A snuff rasp or tobacco rasp of carved 'bois de Sainte Lucie' (a form of cherry), with carving of trails of flowers on one side and the metal rasp on the other, with the date '1739' carved on the lid of the snuff compartment.

A snuff rasp or tobacco rasp of carved 'bois de Sainte Lucie' (a form of cherry), with carving of trails of flowers on one side and the metal rasp on the other, with the date '1739' carved on the lid of the snuff compartment.
The rasp is rectangular, with canted corners at one end. The show side has a raised panel centrally, the frame and edge of this decorated wtih inset, twisted brass wire. A recessed central panel, with punched ground, is carved with symmetric trails of formalised flowers and leaves with a central heart.
On the working side, the pierced rasp, of sheet iron, is set within a recess into which it slides, the raised farm inlaid with a twisted brass wire. The hinged snuff compartment is carved with a fielded panel following the outline of the flap, with the date 1739 in raised numerals against a punched ground.

This rasp is an example of the trade in small-scale carved woodwork, all made in a variety of cherry-wood known as bois de Sainte-Lucie, which grew up in the late-seventeenth century in Nancy, then capital of the independent Duchy of Lorraine (now a province of France). During the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century these pieces were commonly identified as the work of César Bagard (1620- 1709), sculptor to Duc Charles IV of Lorraine, but all his known work is of large-scale sculpture in the round, rather than such small-scale, decorative pieces.

Such pieces were, however, a widely known production of the city and were probably made by a number of local workshops, working in ebony and box as well as the bois de Sainte-Lucie, which grew in a local forest. In 1751, a local historian, Dom Calmet (1672-1757) wrote in the Bibliothèque Lorraine that 'the Foulon family were well-known [for this work] in the past and had made many such works for the Dauphin, son of Louis XIV'. Research in the 1960s showed that a dynasty of carvers called Foulon or Foullon worked in Nancy in the second half of the seventeenth century. César Foulon (died 1698), the founder of the dynasty, was in fact the godfather of César Bagard. An inventory taken after the death of César Foulon in 1698 listed the type of pieces that the workshop made: boxes, mirror frames, brushes, pin-cushions, frames, crucifixes, holy water stoups, candlesticks, chess pieces and tobacco rasps amongst others - every kind of piece that is now commonly given the label 'Bagard'. Other carvers known to have worked in this style include Charles Chassel (died 1685), Claude les Indes (1645-1752).

The label on the piece identifies it as part of the collection of Frederick George Hilton Price (1842-1909), a partner in the London bank Child & Co who was also a distinguished historian, archaeologist and collector. His collections ranged from Egytian antiquities to pewter spoons. He published books on diverse topics such as old street signs of the City of London and the early history of banks and banking in London. He left items to a number of museums in cluding the British Museum, the Museum of London, the V&A and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

Although tobacco was introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century, the way in which it was used differed greatly from modern habits. A fine tobacco powder known as snuff was inhaled from the back of the hand or the fingertips. Dried tobacco leaves were generally sold in tightly bound bundles, and, although commercially produced snuff was available, many snuffers preferred to make their own. Snuff rasps like this one were developed to be conveniently carried in a pocket so that a portion of snuff could be prepared at any time by grinding a bundle of dried tobacco leaves on the metal grater or rasp. This snuff rasp incorporates a snuff-box to hold any excess produced.

Snuff-taking was an expensive habit and could only be afforded by the well-to-do, with the result that snuff-related objects, like rasps and boxes are often made from precious materials like ivory, and are beautifully decorated with carving or inlay. This French example, dated 1739, is made from boxwood and carved on the reverse with a design of twining flowers and foliage.

W.54-1923