Panjiayuan Flea Market, Beijing

What to buy here: Beijing Palace Lantern | Chinese calligraphy wall scrolls | Chinese ceramics | Chinese chop | Chinese Jade | Chinese jewelry | Lord Rabbit figurines | “Inside Painted” Snuff bottles |

Snuff bottles were small bottles used for carrying powdered tobacco during the Qing Dynasty. After the establishment of the Republic of China, snuff bottles were no longer produced. Snuff bottles were usually made of glass, but they could also be made of different other materials such as porcelain, ivory, jade, tortoiseshell, wood, metal and ceramic. The bottles could be simple and others beautifully decorated, the most prized being the bottles painted on the inside surface of the glass. Nowadays replicas of snuff bottles are produced and available at most souvenir shops and museum gift shops. Original Qing Dynasty snuff bottles may also be found, but they are rare and very expensive. Replica “inside painted” snuff bottles can be bought at prices ranging from $50 to $140, maybe more, depending on the material used.