French or Russian, 1st half of the 18th century.

Iron with ornamental iron carving decoration on a gilt ground. Small iron flask with rounded flat body. Both sides featuring an oval medallion with figural depictions. Closure with silver intarsia. Matching iron storage container with a hinged cover, on four small spherical feet. The inside with a storage area for securing the flacon. Box, opulently decorated on the inside and the outside in silver and gold.

L 14.5 × 9.5 × 6 cm. H flask 10 cm.

Corroded.

Around 1561, Jean Nicot (nicotine!), French envoy at the Portuguese court, brought tobacco leaves and tobacco seeds to France. The French Queen, Maria de Medici, was one of the first and most famous snuff users who took powdered tobacco leaves for headaches and migraines. In 1677, the first snuff tobacco factory in the world was founded in Seville. Snuff was also taken at the court of Louis XIV. Small, opulently decorated iron flasks were used for this purpose. Storage boxes for snuff flasks, which could be placed on a piece of furniture, were not known until then. Very rare object in very good condition, as seen from a cultural history point of view.