• Height:
  3/4" Inches
• Diameter:
  2" Inches
• Period:
  18th Century
• Origin:
  France

Brilliant guilloché enamel adorns each side of this exceptional French gold snuff box. This circular-formed box was crafted by and bears the marks of Jean-Joseph Barriere as well as the charge, discharge and later countermark of Henri Clavel and Jean François Kalenduin.  The taking of snuff was a highly regarded social ritual among the European elite from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Snuff box manufacturers were regarded as artists, creating and designing these elegant little boxes using fine metals, gems, and other luxurious materials. This small treasure is a masterful example of the luxury arts that goldsmiths, jewelers, and miniature portrait painters of the era produced. While gold is the main component of snuff boxes, they also feature a range of exotic and precious materials from around the world, including precious stones; lacquer panels; enamelwork; rock crystal; and glazed figural, landscape, and portrait paintings.

Paris, 1782

2" diameter x 3/4" high