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Snuffbox
Made at: Fürstenberg Manufactory (Germany)
Probably painted by: Johann Heinrich Eisenträger (1730–1768)
Probably painted by: Johann Heinrich Eisenträger (1730–1768)
German, Fürstenberg
1754–68
Object Place: Europe, Germany
Medium/Technique
Hard-paste porcelain decorated in puce enamel, with gilt-metal mounts
Dimensions
4.2 x 9.1 cm (1 5/8 x 3 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rita and Frits Markus
Accession Number1983.626
CollectionsEurope
DescriptionThe rectangular snuffbox has a slightly domed cover that is mounted with a hinted gilt-metal rim. The exterior of the box is painted on the cover, base, and sides with landscape scenes in puce monochrome on a white ground. The cover of the box shows a walled church overlooking a moat. To the right is a stone archway and a drawbridge (?). Flanking the scene are large outcrops of rock with shrubs and trees. The four side panels are decorated with similar scenes, each including an octagonal or cruciform towered building on the edge of a body of water; a second building is visible in the distance. The scenes are framed at the left and right by clusters of rocks or tree trunks with leafy branches. The scene on the bottom of the box is similarly composed but is distinguished by a masonry arch. On the interior of the lid of the box is a painting of a leaping stag, closely pursued by three hounds. A mounted hunter, his sword drawn, rides along a river bank, just behind the stag. A fourth hound runs beside the horse and rider on the bank. In the center of the frame, behind the stag, rises a rocky promontory surmounted by trees and a hut. In the middle distance on the left is a cluster of buildings, one with a tower. At the right the river winds through a forest. The gilt-metal mount is defined on the exterior by a fine molding and a shaped thumbpiece; the interior edges are decorated with a wavy pattern.