heat, light, and smoke

shelf 2

Placed on the back of the hand and inhaled through the nose, finely ground tobacco, or snuff, offers a smokeless way of ingesting nicotine. The practice began in Brazil, spreading through the Americas and to Europe by the 1700s, where the custom became one of social performance, accompanied by innovatively designed snuff boxes.

 

Click an object to learn more

A dark brown teapot in the shape of a figure wearing a hat.

American

Snuff-Taker Toby Teapot, mid-1800s

Ceramic with glaze

Gift of Miss Alice Brownell, Mrs. Ernst R. Behrend and Alfred S. Brownell 29.189 

A box in the shape of a shell with mottled dark brown pattern. Silver band around bottom edge.

John Wakefield, English, active 1798–1818

Snuffbox, ca. 1800

Shell and silver



Gift of Richard and Inge Chafee 2013.73.5

Silver sculpture in the shape of a palm tree, sitting inside an urn.

Andreas Blytt, Norwegian, 1754–1825

Incense Burner, ca. 1795

Silver

Bequest of Mrs. Hope Brown Russell 09.719

Sculpture of a caricatured Chinese figure wearing a floral garment and black hat. The figure holds a small animal on their lap.

Johann Friedrich Eberlein, modeler

German, 1696–1749

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory

German, 1710–present

Incense Burner in the Form of a Chinese Man, ca. 1735

Porcelain with enamels, glaze, and gilding

Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.173

Gold colored pierced vessel with handle. Small dark figure sits on top.

German

Incense Burner, ca. 1525

Copper with gilding, silver, and bronze

Museum Works of Art Fund 48.330

A green sculpted tile of a figure with long hair and beard, holding a stick-like object.

German

Wildman Stove Tile, ca. 1480

Earthenware with lead glaze

Gift of Mr. Leopold Blumka 48.445