Snuffbox

Joseph Taylor British

Not on view

Joseph Taylor, the maker of this snuffbox, had premises in Birmingham as well as London. His trade card describes him as a “Working Gold and Silversmith, Jeweller, Tortoiseshell and Ivory box, Gilt and General Toy Manufacturer.” A vinaigrette (1983.575.45) and caddy spoon (97.2.180) made by the same silversmith are also in The Met’s collection.



The lid of this curved snuffbox is decorated with wrigglework while a basket-weave patterning is found on the sides. The reserve on the lid, intended to personalize the snuff box with the owner’s name or initials, is left blank. Whimsical animal shapes are found on the underside which would be visible only to the user of the box.

Snuffbox, Joseph Taylor (British, 1767–1827), Silver, British, Birmingham

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.