Know Your Snuff: a Brief History of Snuff Boxes

At first glance, this tiny box may appear as a typical representation of mid-18th century European ornament. Upon closer inspection, the details hiding within its gilded walls move the viewer to further question its existence.

What is the history of this object? Where did it come from? What type of person would have used it, and what would they have used it for? Was this use gendered, racialized? Was it solely an ornamental object, or did it have a practical use? These questions are focused around the relationship between the SCMA’s snuff box, mid-18th century social hierarchies, ornamentalism, imperialism, and practical histories. Snuff boxes represented gendered and racialized behaviors that held connections to imperial networks in mid-18th century Western European social circles.

This snuff-box is located in the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts. 

It was created by Parisian goldsmith Charles-Barnabe Sageret in 1768. It was given as a gift to the museum in 1958 by Ernest Gottlieb. It is a small object, measuring around 2.5 inches. The box is an oval shape. On the lid is a miniature of a girl holding flowers appearing in a pastoral setting beside a cenotaph. It is unknown if the creator of the miniature is the goldsmith. The materials used to create this snuff box are gold and blue enamel.

A panel of striped engine surrounds the sides of the object. Striped engine is a method of manipulating aluminum so that it appears to have more dynamic movement through light refraction, and is achieved by abrading small sections of the aluminum in a repetitive pattern. Smaller enamel details can be found across the box, in both the red berries and the urns.

On the inner part of the lid exists an engraving, which upon further inspection reveals itself to be the initials of the maker: “CBS.” Sageret was the son of another prominent goldsmith, Barnabe Sageret. The younger Sageret worked for the Duc d’Orleans and was a prominent figure in the world of Parisian gold-box creation.

During the age of Louis XV, snuff boxes were increasingly popular in Paris as well as in London. Gold and enamel were common materials used in their creation.

The usage of tobacco by the English upper class was a clear indicator of imperial rule. The use of the drug has backgrounds in both American indigenous ceremonial and recreational settings. After Europeans began their colonization of the Americas, the popularity of tobacco grew immensely. Capitalizing on this success were 17th century colonists as well as their British counterparts. It could be ingested in several forms (Jacobson). 

The eighteenth century, most specifically within French and Spanish aristocratic circles, saw the growth of a specific type of tobacco usage called “snuff.” Snuff was a type of ground tobacco that could be ingested by way of inhalation through the nose. Because it was a small, fine substance, it needed a vessel to contain it. Snuff and the snuff-boxes it was placed into became important expressions of class. The act of taking snuff and how one presented themselves while doing had unique social implications (Jacobson).

The ability to own a snuff box and, consequently, ingest the drug itself was a marker of wealth. Originally manufactured for utility, it became an important symbol or ornament and personal representation. Snuff also had a culture-shaping effect. Due to the olfactory blindness it could cause, it led to an increase in the popularity of perfume. The nose grew to be considered as a highly important organ as it was the pathway from the outer body to the brain. Many artists and writers had strong reactions to the phenomena of its usage, crafting reactionary pieces of art that either satirized or praised its effects (Jacobson). 

Snuff taking became an important social aspect of courtly life in Western Europe in the 18th century. Although it was used by both the upper and lower classes, it was an important social signifier. Through the act of removing oneself from a setting to consume snuff, it became in its own sense a social act. It also garnered importance as a gendered act. Other forms of ingesting tobacco were reserved exclusively for males, but snuff taking was available to both men and women. Tobacco would often be used by men in the setting of coffee-houses, in this way, it became linked to performances of public masculinity (Alayrac-Fielding).

It was often not a pleasant encounter to enter a room that was crowded with snuff-takers: there were often good amounts of sniffling, but this too could be monitored in relation to one’s status. In the act of its ingestion, one had to remain dignified, excessive noise making or reaction was considered rude. Like tea or coffee consumption at this time, it was not solely about the substance being ingested: the ingestion itself, the entrance into the body, held its own social implications. It is no coincidence that these signifiers of empire and domination became common pathways for social navigation (Alayrac-Fielding).

