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Snuffbox with Hardstone Flowers
(18th and 19th Centuries )
A complicated figure, Frederick the Great was both a successful soldier and a great patron of arts. This large snuffbox was likely made at a factory founded by him in Berlin. He had a particular liking for hardstone objects, owning at least one box very similar to this and frequently bestowing them on courtiers and diplomats as gifts. At his death in 1786 it has been estimated that Frederick owned between three and four hundred snuffboxes.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Sale, Paris, no. 78. Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 1984 | Objects of Vertu: Precious Works of the Eighteenth Century. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Germany, Berlin (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 1 5/8 x W: 2 13/16 in. (4.1 x 7.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.48