Glass snuff bottles were often made with several colors overlaid on a monochrome base. The pattern was usually refined by carving after the overlay work was completed. The snuff bottle pictured left has a polychrome overlay in the shape of a Chi-lin (auspicious creature in Chinese legend) exhaling a book. The body of the bottle, 2 inches high and l.5 inches wide, is translucent crimson overlaid with white and green glass. The back is decorated with a carp exhaling a piece of jade.
One of the more unusual snuff bottles is this one below made of gourd, which was created by forcing live gourd to grow into a copper mold. The chance of successfully making a bottle in this way is only about one in 500, hence, the rare and precious nature of the piece.
Overlay Glass and Gourd Snuff Bottles.