As any new phenomenon often does, snuff-taking received varied reactions. Some criticized its excessiveness and the laziness it often seemed to procure, while others treasured its social and physical effects. Because snuff-taking was not an exclusively male act, men who took snuff were often connected to women and thus considered to be  “effeminate” or less driven than other men (Alayrac-Fielding).

“The polish’d silver, or the burnish’d gold; 

The agate landscape, drawn by nature’s hand,

Or finer pebble from the Arabian strand,

 The shining beds where pearls imperfect lie,

 Smooth to the touch when roughest to the eye;

While distant climes their various arts employ

To adorn and to complete the modish toy.

Hinges with close-wrought joints from Paris come;

Pictures dear-bought from Venice and from Rome;

While some with home-made lids their fancies please,

And bear enshrined their own dear images.”

This poem, written in 1736, is indicative of the exoticism that surrounded materials used to create luxury objects. A large part of the attractiveness of snuff-boxes and similar objects stemmed from their mystery and elusiveness. An “Arabian strand” differs from a local one because it originates from a place of mystery. In owning it, the consumer is able to hold this material in their hand, in their pocket, and in doing so, forge a connection and deepen their intrapersonal relationship with the object. It is also notable that the raw materials are described as coming from the “Arabian strand,”  such as pebbles, agates, and “imperfect” pearls, while materials that are more refined such as hinges and completed portraits come from Western European cities such as Venice and Rome. 

Wesley’s poem also focuses on the important aspect of personalization. The box, despite its more international origins, may “bear enshrined their own dear images.” Here, Wesley highlights another important aspect of the connection between the exotic and the personal through ornamentation, and thus more widely comments on the nature of ownership. If one’s own image can appear in such close proximity to these materials, then it exists as a physical reflection of a more personal and individual form of imperial ownership.

Wesley’s description of snuff boxes inadvertently recognizes that the tobacco is not the only product of imperial ownership, and that the box itself and the materials used to create it also had deep associations with these systems of trade, extrication, and exoticism.

A description of snuff appeared in the Daily Courant on November 28, 1723 that used the phrase "Oroonoko." Oroonoko was a character from a novel written by Aphra Behn, originally called by the name of “The Royal Slave.” The narrative centered on an African prince that is sold into slavery by Europeans. This story had a resurgence in popularity in the eighteenth century when it was produced as a play. This is most likely the cause for the description of snuff as “Oroonoko,” despite the fact that Oroonoko is a human character and not a descriptor for this "exotic" substance (Alayrac-Fielding).

Once again, through this description, snuff can be related to ownership and exoticism. A character associated with African lineage becomes merely a category for the personal use of a recreational substance. The clarifying message of his story is lost. Tobacco, much like the character of Oroonoko, is reduced to a commodity with little regard to their connection to the imperial web of trade. Oroonoko’s name becomes a signifier of exotic origins and is used as a marketing ploy and an advertisement tool.

In the act of taking this specific type of snuff, one may assume the mysterious nature of this “foreign” and unfamiliar substance that is made into such through the comparison to this racialized character. One can assume this exoticism through ownership and through bodily consumption.

In 1794, Queen Charlotte thanked her son George for his gift of a snuff box.

“My dearest Son. You have no reason to fear my Suspecting you of any Neglect in remembering me. The Present I received this Morning is a new proof with many others to the Contrary and though I am truly Sensible of Yr attention I am also Sorry that You should have given Yourself so much Trouble about procuring me a Snuffbox which gave You so much difficulty to obtain. I shall value it not only for its beauty; but for the sake of the Donor who is & ever will be most dear to His very affectionate Mother, Charlotte.” (GEO/MAIN/36415.)

The gift of the snuff box is not only a token of affection. When the Queen gazes at or uses this token, it allowed her a more direct passage of remembrance to her “dearest Son.” Snuff boxes were commonly given as gifts, they were a perfect token of affection, either platonically or romantically. A connection was forged between the physicality of the object itself and the sentiment the giver aroused within the recipient (Alayrac-Fielding).

