This box is part of a small group of Meissen boxes made in the shape of envelopes. The plain exterior conceals a well-executed painting inside of a musical entertainment beside the river Elbe. Albrechtsburg, the castle outside Dresden, is visible behind. Meissen porcelain was manufactured at the castle, which made it an appropriate and popular view. The box may thus have been intended as a souvenir. Whilst the porcelain was produced at Meissen in around 1755, the mounts were manufactured much later, in France during the nineteenth century.

Snuffboxes made out of porcelain followed the shapes of those made in gold and hardstones. Painted scenes or portraits ornamented the sides, covers and interiors. Changing forms and decoration were important, as these fashion accessories might be chosen to match the season or a particular costume. Most European (though rarely English) porcelain factories made snuffboxes. The largest producer was Meissen in Germany, which manufactured vast quantities of boxes from about 1735-65. A price list of 1765 mentions 11 varieties, the cheapest painted with flowers.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.