Carved Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with two-tone translucent stripes fired enamelled on guillochè and fine hand-engraved on all sides, French Empire Napoleo...

Round snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling Silver gold plated with hand-painted miniature pastoral image fired enamelled. 18th century French style. Diameter cm. 8 cm high. 1.8. Weight gr. 171. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1968 on inspiration from previous boxes also manufactured in the Salimbeni company headquarters with manual workmanship by talented artisan artists with a thick plate suitable for supporting numerous glazing firings at high heat at around 800° C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature...

Rounded rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver with fine hand-painted fire-enamelled miniature depicting the Head of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Dimensions cm. 5.5 x 7 x 1.8. Weight gr. 105. Designed by Giorgio Salimbeni in 1975 in Art Deco style and executed in numerous specimens, at the specific request of the firm Tiffany & Co., in Florence in the headquarters of the Salimbeni firm with completely manual execution by artisan artists with thick slab and large reinforcements suitable for sustaining numerous high-fire enamelled firings at approximately 750 < 800° C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors. With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color. It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times. Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene. Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors. The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real...

19th century hand-carved humidor in the form of a dog's head. The dog is very whimsical with a hat, which lifts to reveal a compartment for storage and finished with a cigar and a bo...

This wooden box is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the traditional ...

The mottled brown agate with translucence when held to light. The cover with a gold rope twist edge above hinged clasp with wreath and berry design above a cushion base

The elaborately carved snuff box with a scene of two mermaids on the cover and deeply carved shell on the reverse.

Probably Irish given the carved shamrock, with hinged top and robust leaf like carving. A small chip to bottom of toe and two small holes on the bottom likely from former mounting.

Pocket snuff flask carved from coquille nut. Amazing small pocket snuff bottle, carved from a large coquille nut. This antique piece was created in the shape of a spinning top with two secret compartments which can be unscrewed to open. Made in the continental Europe and most probably French or Portuguese provenance from the 18th century, circa 1780. Extensively decorated with organic and floral motifs with a beautiful image of a nut on the upper part. Curiously due to the shape of this piece, it could be played as a spinning tool on a table. This adds a particular interest for the multiple use with which the carving was conceived. Weight: 42.60 Grams. Measurements: Diameter of 40 mm and a height of 89 mm (1.57 x 3.5 Inches). Hallmarks: No marks, gorgeous deep antique patina. Coquille Nut The coquille nut emanates from swampy areas on the eastern side of South America, from a palm known as the “attalea funiefera”. Brazilians call it “Piassabe”. The nuts were introduced into Western Europe in the mid-16th century, and used for small carved objects until the end of the 19th century. Coquille nut is a fruit of a Brazilian palm...