Cleveland Museum of Art

Snuff Box (Tabatière)

Francois Guillaume Tiron

Date

1761–62

Medium

gold and enamel

Culture

France, 18th century (style of Louis XV)

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The pastoral scenes that decorate this box are typical of the style of François Boucher, a celebrated painter of the period whose works were popularly reproduced on decorative arts. Snuff boxes, used practically as containers for powdered tobacco, were often decorated with miniature reproductions of notable works. The miniature on the cover is inspired by Boucher’s The Galant Pastor ( Le Pasteur Gallant ) (1738) and that on the bottom by The Amusement of the Shepherd Girl ( L’Amusement de la Bergère ) (1700s). François Boucher was a favorite of the French royal court of Louis XV and named first painter of the king in 1765.

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