
Snuff and sweet boxes
Mythological scenes, often based on contemporary engravings, were popular subjects in the eighteenth century for the decoration of snuff boxes and bonbonnières (boxes for sweets). The boxes displayed here include individual images of gods and heroes such as Hercules, Apollo, Mars, Venus and Cupid, as well as scenes from texts such as Homer’s Iliad and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. A number show allegorical figures representing recurring themes, such as Time and Love.
Henry Bodson (active 1763-90)
Snuff box
French
Box
French
Box
Antonio Angelo Amastini (1754-c. 1816)
Snuff box with a cameo of Apollo
Hans Mella (active c. 1650)
Box
French
Snuff box
Northern Italy
Snuff box with a cameo of the Birth of Venus
Jean Baptiste Fouache (active 1775-81)
Snuff box
French
Snuff box
John Northam (active 1824)
Gold box
? Italian
Box
? Swiss
Snuff box
Jacques Ballin (active 1760)