In the all-encompassing 18th century Encyclopédie, Diderot describes the 'snuffbox' as follows: 'Snuffbox: feminine term, a term used in the field of jewelry. A gold box decorated with fine or artificial stones in various forms. It may also be undecorated, carved, engraved, inlaid, enameled... reversible, square, round, eight-sided, curved, bulging, double-curved, etc. It is impossible to exhaust all the names used to describe gold snuffboxes. In general, snuffbox shapes come from natural or common objects such as artichokes, pears, onions, pikes, etc."
It is evident that by the 18th century, snuffboxes were taking a variety of forms and had become important objects in the jewelry field. This snuffbox is an example of this.
This magnificent snuffbox is in excellent condition and shows little sign of use. The gold body, fully carved, painted, and decorated with enamel, is beautifully engraved under the red enamel on top of the box. The lid of the box is set with diamonds of unconventional size and brilliance, depicting a flower pot.
