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Snuff box: RTR.M.5

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

Maker(s)

Goldsmith: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Gold and enamel; rectangular cushion-shaped with central gold plaque depicting Neptune on an engine turned ground with dark blue enamelled borders

Gold, enamel and glass, rectangular cushion-shaped box with convex oval ends. The box is decorated with engine-turned engraving with, at either end, a band of scrolling foliage and dark blue enamelled flowers. The lid has a recessed hinge and a projecting thumbpiece, which is engraved with foliage and a blue enamelled flower and two leaves. In the centre of the lid, set under glass and surrounded by a blue enamelled border, is a gold plaque depicting Neptune carrying a trident and standing in his shell-shaped carriage which is pulled by two hippocamps.

Notes

History note: Unknown

Legal notes

Donor and date of accession unknown

Measurements and weight

Height: 2 cm
Length: 8.5 cm
Width: 5.1 cm

Dating

18th Century, Late-19th Century
Production date: after AD 1790

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamel
Cover composed of glass

Materials used in production

Gold

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: 'M' over 'B &' over 'M', or possibly 'Y' in a lozenge-shaped cartouche

  • Location: On the inside of the lid and base
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Maker's mark
  • Text: G
  • Location: On the inside of the lid and base
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Town mark
  • Text: Louix XVI gold / cushion shaped / box - circa 1780
  • Location: Loose inside the box
  • Method of creation: Written in black ink and previously glued inside the box
  • Type: Paper label

Identification numbers

Accession number: RTR.M.5
Primary reference Number: 156373

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/156373 Accessed: 2025-12-06 08:07:31

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/156373 |title=Snuff box |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 08:07:31|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-156373

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa24/RTR_M_5_20_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Snuff box"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Snuff box</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

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