Snuffbox with scene of harvesting fruit 1815 - 1825

Johann Wilhelm Keibel created this snuffbox with a scene of harvesting fruit sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The box’s luxurious materials – gold, enamel, and diamonds – tell us that it was made for the wealthy elite, likely in Russia, where Keibel worked. The painting on the lid shows an idealized scene of rural labor, with elegantly dressed peasants harvesting fruit in a picturesque landscape. This image reflects the fashion for pastoral imagery among the European aristocracy, who often romanticized rural life while remaining detached from its realities. Such imagery served to legitimize the existing social order by presenting labor as harmonious and idyllic, obscuring the hardships faced by the peasantry. To truly understand this snuffbox, we need to consider its original context and the social relations it reflects and reinforces. Further research into the social history of 18th and 19th century Russia, including studies of serfdom, class structure, and the patronage of the arts, would shed more light on its cultural significance.