Featured Celadon Glaze Porcelain Snuff Bottle

This little snuff bottle was in a small lot of Oriental vintage, mostly touristy items, along with a couple of other snuff bottles which were inside painted glass and very nice. I thought it must be an inexpensive modern item but after looking for something similar on the internet I could only find some antique and very expensive ones. Mine doesn't seem to have any signs of age, particularly on the base, but I like the dragons. Do you think it is a mass-produced modern one, decorative value only, or does it have a bit of value? I have learnt not to trust my own, inexperienced assumptions, but to ask the experts first! It is about 6cms high. The colour is a bit greener than the photos.

 

A sweet bottle. Celadon and dragons, what's not to like.
It dates from the 1950s-70s. The plastic spoon, the shape of the cork, and the shape of the stopper top are all indicative of the period.
So not collectible, but very decorative.

 

The spoons are often lost, and might be replaced. Is there anything about the bottle itself that might suggest a date?

 

They are usually replaced with those coral or jade topped brass spoons which you can buy separately. This spoon and stopper combo always came with a bottle, it was never sold separately.

The general look is the same period as the stopper and spoon. And the inside of the bottle is too rough and sloppy to be an antique celadon snuff bottle.
I like it, but there is nothing about it that says antique to me.

 

Thank you, just what I needed to know, and things to look out for in the future. Not old, but not brand new, so vintage, I suppose. I want to sell it to subsidise the inside-painted ones I'm keeping, so I hope that someone likes dragons even if not antique.

 

Many people love dragons, I do. And some even collect anything dragon related.
I would probably have bought a bottle like this, if the price was right.

 

Agree not very old and not great quality. That said good snuff bottles are super expensive and a lot of people collect them. Most people can’t afford legit antique snuff bottles sold at market price. So the nice enough vintage ones still have a good market when sold at fair prices. The dragon is kinda wonky on this one but I don’t doubt it will sell. I’d flip it if bought cheap enough.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with liking dragons, just that the dragons seemed to be the only thing going for this particular item! I rather like them too. I once had a little Awaji bowl with a dragon on either side, which was very attractive. On that one and on this the dragons seem to differ on opposite sides, one looks much fiercer than the other. Do you happen to know the story behind that?

 

Oh, I hadn't understood it that way, I just meant to confirm that people like dragons, so their is probably interest in the bottle.

I think it could appeal to a budding snuff bottle collector. As well as dragon aficionados, of course.