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Snuff box: M.84-1961

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An image of Snuff box
An image of Snuff box
Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Wide octagonal, tortoise shell box with silver mounts and thread piqué work vignette, initials and motto "TEMPUS FUGIT"

Tortoise shell with silver mounts and inlaid thread piqué work. Wide octagonal with straight sides and an almost flat lid. The moulded sides of the lid and the projecting hinge are of silver. The top of the lid is decorated a vignette of winged Mercury in front of a church, houses and a tree, above is the motto 'TEMPUS FUGIT'. The base of the box is decorated with the initals 'JS' in monogram within a border of scallop shells and scrolls.

Notes

History note: Not known before testator

Legal notes

L.C.G. Clarke Bequest, 1960

Measurements and weight

Height: 1.8 cm
Length: 8.7 cm
Width: 6.7 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1960-12-13) by Clarke, Louis Colville Gray

Dating

18th Century, Early
1700 CE - 1740 CE

Note

The silver does not bear a maker's mark

School or Style

French

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Box composed of tortoise shell
Inlay composed of silver
Mounts composed of silver
Silver Piqué

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: TEMPUS FUGIT
  • Location: On the lid
  • Method of creation: Piqué work
  • Type: Motto
  • Text: JS
  • Location: On the lid
  • Method of creation: Piqué work
  • Type: Initials

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.84-1961
Primary reference Number: 150691

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 29 April 2024

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/150691 Accessed: 2025-12-05 22:02:47

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/150691 |title=Snuff box |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 22:02:47|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-150691

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa24/M_84_1961_20_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Snuff box"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Snuff box</figcaption>
    </figure>
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