Folk art in the Ton

Inner Painting

A painted snuff bottle is a traditional Chinese handicraft. Commonly used raw materials include glass, crystal, amber, and agate. Dating back nearly 200 years, its initial function was for carrying snuff, but now it has mainly become a piece of artwork. Enjoying the painted bottle is much like appreciating Chinese paintings, since they both reflect the essence of Chinese traditional culture. The only difference is that painting is done on Chinese rice paper, while bottle painting is done inside the bottle.

This painted bottle is a special category of art. The artist has to adopt a reverse angle operation, that is, "view the picture from the front but do it from the opposite side." The brush hook stretching into the small bottle is a special pen, which requires tremendous skill in painting and calligraphy with a keen sense of art. Like Chinese traditional painting, bottle painting requires a sense of composition, mood, colors, seals and other inscriptions. Despite the small space inside the snuff bottle, the picture is filled with colorful spirits, thus winning the hearts of many art collectors of all ages.