Four egg shaped porcelain snuff boxes, two signed on the interior "Tiffany & Co". The first Tiffany egg is bright yellow with gold hearts. This egg has a gold rim and a flower clasp. The second Tiffany egg is cobalt blue and white. The third egg shaped tabatiere is white with cobalt blue and gold stripes. The tabatiere is marked "Limoges France peint main" on the interior. The final egg is white with hand-painted pink swags and pink and purple flowers. Box is marked on the interior "peint main FD". All egg shaped tabatieres measure apprx 2-1/2".
Creativity was enhanced to make tableware articles such as plates, platters and pitchers as well as fancy objects like bonbonieres, vases, etc. Among these the snuff box, Tabatiere in French, became an immediate success. A century earlier a diplomat called Nicot introduced tobacco in France. During that time one did not smoke tobacco, it was snuffed instead. The snuff was wrapped in small linen bags and placed in leather pouches or silver, gold, wooden and ivory boxes. All of these materials were difficult to decorate or very expensive. Porcelain rapidly gained its place among these materials and soon thousands of different shapes of Tabatieres were made of porcelain. The parts of the box were assembled with a setting made of brass. Gold or silver latches were used to complement the setting.
150/250 Sold $304.75
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