兩獲世博獎項的清代鼻煙壺

鼻煙壺曾是舶來品，明朝時候由意大利傳教士帶來中國。但是經中國傳統(tǒng)藝術改頭換面之后，其制作和繪畫技術日益精致，成為身份、品味的象征。在1862年倫敦世博會和1915年巴拿馬世博會上，中國的鼻煙壺都曾獲得獎章。

"鼻煙壺"的英語是snuff bottle，這個是特指中國清代開始流行使用的鼻煙壺，而其西方原型被稱為snuff box。

Original snuff bottles from the Qing period are a desirable target for serious collectors and museums. A good bottle has an extra quality over and above its exquisite beauty and value: that is touch. Snuff bottles were made to be held and so, as a rule, they have a wonderful tactile quality.
清代鼻煙壺是很珍貴的藏品，其珍貴之處不僅在于外形和價值，還在于其手感。鼻煙壺是被人握在手中把玩的，所以有著很細膩的質地和觸感。

Snuff bottles were made out of many different materials including porcelain, jade, ivory, wood, tortoiseshell, metal and ceramic, though probably the most commonly used material was glass.
鼻煙壺有多種材質，有瓷質的，玉質的，象牙質的，木質的，龜殼質的，金屬質的和陶瓷質，最普通的就是玻璃質地的。

在世博會上拿獎的是內畫鼻煙壺，inside-painted snuff bottles。所謂內畫，就是用特制的細筆，在鼻煙壺內手繪出精致的圖畫：

The class of bottle that arouses most interest  is that known as inside painted. These are glass bottles which have pictures and often calligraphy painted on the inside surface of the glass.These delightful scenes are only an inch or two high and are painted while manipulating the brush through the neck of the bottle.
鼻煙壺中人們最感興趣的就是內畫鼻煙壺，也就是在壺的內部進行繪畫或者書法創(chuàng)作。壺內的圖案只有一兩尺高，是通過將畫筆塞進壺嘴來進行繪制的。

內畫鼻煙壺今天仍然有制作，作為一種純粹的藝術品，鼻煙壺已經抹去了最初的實用價值。在壺內進行手繪的這門技藝，卻一代代傳了下來，成為傳統(tǒng)藝術中的精粹。