Antique snuff box with agate cameo in gold, circa 1780

In addition to our pieces of jewellery from all eras, we are also pleased to present other small treasures to you from time to time - this snuff box is one such find that we liked so much that we wanted to share it with you. Small boxes and caskets with precious decorations were first created in the 18th century to store snuff for an aristocratic audience. They quickly became sought-after collector's items that adorned every castle and apartment and were also given as gifts for special merits. In France, such pieces were called tabatière, in England snuff boxes. Probably the most famous tobacco snuffer of his time was Frederick the Great. A golden, enameled and jeweled snuff box, which he carried in his vest pocket, even saved his life during the Seven Years' War at the Battle of Kunersdorf in 1759 when a stray bullet ricocheted off it. This box is a typical piece from the height of the early tobacco enthusiasm, dating from around 1780. The box is made of tortoiseshell and mounted in gold. The top with the hinged lid shows two panels of gold with a frame of blue enamel. Classic arcanthus tendrils fill the surfaces of the elegantly frosted rectangles. A large portrait medallion made of layered agate is also set in the center of the lid. We see a man in profile, wearing a wig with side curls and a plait typical of the period. He is wearing a skirt, with a three-striped ribbon over his shoulder. He is wearing a cross-shaped medal on his chest. Who exactly is the sitter? The previous owners of the box recognized the sitter as Louis XVI, King of France. He wore the same type of wig and always wore the Order of Saint Esprit, which is also in the shape of a cross, but on a plain light blue ribbon. It may indeed be the King of France - but the depiction also resembles other high-ranking figures of the time, such as the Vice-Admiral of France under Louis XVI, Pierre André de Suffren, , see here, or the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Charles Alexander of Lorraine, , see here. Unfortunately, the attribution has not yet been completely clear. Boxes like this were popular collector's items in the 18th century and were often given as gifts, as souvenirs or as an award for loyal service. We discovered the box in Geneva.

Utropspris:SEK 85,619.94

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