18th Century, Snuffbox Depicting Historical Scene And Adoration Of The Sacred Heart

18th century
Snuffbox depicting Historical Scene and Adoration of the Sacred Heart
Gold and ivory, cm 6 x 8 x 2.5

The object in question is a refined example of a tobacco box in gilded wood and ivory, decorated with two bas-reliefs of extreme artistic value, depicting respectively on the lid a historical scene of Judgment and on the bottom of the Adoration of the Sacred Heart by two putti.

These boxes that often assumed the function of snuffboxes were usually made with precious materials such as gold, ivory or turtle, decorated with bas-reliefs and miniatures and often accompanied by engraved dedications, then be donated in particular circumstances and become a real fashion accessory indispensable. 

Their use dates back to the early seventeenth century, when the sniffing of tobacco began to be considered an act of great elegance, passing from the court to the nobility, and then spread among the people, without distinction of sex. Being an object used by all social classes, various were the types of tobacco box and the materials that constituted them. The use of giving tobacco boxes to diplomatic figures, very frequent especially in France of the seventeenth century, soon spread to all the courts of Europe, giving rise to the so-called "diplomatic snuffboxes", of an incomparable splendour, generally gold, chiseled or engraved, with edges adorned with diamonds or very light enamels: the king of Prussia Frederick the Great himself owned a vast collection, made with precious materials and decorated with gallant, pastoral or mythological scenes.

The object is accompanied by the Cites Community Certificate

The object is in good condition