Rare Turquoise Glass Dark Blue Enameled Snuff Bottle with…

… Jade & Metal Stopper
 
This item was turned down by auction houses so we have lowered the price significantly. It is still very special so we would like to find it a home. 
 
We found nothing like this online when researching this piece. 
 
Small, airtight snuff bottles were created in China after Jesuit missionaries introduced powdered tobacco in the mid 17th century. They were designed to better suit the humid climate than the snuff boxes common in Europe. As snuff-taking became a fashionable pastime, the bottles evolved into elaborate accessories which today are collectors’ items. 
 
This unique snuff bottle appears to be made of turquoise colored glass, encaged within a dark blue frame of bars  with patterns on the neck leading up to the stopper. We suspect the bars are enamel on a raised glass surface, as visible in one spot where the enamel was forgotten. The stopper itself may be topped by a jade stone, bezel set in metal which leads down to a long metal spoon. The base of the bottle still has the original price tag.
 
There is some damage to the bars as shown in photos, but otherwise this is a beautiful, well-maintained piece.
 
We believe our grandmother inherited this from the Burr sisters who visited China in the 1920s and 1930s. It appears never used for anything other than decorative purposes.
 
H 3 9/16” x L 7/8” x D 7/8