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Snuff box

Snuff box

  • Place of origin:

    London, England (probably, made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1680 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Silver, chased and engraved

  • Credit Line:

    Given by the Rev. R Brooke

  • Museum number:

    808-1864

  • Gallery location:

    Silver, room 65, case 23

  • Download image

This silver box held snuff. Snuff is powdered tobacco fermented in salt, ground and scented and flavoured with spices such as cinnamon, cloves, lavender and bergamot. Snuff taking became popular in England with the Great Plague (1664-1665) as people thought it had valuable antiseptic properties. It was mainly a male habit, although Catherine de Medici started the fashion for snuff at the French court.

This snuff box has engraved and chased decoration of lovers but the most explicit image has been defaced. The inscriptions continue the amorous theme. They read ‘jadore qui me brule’ (‘I worship the one who sets me on fire’) on the front, ‘with permission madam’ on the inside lid and ‘of this snuff I shal nere have enough’. This type of oval snuff box first appeared in the 1680s.

Physical description

Oval, chased and engraved with figures and inscriptions in Latin and English. The whole is niavely engraved. On the lid a native man prays to the sun, in the sky the words iadore qvi me brvle. The reverse a man on one knee addresses a seated bare breasted woman dvlceo est sicdecipi. From her the words arceo sedardeo. The interior of the box is similarly engraved, the inscriptions are in English; With permission madam and of this snuff I shal nere have enough.

Place of Origin

London, England (probably, made)

Date

ca. 1680 (made)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Silver, chased and engraved

Marks and inscriptions

Unmarked
Engraved and Inscribed
The whole is niavely engraved. On the lid a native man prays to the sun, in the sky the words iadore qvi me brvle. The reverse a man on one knee addresses a seated bare breasted woman dvlceo est sicdecipi. From her the words arceo sedardeo. The interior of the box is similarly engraved, the inscriptions are in English; With permission madam and of this snuff I shal nere have enough.
Town mark: Unmarked

Object history note

Gift - Rev. R Brooke
Acquisition RF: Rev. R Brooke

Descriptive line

Silver, no marks, London?, ca.1680

Exhibition History

The Silver Galleries (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Labels and date

SNUFF BOX
Late 17th century
Unmarked
Engraved and chased with lovers and the inscription JADORE QUI ME BRULE (I worship the one who sets me on fire) on the front, WITH PERMISSION MADAM on the inside lid and OF THIS SNUFF I SHAL NERE HAVE ENOUGH. The most explicit image has been defaced. This type of oval snuff box first appeared in the 1680s.
Rev. R. Brooke Gift
808-1864 [26/11/1996]

Materials

Silver

Techniques

Engraving; Chasing

Subjects depicted

Man; Woman

Categories

Containers; Metalwork; Accessories

Collection code

MET

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Qr_O105007
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