The agate bottle is of compressed form with a slightly concave lip and an oval bottom with a slightly raised foot. The cap is carved tortoise shell and the spoon is bone. The alternate bands of dark and light colors give the bottle a rather mysterious aura. In the Qing Dynasty, the most popular materials for making snuff bottles were jade, painted enamels and glass. Some agates were appreciated, especially those that could be cut into cameos. Agates and other color stones were only secondary. It was not until the 1970's when new technology allowed the easy cutting of color stones. Snuff bottle carvers experimented with different stones and were happy with the availability of materials that used to be rare, such as malachite, and chatoyant gemstones. They have the skill and ability to carve the stones showing off their best advantage. This is quite a successful bottle. 2 inches wide x 2.75 inches high.