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.

A common feature of boxes of the mid-eighteenth century is the allover decoration which obscures the division between the lid and the sides. The thumb piece, which made it easy for the user to open the lid, no longer is a special feature. A range of engraved backgrounds allow the subtly chased flowers to stand out in a manner which can be compared to the woven silks of the period. (see also within The Met’s collection C.I.43.90.48a and C.I.68.32.1.)

More French designs for gold boxes survive than for any other form of decorative art. The design was clearly the starting point of production and would have been shown to a marchand mercier (dealer of luxury objects) or a prospective client. A drawing in The Met’s collection (1986.1007.1) shows a design for the lid of a box which relates to this particular box.

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 over 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.