Circular snuff box, of burr maple or birch, steamed and stamped with a commemoration of the bravery of the Imperial Guard at Waterloo. French, ca. 1815

A circular snuff box of burr maple or burr birch, with a lift-off lid, cut from end-grain wood. The lid has been steamed and pressed in a die to create a design showing a tomb with an inscription and other inscriptions including the date 1815.

The base of the snuff box is stamped with a spotted design overall and a circular framing of formal motifs. This box is of a type that was produced in France by a semi-industrial process in the early 19th century. Boxes were turned out of burr maple or burr birch, and then steamed to soften them. They were then put into screw presses where finely-worked metal dies stamped scenes or motifs into both the lids and the bases.

This box commemorates the bravery of the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo, on 18 June 1815, when Napoleon's forces were finally defeated by the British, led by the Duke of Wellington.