Talk:Snuff bottle

Talk 1

Wow, this is an amazing article, written by a true connoisseur. Too bad it's doomed to revision into blandness. David G Brault 03:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not seeing what the problem is. The tone has style but it is not un-encyclopedic. Editors and administrators should keep in mind that encyclopedias have traditionally utilized professional and experts to perform writing duties when necessary. To this end, Britannica, Americana, Africana, etcetera, have permitted a certain degree of latitude when it comes to prose style.

The information in this article is extremely well-presented and free of grammatical errors. If anything, this article might be worthy of featured status. If nothing else, it is several degrees better than many articles I have read of similar importance that are horribly written and beyond editing. Jackbox1971 23:31, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm also not sure what is in dispute here in terms of style. I agree with Jackbox1971's assessment above. Some guidance from Wiki admins, perhaps? 65.96.168.182 21:01, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Talk 2

I removed tag

after removing effusive or POV comments - I may have overdone it but I don't think so. The article could now do with a more pleasing rearrangement of pictures, not all of the same width down the right hand side, especially in the "Inside painted" bottles section--User:Brenont 01:33, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Painting Technique

I had the pleasure to watch several artists painting such bottles. Nobody laid on his/her back. They worked sitting or standing, with the bottle either held by some fixture or just holding it in their hand, while inserting a very small brush through the bottleneck. The brush always had a little hinge in the metal section that is operated by a thin steel wire held together with the brush handle so after insertin into the bottle the brush's hair stands in a 90 degree angle off the handle. The painter is "interweaving" the fingers of the hand, that holds the bottle with the hand, that holds the brush in oder to avoid trembling. The inside of the bottle was frosted before using hydrofluoric acid so the artist has to move the tip of the brush very slowly towards the surface his is going to paint because he will see the shadow of the brushtip approaching the glass very late. Correcting mistakes from slipped or misplaced brush strokes are very difficult to remove. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.86.180.127 (talk) 16:47, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

External links modified

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Non-notable person, and unencyclopedic language

Under the heading "History", someone has added a final paragraph which reads "So far, the inside painted snuff bottle is still being produced and regards as a work of art. Some master's work such as Wang Xisan are considered to be precious artwork instead of souvenir crafts." This is not encyclopedic language, and the mention of someone who has not been established as notable by WP's standards is contrary to WP policy and should be removed. In fact I would advocate for removing the entire paragraph as it adds nothing of value to the article, but I will give others a chance to weigh-in before removing it. Bricology (talk) 09:50, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

One might go to "High-quality hand-painted snuff bottles are still produced by a small number of Chinese artists, as well as mass production of transfer-printed ones". Johnbod (talk) 13:56, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

This review is transcluded from Talk:Snuff bottle/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Generalissima (talk · contribs) 22:31, 4 July 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: MSincccc (talk · contribs) 15:31, 5 July 2025 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable, as shown by a source spot-check.

   a (reference section): b (inline citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

Prose

Lead

• Could the relevant language template be added to the article mainspace?
• the European snuff-boxes→European snuff-boxes
• by the 1800 → by the 1800s

History

• The first reliable evidence of snuff bottles is during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor...
  • is during → dates to
• Domestic snuff production began around the end of the century in Yanzhou, Shandong; however, this was generally judged...
  • around→by
  • is during → dates to

Design

• quandrangular → quadrangular
• can be → could be
  • Past tense aligns with “were produced.”
• Stoppers are often topped → Stoppers were often topped
  • Past tense to match the historical framing (“featured,” “was used”).
• These are themselves often topped → These were themselves often topped
  • Again, for tense consistency.
• the emperor whose reign→ the emperor under whose reign
• “stands which allow” → “stands which allowed”
• boxes have → boxes had
• These have cavities... → These had cavities...
  • The paragraph starts with past tense (“were often placed,” “were often transported”), so verbs should remain in past tense for consistency. MSincccc (talk) 13:51, 7 July 2025 (UTC)

Materials

• complicated figure moulds → complicated figure molds
• lend themselves to be made → lend themselves to being made
  • Correct idiom in American English: “lend themselves to being” + past participle.
• Quartz was often chosen for the rich colors often found in the rock. The word "often" is repeated unnecessarily in the same sentence.
• Ivory is common → Ivory was common
  • Past tense to match “were made,” since this is historical description.
• are fashioned → were fashioned
  • Consistent with the historical context.
• and generally feature lacquer stoppers → and generally featured lacquer stoppers

 ⟶ Past tense for consistency with the sentence (“were produced…”). MSincccc (talk) 05:15, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Decoration

• was primarily done → were primarily done
  • Compound subject (engraving and carving) = plural verb.
• are generally representational figures → were generally representational figures
  • include → included
  • To match past tense framing.
• are often painted → were often painted
• can feature” → could feature
• was carved the design → were carved the designs
• feature → featured
• feature intricate designs → featured intricate designs
• rub away at → rub away

Collecting

• Link Chinese art?
• western interest → Western interest

Bottom line The article as a whole reads well. I enjoyed reading through the prose — this was my first introduction to snuff bottles. A few corrections to bring about tense consistency and the prose will meet GA standards. MSincccc (talk) 17:54, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

Image review

• To quote Nikkimaria, to whom I’m grateful for their assistance with the images (not my area of expertise):

File:雍亲王题书堂深居图屏•观书沉吟轴_(cropped).jpg is missing a US tag. For the rest, all except the lead image appear to be 3D works located in places without freedom of panorama, so they all need explicit tagging for the bottles themselves, not just the photos. MSincccc (talk) 17:17, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

@MSincccc: Added the tags. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 16:03, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

@MSincccc: just checking in here if there's anything left to do! Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 18:18, 24 July 2025 (UTC)

No. I will conduct a spot check once I have the proper time (likely this weekend). Thank you for your cooperation. MSincccc (talk) 18:41, 24 July 2025 (UTC)

Images

• I would suggest adding alt text to the captions of all the images.

I've made a start here. The prose is interesting and engaging. mi wile e ni: sina kama jo e wile pi pali mi. (I hope you found my suggestions useful.) MSincccc (talk) 13:31, 6 July 2025 (UTC)

Okay! Got to all these. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 15:44, 6 July 2025 (UTC)

@MSincccc: And got to the new set. Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 06:54, 15 July 2025 (UTC)

Source-to-text spot check

• 2- Done
• 8- Done
• 20- Done
• 24- Done
• 34- Done

MSincccc (talk) 09:33, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by AirshipJungleman29 talk 15:58, 23 August 2025 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

Porcelain snuff bottle, 18th century

• ... that some Chinese snuff bottles (example pictured) were made to look like people?

• Source: Perry, Lilla A. (1960). Chinese Snuff Bottles: The Adventures & Studies of a Collector. Tuttle. OCLC 39631633. p. 42

• • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Grape surgery

Improved to Good Article status by Generalissima (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 117 past nominations.

Generalissima (talk) (it/she) 15:56, 27 July 2025 (UTC).

• article is long enough, recently promoted to GA, and within policy. Hook is short enough and interesting. AGF on the offline source. QPQ is complete. Photo is good to go too. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 00:22, 29 July 2025 (UTC)