A Repoussé Copper ‘Dragons’ Snuff Bottle Qing Dynasty, 18th / 19th Century

Max Chitters.

Moss et al., 1996-2009, vol. 7, no. 1612.

The line joining the two halves visible up the sides and into the lip. Some wear from use to the design on both narrow sides.
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The method of construction here is in no doubt. The design has been achieved by beating sheets of thin copper into the same mould twice, creating the two halves of the main bottle, including the neck. These were then soldered together, and the circular foot was soldered on as a third piece. The method is very obvious, since the design appears on the inside in negative, as always when a thin sheet of copper is beaten into a mould with an integral design. Details of the surface may then be chased with cold steel or iron, but the basic process is the repoussémethod.

Since the bottle is the only one known, it is particularly difficult to date with much confidence, and it may be early; but a more likely date is probably the eighteenth century, and even the mid-Qing period. A piece of copper well used for a few decades could very easily exhibit wear of this nature; it is a soft material and wears easily.