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Table snuffbox

Niello scenes after a print entitled Naufrage (Shipwreck) by Jacques de Lajoüe French
ca. 1745–50
Not on view
The niello, a preeminently important Russian technique of decorating silver, follows the print Naufrage by Jacques de Lajoue (1687–1761), published in Paris in 1736 and integrated into a pattern book. A copy was in Catherine's extensive library. The exuberant wave and shell-like rocaille formations perfectly illustrate the Central European Rococo style, referring to the turban snail's origins in the exotic Indo-Pacific Ocean. Related turban-snail cases bearing Chinese inscriptions document that they were imported into Russia from China, where they originally served as ceremonial wine cups.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Table snuffbox
  • Artist: Niello scenes after a print entitled Naufrage (Shipwreck) by Jacques de Lajoüe (French, Paris 1686–1761 Paris) , published in Paris 1736
  • Date: ca. 1745–50
  • Culture: Russian, probably Velikiy Ustyug
  • Medium: Green Turban snail shell; gilded, matted, punched, and engraved silver; niello
  • Dimensions: Overall: 2 1/4 × 4 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (5.7 × 10.5 × 6.4 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver In Combination
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, by exchange, and Rogers Fund, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.327
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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Panel, Jacques de Lajoüe, Marquetry of tulipwood, walnut, padouk, satin-wood, maple, and other woods, partly stained blue, green, and red, Southern German, Palatinate
Panel
Jacques de Lajoüe
ca. 1750–60
Fireworks Display for the Convalescence of Louis XV, Jacques de Lajoüe French, Pen and gray and brown ink, brush and gray wash, with watercolor, over black chalk
Fireworks Display for the Convalescence of Louis XV
Jacques de Lajoüe
François Le Moyne
1726
Study for the Rotunda of a Palace, Jacques de Lajoüe French, Red chalk with red chalk wash, with framing lines in pen and black ink
Study for the Rotunda of a Palace
Jacques de Lajoüe
n.d.
Design for the Corner of a Decoration (recto); Sketch of Monumental Building with Four Temple-Front Entrances (verso), Jacques de Lajoüe French, Pen and dark gray ink, brush and gray wash, with parallel diagonal lines and scale in black chalk, and with incised lines square off in lower part of sheet (recto); pen and gray ink over black chalk (verso). Framing lines on bottom and right side (recto)
Design for the Corner of a Decoration (recto); Sketch of Monumental Building with Four Temple-Front Entrances (verso)
Jacques de Lajoüe
ca. 1730
Design for a Folding Screen, Jacques de Lajoüe French, Pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash over traces of black chalk and graphite
Design for a Folding Screen
Jacques de Lajoüe

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