Dragoness Eclectic's Journal

I promised Chinese snuff bottles, didn't I?

Snuff bottles were originally made as portable containers for finely ground tobacco mixed with aromatic herbs and spices, known as snuff. Chinese snuff was intended to be inhaled, which caused not only a nicotine 'rush', but also sneezing and a clearing of the nasal passages. The Chinese believed snuff could cure headaches, lockjaw, stomach disorders, coughs, asthma and many other illnesses. Originally brought from the New World by European traders, snuff, and all the accoutrements necessary for 'snuffing' became extremely popular during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). European missionaries, particularly the Jesuits, used snuff, and presented it as gifts and as part of their tribute to the early Qing emperors. The emperors, in turn, had their workshops fashion snuff bottles out of precious materials both for their own use and to be given as tokens of imperial favor....

quote from NOMA placard on the collection of Chinese snuff bottles
( Snuff bottles )

Yesterday, Becky and I visited the New Orleans Museum of Art. (I will be posting pictures later). I took pictures of things that interested me, and some stuff that Becky wanted reference images of. Among the things I took pictures of were two paintings by the French Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme.

Though many of Gérôme's paintings are on the web, I was surprised to find out that the two Gérômes held by the New Orleans Museum of Art were not--in fact they weren't mentioned at all as even existing, so I uploaded them to Wikimedia Commons.

• Turkish Bashi Bazouk Mercenaries Playing Chess in a Market Place
  
• The Snake Charmer (Not the famous one that is all over the internet, but a different painting of the same name).