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Snuff box: PER.M.359 & A-1923

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An image of Snuff box
Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Oval, horn box pressed with a view of Rouen

Horn, carved and pressed. Elongated oval with straight sides. The top of the pull-off lid depicting a view of the city of Rouen, including the river, bridge and cathedral; at the top in relief is the legend 'LA VILLE DE ROUEN'. The base is pressed with a diaper-work pattern, alternate lozenges containing stripes and a star.

Notes

History note: Not known before testator

Legal notes

Spencer George Perceval Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 3.0 cm
Length: 13.0 cm
Width: 7.0 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1922-03-07) by Perceval, Spencer George

Dating

18th Century
1700 CE - 1800 CE

School or Style

French

Materials used in production

Horn

Techniques used in production

Carving : The base, sides and lid were carved from horn. The pieces were then heated and pressed to form flat sheets, moulding or pressed patterns before being glued to form a box, which was then stained, possibly to resemble bronze.
Pressing
Heating

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: LA VILLE DE ROUEN
  • Location: On the lid above the view of Rouen
  • Method of creation: Pressed

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: PER.M.359 & A-1923
Primary reference Number: 150654

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 24 October 2012

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Snuff box" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/150654 Accessed: 2025-12-06 01:53:28

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/150654 |title=Snuff box |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 01:53:28|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-150654

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        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa24/PER_M_359_1923_20_281_29.jpg"
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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Snuff box</figcaption>
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