This form of giving also heightened the tension between gift-giving and snuff-taking as both public and private acts. The box was often given privately, but made public through its usage. This was a usage that rose from the need to consume and contain snuff, yet evolved to the point that the act of snuff-taking was tied to the act of remembering as well. Memory, it seems, was an essential part of this process (Alayrac-Fielding). 

Queen Charlotte was also a frequent sporter of miniature portraits of her husband, King George III. As his health failed, she represented her ongoing loyalty to him in many ways, one of which was the appearance of his portrait on many items of her jewelry. Miniatures and snuff boxes were heavily connected (Pointon).

The lids of snuff boxes would, more often than not, be adorned with miniatures. These could be scenes from various mythological, biblical, or pastoral settings, but portraiture was common among snuff boxes, especially those given as gifts. It was usually men who adorned the portraiture present on the jewelry of women. As snuff boxes were used by both sexes, this was not entirely the case (Pointon). 

There also arises an element of physicality when one considers the implications of a miniature portrait appearing on the lid of a snuff box or on the pendant of a necklace. Hung on the wall, a portrait remains unmoving, unchanging, simply ornamental. While necklaces and snuff boxes obviously lend themselves to ornamentalism, their sentiment is assumed by the wearer through touching or movement.

A snuff box is opened, placed inside the pocket, taken from, and deposited in. A necklace is placed on each morning and taken off each night by the hand of its wearer. In this way, miniatures enter into the public sphere while maintaining a private and close relationship with the wearer or user.

The materials used to construct a snuff box as well as the substance that they housed reflected a certain amount of wealth. At this time, wealth was connected to ownership, and for many, this meant the ownership of slaves. Slaves were considered to be useful commodities, and often became the face of decoration or ornament on furniture or household objects, which is known as the “blackamoor” style. This design element did not elude snuff boxes (Alayrac-Fielding).

Often these figures appeared on the inner or outer parts of the lid. While not every snuff box contained an image of a slave or indentured servant, snuff was inherently tied to empire through its direct lineage from the tobacco trade. This transnational trade was not only limited to tobacco, but also extended to tea, chocolate, and the slave trade: a snuff box was a form of encapsulating a small amount of this expansive network, of consolidating decades of empire-building (Alayrac-Fielding).

This snuff box in the Greenwich Maritime Museum represents a white, upper-class woman beside her slave on the inner part of the lid.

Another snuff box manufactured by John Obrisset represents a black individual on the lid of the snuff box, but is deprived of the typical gold enamel or porcelain typically used to manufacture this object. Instead, the whole box is black, and the individual appears only in relief. 

When used by a man, these snuff boxes would have represented the complicated social hierarchies of the time: white men, in control and in opposition to their white female counterparts, who, despite their inferior status, played an enormous role in the oppression of black slaves.

At the time of production of this snuff box, enamel painting was the most common form of decoration for boxes made of gold. While not all boxes contained a painting, it was more likely than not that a snuff box would harbor some kind of painting on its lid.

The goldsmith who manufactured the box would not usually complete this ornamental element himself unless he was incredibly skilled, and the records of many painters of enamel have been lost as it was the goldsmith who usually left his initials somewhere on the gold box (Diercks).

Enamel paints were usually made of glass that had been ground into a very fine powder. It had to be applied carefully and in small amounts, otherwise, the kiln could destroy the enamel or the gold. Crafting a snuff box was no small feat, and the detail present in both the metalworking and painting is notable (Diercks).   

A snuff box, despite its small size, holds an immense amount of historical relevance. It has ties to transnational imperial networks as well as social and gendered spaces. At its core, the box forges a path of connection between ornament, the self, and larger cultural forces. The box holds relevance in several spheres regarding private and public consumption and representation of the self. In this way, it is both an imperial and individualized object.