Snuffbox 1738 - 1739

This Snuffbox was crafted in France by Noel-Charles Laget in the 18th century. It’s a decorative object whose beauty is inseparable from its social function. The taking of snuff became fashionable among the European elite in the 17th century and remained so throughout the 1700s. This box would have been an everyday luxury item of the leisure class. The practice of taking snuff was originally seen as vulgar, but the elaborate rituals that developed around it allowed the elite to assert their superiority and set themselves apart from the lower classes. We can get a sense of the era’s visual codes through the box's refined Neoclassical style, seen in the cameo of a woman’s head. Such boxes reflect the culture of aristocratic life, where every object, even one as small as this, was an opportunity to display wealth, taste, and status. Understanding the social context of snuff-taking and the decorative arts helps us to appreciate how artworks become markers of social identity. Researching period etiquette books, fashion plates, and even satirical prints can help us understand the nuances of status display in the 1700s.