There are 4 other images of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

 

See more objects with the tag personal, luxury, face, Moorish, tobacco, snuff box.

See more objects with the color rosybrown dimgrey grey darkslategrey or see all the colors for this object.

Object Timeline

-0001

1967

  • We acquired this object.

2010

2015

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Object ID #18457397

This is a snuff box. It is dated mid-18th century and we acquired it in 1967. Its medium is amethyst, gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, turquoise, moonstone, platinum. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Snuff is smokeless tobacco made from finely ground leaves meant to be inhaled into the nasal cavity. Associated with the frivolity of the rococo era, snuff boxes typically came in two sizes, for pocket and for presentation. Tightly sealed to ensure that air did not penetrate the box, snuff boxes ranged from lavish materials for the rich to later simpler examples after increased accessibility of tobacco broadened snuff use. European taste for Turkish and Moorish fashion, visible in this snuff box, appeared as part of the exoticism of the mid-18th century.

This object was donated by Anonymous. It is credited Gift of Anonymous Donor.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 6.4 x 5.7 x 6.4 cm (2 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Object ID #18457397; France; amethyst, gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, turquoise, moonstone, platinum; H x W x D: 6.4 x 5.7 x 6.4 cm (2 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.); Gift of Anonymous Donor; 1967-48-19

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The Virtue in Vice.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18457397/ |title=Object ID #18457397 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>