Hand-Carved Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Round snuff box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fired enamel on the enameled edge with vertical stripes and fine monochrome miniature hand painted by the painter Renato Dainelli. Diameter cm. 6.2 cm high. 3.4. Weight gr. 222. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1967 and produced in Florence in the Salimbeni company headquarters with manual workmanship by skilled artisan artists with thick slab and large reinforcements suitable for withstanding 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 ivory...

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...

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...

Rounded rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling Silver gold plated with beautiful fire enamelled miniature hand-painted by the painter Renato Dainelli of a basket with flowers, in ...

Octagonal snuff box in sterling silver 925/1000 gold plated with borders in the English Queen Anne style and sides with translucent fired enamels on ...

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

Square snuff box with rounded sides in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamel on guillochè and hand painted miniature parrotlets on flowering branches. Ar...

Snuffbox Soap-type in 925/1000 silver smooth glossy. French Empire Napoleon III style, second half of the 19th century. Measurements cm. 5 x 7 x 1.8. Weight gr. 54. Designed in 1930 ...

Vintage hinged lidded hexagonal box by Don Shoemaker, Senal.

Cigar humidor or tobacco jar from the 1960s. This iconic piece from the Italma Wood Art collection was created by Brazilian designer Jean Gillon. Very well crafted from the finest st...

Presentation Snuff box from the 18th century French School. A very important and rare Neoclassical oval box, made in Paris, France circa 1790. It was crafted with translucent natu...

A Primitive Snuff Box dated 1847 and signed T.O. from Norway, Scandinaiva. Wear due to age and use showing wonderful patina. Ø: 5 cm H: 9 cm

Franco Salimbeni Gold-Plated Sterling Silver and Enamel Oval Pill Box with Floral Miniature by Romano Buccioni, Florence, 1980 Elegant oval pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver, gol...

Giorgio Salimbeni Gold-Plated Sterling Silver and Enamel Pill Box with Miniature by Renato Buccioni, Florence, 1978 Exquisite round, domed pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver, gold...

A little poem in wood, this early 20th-century Swedish tobacco box is a quiet testament to the beauty of everyday ritual. Hand-turned from golden-hued burled birch, its surface is al...

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...

18th century Georgian hand-carved walnut wood tobacco box on its original stand. This is an extremely fine and rare piece and one of its kind.