Snuff Box
ca. 1680 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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 ‘j'adore 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.
'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 ‘j'adore 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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, chased and engraved |
| Brief description | Silver snuff box with scenes of love and romantic mottoes. England, possibly ca.1680. |
| Physical description | Oval, chased and engraved with figures and inscriptions in Latin and English. The whole is naively 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. |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by the Rev. R. Brooke |
| Object history | Gift - Rev. R Brooke Acquisition RF: Rev. R Brooke |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | 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 ‘j'adore 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. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 808-1864 |
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| Record created | September 10, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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