16世纪后叶,来自欧洲的传教士将盛行于西方的鼻烟带入了中国,为这个神秘的东方古国带来一股新的风尚。此后的几百年里,鼻烟在中国得到了广泛的传播与发展。到了清代,上至朝堂,下到乡野,吸食鼻烟已蔚然成风。早期盛放鼻烟的容器是欧洲传教士进献的玻璃容器及金属制鼻烟盒。但由于这两种容器多为进口,价高物少,且不易携带,所以当时的中国人结合本土的使用习惯,用装药物的小药瓶来盛放鼻烟,这便是最早的鼻烟壶。随着鼻烟的普及,一开始仅仅作为盛装鼻烟所用的容器——鼻烟壶,在清中期后渐渐成为文人与达官显贵赏玩的心爱之物,并逐渐成为一个独特的艺术品门类。 By the late 16th century, missionaries from Europe brought the snuff prevailing in the West into China, bringing a new flavor to this mysterious eastern ancient country. Snuff has been widely disseminated and developed in China for centuries. To the Qing Dynasty, up to the hall, down to the countryside, snuff smoking has become common practice. The early containers of snuff were glass containers and snuff boxes made by European missionaries. However, due to the fact that these two containers are mostly imported, less valuable and less portable, the Chinese at that time used snuff bottles to hold snuff, which was the earliest snuff bottle. With the popularization of snuff, the snuff bottle, which was used only as a snuff container at the beginning, gradually became a favorite thing for literati and dignitaries to play in the mid-Qing period and gradually became a unique art genre.