Images(3)

Snuff or tobacco box

Dateca. 1720

OriginEngland, London (probably)

MediumTortoiseshell; Silver; Gold (Silver-gilt); mother-of-pearl

DimensionsH: :5/8"; L: 3 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1971-240

DescriptionGilt lined silver; tortoiseshell plaque with silver and mother-of-pearl inlay.
Label TextThis example is representative of a considerable group of early eighteenth-century oval boxes of shallow depth with externally hinged covers, inset with tortoise-shell plaques inlaid with silver and usually mother-of-pearl. The decorative technique is known as pique. The classical scene depicted on the cover is that of Diana turning Actaeon into a stag.
ProvenanceSpink & Son Ltd., London
Acquired by CWF in 1971.