coral. Most of the more exotic materials, such as mammoth teeth, ivory, shell and fossils appear during the 1800s and were little used. The stopper and the small snuff spoon were often made in a different material to the bottle, such as coral. The Chinese snuff bottles owned by the Röhsska Museum are primarily porcelain, but also include glass, clear quartz, agate, ivory and enamel.
In the early 1700s, the Chinese succeeded in manufacturing snuff bottles of good quality glass; a Chinese speciality was painting the inside of the glass. The surface was prepared with a oxygenated powder after which the inside was painted using an extremely thin brush through the bottle’s neck. This technique was developed at the end of the 1700s and schools were established in the 19th century, to which several known artists can be linked. One way of representing the seabed and providing an illusion of seaweed was painting the fish inside a bottle of clear quartz with inlaid tourmaline. One such snuff bottle (RKM 1512-1915) was purchased in Peking by Torild Wulff. The bottle is signed Yeh Chung San (Ye Zhong-san).
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