Snuff Box (Tabatière)
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1768–78
Snuff Box (Tabatière) — Metalwork, by Pierre-Nicholas Pleyard (French), made in France, dated 1768–78. Snuff boxes were highly ornamented functional objects popular among French social elites.
They were simultaneously containers for powdered tobacco and a means to communicate social and political status. Often decorated with miniature paintings inspired by popular paintings of the time, the works reproduced on this box are modeled after those of Claude-Joseph Vernet (cover and front panel) and David Teniers the Younger (base, side, and back panels). Physical description: gouache miniatures mounted on gold; Overall: 2.6 x 5.3 cm (1 x 2 1/16 in.).
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Held by Cleveland Museum of Art (object no. 1958.123). The museum record attributes this piece to Pierre-Nicholas Pleyard (French) in France around 1768–78. Details beyond the museum's own catalogue entry have not been independently verified.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Overall: 2.6 x 5.3 cm (1 x 2 1/16 in.)
- Materials techniques
- gouache miniatures mounted on gold
Identification
- Source note
- All details come from the object's own museum catalogue record; nothing has been copied from other entries.
- Museum object name
- Metalwork
- Museum object number
- 1958.123
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.