A tiny brush is used to paint on the inside surface of these palm-sized vessels. Photo: CFP

Le Bing, 43, bought his first interior-painted snuff bottle in 1997. Attracted by the exquisite landscape painted inside the glass, he paid 90 yuan for it at Panjiayuan Antique Market. As he learned more about the little bottles, he started to collect them in earnest in 2006. Now he owns 300 bottles.

Over time, he began to seek out a rarer variant featuring enamel paint on translucent glass. He has collected about 70 of those bottles, most crafted in the late 19th century and early 20th century by artists who once worked at the imperial court.

"The biggest pleasure for me is that after much effort, I have collected a series - several bottles of similar craftsmanship from the same period," Le said.

Antique snuff bottles can sell for hundreds of thousands of yuan. Le said it is not always easy to find the genuine article.

Whenever he traveled on business, the first thing he would do in a new city was visit the local antique market and search for good snuff bottles.

"I don't show them off. I put them in boxes and only open and savor them when I am by myself. Few of my acquaintances really know how to appreciate these objects," Le said.

Although it was fashionable for Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) aristocrats to carry snuff and fragrant spices in tiny bottles, the practice was nearly forgotten after the founding of New China. The trend of collecting historical items has picked up in the last decade, said Liu Shouben, 70, who has painted snuff bottles since 1960.

Liu said he loves painting scenes from history and literature because of the stories they convey.

"My favorite scenes are 'looking for plum blossoms in the snow,' which symbolizes the search for poetic inspiration, and 'making three calls at the thatched cottage,' which signifies a ruler entreating someone to accept an official post," Liu said.

Interior painting requires great patience and the dexterity to handle tiny tools. Most snuff bottles are seven to eight centimeters tall and five centimeters wide. "One must use a hooked brush inside the tiny bottle through a pea-size bottle mouth," Liu said.

The inner-painting snuff bottles produced by modern craftsmen such as Liu are more affordable, priced between one hundred yuan to several thousand yuan.

Xie Shanshan, 50, who has been painting snuff bottles for 31 years, said that she and other painters have introduced some innovations to expand the potential pool of buyers.

"We have made more practical decorative articles like necklace pendants and rearview mirror ornaments. Because they are much cheaper, around one hundred yuan each, they are becoming more popular these days," Xie said.

Guo Haifeng, 35, has been painting snuff bottles for 14 years, which he sells to wholesale companies in Guangdong Province.

"The most important qualification for interior-painting is patience and peace of mind. Some corners, such as the upper right corner, are difficult to reach, as most people are right-handed," Guo said. "Trying to master such delicate brushstrokes can create a lot of pressure. Out of 100 students, less than 20 will persevere and become professional artists. Some novices get so frustrated that they end up smashing the bottles on the floor."