Snuff Box (Tabatière) (1753–54): Art, History and Details

Snuff Box (Tabatière) (1753–54) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean Ducrollay (French, 1709–1787); Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe (French, 1716–1794).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In 18th-century France ornately enameled boxes that held snuff—powdered tobacco—became a popular accessory in the French court. This object’s rectangular shape differs from early work attributed to Jean Ducrollay. Though the light colors, floral borders, and depictions of lively outdoor recreation are representative of earlier rococo imagery, the rectangular shape and simple frieze make it a primary example of rising neoclassicism.

Object facts

• Title: Snuff Box (Tabatière)
• Date: 1753–54
• Creator attribution: Jean Ducrollay (French, 1709–1787); Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe (French, 1716–1794)
• Culture: France
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: gold and glass with miniatures
• Dimensions: Overall: 3.4 x 5.6 cm (1 5/16 x 2 3/16 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1957.412

A detail from the museum

The Ducrollay family was one of the most sought-after Parisian goldsmith workshops under the reign of French King Louis XV.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Edward B. Greene

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.