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A report by Colossal spotlights London-based artist Hannah Lim’s sculptural snuff bottles, which reinterpret traditional forms through her British-Singaporean heritage and research into Chinoiserie and Chinese mythology. Her solo exhibition, Reimaginings, is on view at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath through November 14, 2026; Lim is also developing other projects, including a public artwork in Paddington.
London-based artist Hannah Lim is reworking the traditional Chinese snuff bottle as a large, sculptural form, drawing on her British-Singaporean heritage, historical ceramics and Chinese mythology. A Colossal report on the work coincides with Lim’s solo exhibition, Reimaginings, at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath, which is scheduled to run through November 14, 2026.
Traditional snuff bottles were small containers for powdered, scented tobacco, designed to be portable. Lim’s versions are several inches tall and generally require both hands to hold. Colossal reports that the artist first encountered examples in U.K. museum collections, where their varied ornament and designs prompted her to experiment with similar motifs and then enlarge the form.
Lim describes the work as engaging with Chinoiserie, a European design practice that imitated Chinese and other Asian motifs for Western audiences. “In my own work, I attempt to reclaim and re-imagine this practice in a more conscientious way,” she says in a statement quoted by Colossal. She adds that the sculptures often draw on particular cultural styles or processes.
The bottles combine polymer clay and Jesmonite, a material made from mineral powder and liquid acrylic polymer. Lim finishes them with chalk, acrylic paint and gloss, and decorates them with painted or relief images of animals and imagined creatures. Each bottle has a charm concealed in its lid, a detail Lim says refers to the small spoon traditionally attached to a snuff-bottle lid.
A Larger Form for Cultural Reinterpretation
Lim’s work puts a historically small, functional object into a different physical and interpretive setting. The enlarged scale makes the bottles read as sculptures rather than containers, while their ornaments connect them to the history of collecting and adapting Asian design in Europe. That relationship is part of the artist’s stated subject: she describes trying to revisit Chinoiserie more conscientiously, rather than simply repeat its visual language.
The work also brings personal heritage into conversation with research into specific historical forms. Lim has said that her earlier bottles emphasized personal aspects of her background, while later pieces reflect different stages of her research. The shift gives audiences a way to see the series not as a fixed set of motifs but as an evolving artistic inquiry. The exhibition in Bath offers a current opportunity to encounter that work in person.
These are Lim’s own artistic interpretations, not historical reproductions. Her use of a hidden charm, contemporary materials and mythological imagery alters the bottle’s scale, function and meaning. The distinction matters because the project addresses the history of cultural borrowing while remaining a contemporary sculptural practice.
large sculptural snuff bottle replica
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From Museum Objects to Mythic Forms
Snuff bottles emerged in China in the 17th century, according to the Colossal report. Snuff was powdered tobacco, originally from the Americas, often scented and inhaled through the nose using a small spoon. The practice and its ornamental containers became popular among affluent users. Their compact size made the bottles portable, and their decoration varied across examples Lim saw in U.K. museum collections.
Lim’s references extend beyond ceramics. She has drawn on classical Chinese literature, particularly The Classic of Mountains and Seas, an ancient text described in the report as a largely fantastical account of more than 550 mountains and 300 waterways. Lim says she has been interpreting the text through creatures described in its “enchanting alchemic” passages, using them as inspiration for recent sculptures and paintings.
Colossal also reports that Lim is experimenting with metal and scale. Recent work such as Orchid Table uses laser-cut elements, and she makes bespoke frames intended to extend her paintings. The report identifies a forthcoming public artwork in Paddington, London, later in 2026, alongside work shown with Cynthia Corbett Gallery in Paris.
Details of Future Projects Remain Open
The report does not give the exact dates for Lim’s presentation with Cynthia Corbett Gallery in Paris, described only as taking place later in October, or provide further details about the Paddington public artwork, which is expected later in 2026. Its location, design and unveiling date are not specified. The report also does not state whether the Bath exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue or related public programming.
Colossal’s account describes Lim’s materials, references and stated aims, but it does not provide independent evaluation of how audiences or curators interpret the work. The artist’s comments about cultural reclamation are her own account of her practice; the report does not establish a broader consensus about the series’ cultural impact.
Bath Exhibition Runs Through November
Reimaginings is scheduled to remain on view at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath through November 14, 2026. Colossal says Lim will also show work with Cynthia Corbett Gallery in Paris later in October and unveil a new public artwork in Paddington later this year. Specific dates and further project details were not included in the report, so those announcements remain the next milestones to watch.
Lim is continuing to test materials and formats, including metal, laser-cut components and frames that carry motifs beyond the surface of her paintings. The available reporting does not set out a timetable for those experiments or identify which will appear in future exhibitions. For now, the Bath show provides the clearest confirmed opportunity to see the snuff-bottle sculptures and related work.
Key Questions
Where can visitors see Hannah Lim’s snuff-bottle sculptures?
Lim’s solo exhibition Reimaginings is at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath through November 14, 2026, according to Colossal.
How are Lim’s sculptures different from traditional snuff bottles?
Traditional snuff bottles were small and portable. Lim’s versions are several inches tall and usually need to be held with both hands, making them sculptural objects rather than typical pocket-sized containers.
What materials does Lim use?
The reported works combine polymer clay and Jesmonite, with chalk, acrylic paint and gloss used for surface finishing.
What inspires the imagery on the bottles?
Lim draws on historical ceramics, Chinoiserie, her British-Singaporean heritage and Chinese mythology. Colossal reports that The Classic of Mountains and Seas has informed creatures in her recent sculptures and paintings.
What projects are expected after the Bath exhibition?
Colossal reports a presentation with Cynthia Corbett Gallery in Paris later in October 2026 and a new public artwork in Paddington later in the year. The report does not provide exact dates or further details.
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