Tobacco box, 1700 - 1750

The object, flat on the top and bottom and rounded at the sides, is composed of three parts: the bottom, the wall, and the hinge-attached lid. Bottom and lid have vertical moulded rims that enclose the wall of the box.

The bottom has two engraved scenes depicting the Fall of Man and the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, and in the centre a partially legible text relating to them. On the lid, three scenes with God's creation of man in Paradise and a partially legible text relating thereto. The wall bears the engraved inscriptions on the front and back: 'Vrintschap tetoone sonder gunst / Dat is een aart van [...] kunst' and 'wie leeft ter [...] ter teyt die / het wel gaat on beneijt.'.

The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, holds this object as BK-14543; its record gives material recorded as brass (alloy); technique striking (metalworking), engraving; measurements height 3.5 cm x length 17 cm x thickness 5 cm. Description translated from the museum's Dutch catalogue text; details are those of this museum object, and how far it represents a wider type has not been independently verified.