Snuffbox

In eighteenth-century Europe, Paris led the production of high-quality luxury goods. Parisian goldsmiths made a wide range of small, personal articles such as snuffboxes; étuis to hold sealing wax, tweezers, or utensils for sewing; souvenirs, which contained thin ivory tablets for note taking; and shuttles for knotting lace. Gold snuffboxes and boxes decorated with portrait miniatures were prized and frequently given as royal gifts, often to ambassadors or members of the court in lieu of cash payments for their services. Coveted and admired, these boxes were produced from a variety of materials. The best were skillfully made of gold and embellished with diamonds, enameled decoration, lacquer, and other luxurious materials. By the middle of the century, the taking of snuff had become an entrenched social ritual, and the snuffbox, too, had become an important social prop. Snuffboxes were considered highly fashionable accessories, with some merchants advertising new boxes with each change of season. The popularity of snuffboxes extended to all levels of society, and for those who could not afford gold, boxes were produced in less expensive materials such as silver, tortoiseshell, porcelain, or domestically produced lacquer.

The box is one of at least six enameled in similar fashion and dated to between 1747/48 and 1756/57. This high-relief flower enameling has been attributed to Louis-François Aubert (master 1748, died 1755), who was described after his death as goldsmith and painter in enamels to the King. None of the boxes enameled in this manner bears his signature, and identification of his work has been deduced from contemporary descriptions of his style. As one box of the group was made after Aubert’s death and therefore must be considered the product of his workshop (which survived until the death of his widow in 1758), it seems prudent to withhold a definite attribution at the present time.