Snuffbox with portrait of Nicolaas Pancras

The scalloped gold box, with a straight reverse, has a hinged lid. The box contains an enclosed compartment, likewise with a hinged lid, and is fitted with a small spoon that fits into the compartment.

In the underside of the bottom of the box, an oval carnelian is set within a raised border, engraved with the crowned Pancras coat of arms within a surround of volutes and flowers. On the top side, the bottom has a bulge, creating space for the stone. The wall of the box is articulated by a moulded edge; below it, it is slightly convex, tapering toward the bottom; above it, it is slightly constricted. The lid has a moulded rim with a raised scalloped thumbpiece at the front.

Set in the rim is a plate chased with an asymmetrical frame for an oval medallion, composed of volutes, rocailles, and flowers, against a punched ground. Within a raised border, the medallion contains the painted portrait of Mr Nicolaas Pancras, surrounded by 28 diamonds. The portrait and diamonds are held in silver settings. The miniature is protected by a faceted glass cover. A second plate is mounted against the underside of this plate.

It is engraved with a funerary monument in the form of a pyramidal structure resting on a moulded plinth, surmounted by a vase with a plant. In front of this is an oval medallion with a mirrored monogram of the letters NS for Nicolaas Pancras; the auricular frame is surmounted by a mask. Below the medallion on the plinth lies a skull above crossed bones. The medallion is flanked by two weeping child figures, one of whom has covered his head with drapery.

He holds a club; the other holds an inverted, extinguished torch as a symbol of death. The medallion is flanked by laurel branches, the monument by palm leaves. The front portion of the flat upper surface of the compartment is hinged and fitted with a shell-shaped knob with which it can be opened. The faceted stem of the small spoon widens toward the rounded end, where it is decorated with a thumbpiece. It is joined to the egg-shaped bowl with a single leaf.

The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, holds this object as BK-NM-11444; its record gives material recorded as carnelian, gold (metal), silver (metal), parchment (animal material), watercolor (paint), diamond (mineral), glass; measurements height 2.3 cm x width 2.1 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.