Snuff Box
maker
Unknown
Date18th century
Place MadeFrance, Europe
MediumLacquered wood (vernis martin)
Dimensions9.6 x 7.2 x 4.9 cm (3 3/4 x 2 13/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsBoxes
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberU18e92
eMuseum ID728501
EmbARK ObjectID14214
Previous Number490
Previous NumberU18e92.a-b
TMS Source ID3029
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis box was created to hold snuff—a flavored powdered tobacco inhaled through the nose. As taking snuff grew in popularity in Europe in the 1600s, so did the demand for decorated boxes to hold the powder. This box was made in France in the 1700s with a technique meant to imitate lacquer imported from Asia. Isabella Stewart Gardner’s husband Jack purchased the box through a dealer in Boston in 1880, and Isabella displayed it in a case in the Little Salon alongside Chinese snuff bottles.
BibliographyNotesVictoria Kitirattragarn, “Mesmerizing and Masterful Miniatures: History and Treatment of Snuff Bottles,” Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 5 September 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/mesmerizing-and-masterful-miniatures-history-and-treatment-snuff-bottles
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner's husband John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837-1898) through the dealer Doll & Richards, Boston on 24 December 1880 for $45.
