enticz: Chinese Repousséd And Chased Silver Snuff Box

Monday, January 9, 2012

Chinese Repousséd And Chased Silver Snuff Box

Snuff box can be one of the most functional types of decorative boxes, which is now largely a relic of the once popular practice of taking snuff (Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves which is an example of smokeless tobacco). These tiny, decorative, utilitarian boxes were an indispensable accessory for many upper class people from the 18th century through the middle of the 19th century. Since prolonged exposure to air causes snuff to dry out and lose its quality, pocket snuff boxes were designed to be airtight containers with strong hinges, generally with enough space for a days' worth of snuff only.

Certain gentlemen, fops and dandies possessed a variety of fancy snuff boxes created by jewellers and enamellers. Some of these were rich in detail and made from precious materials such as gold and silver. Other boxes were more ordinary, which some were even made with potato pulp, the cheapest wood-like material available.

Pictures below show the Chinese silver snuff box from my collection. This small box or container with hinged lid, is almost cubical in shape and is repousséd with typical Chinese plants. The cover is repousséd with a bird, together with copious blossoms and foliage while the sides are repousséd with the Chinese four gracious plants, all against a finely tooled ground.

The four gracious plants, alternately called the four gentlemanly plants or the four seasons symbols, consist of plum blossoms, orchids or wild orchids, chrysanthemums and bamboo. They were originally Confucian symbols for the four qualities of a learned man, but are now more commonly associated with the four seasons. They are plum blossoms which represented courage, the orchid stood for refinement, the chrysanthemum was a sign of a productive and fruitful life, and bamboo represented integrity. In modern times, as mentioned before, the four have come to be associated with the seasons as well which plums blossoms bravely bloom in the cold of an early spring, orchids disseminate a dim fragrance far in the heat of summer, chrysanthemums overcome the first cold of a late fall and bloom, and bamboo bares its green leaves even in the winter.

The base of the box has what appears to be a maker's mark or perhaps a retailer's mark. It is likely the product of silversmiths in Southern China or Chinese silversmiths in Malaysia.

Length : 4.5cm, Width : 4.5cm, Height : 3cm.