Snuffbox

Small gold boxes intended to hold snuff, a form of powdered and often scented tobacco, became a focus of an elaborate social ritual and a symbol of extravagance and vanity in eighteenth-century France.

The containers were usually of such luxurious nature that they were the ultimate fashion accessories in eighteenth-century Europe and were frequently given as presents. Beginning in the 1720s and continuing up to the French Revolution, snuff boxes were produced in significant quantities.

This box is entirely decorated with scenes of classical ruins in relief against a matt ground.

Engravings after well-known artists circulated throughout Europe and were frequently used as sources by chasers, enamellers, and miniaturists for the decoration of gold boxes. Jacques de Lajoüe (1686–1761) was one such influential designer: his compositions of architectural fantasies and stage-sets may have been the impetus for the decoration of this box. (compare, for instance, 35.76.2 and 1978.508). Additionally, many engraved and drawn designs specifically for snuffboxes were produced, examples of which are in the Met’s collection (see 44.54.42,.44.54.55, and 44.54.54).

Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum.