Snuffbox
.jpg)
A cigarette case ( French tabatière , older tabaquière ) is a box for storage of snuff . It had its heyday in the 18th century.
The term, which is outdated in Germany, is also generally used in Austria for “tobacco box” or “cigarette case”.
The snuffbox in the 18th century
At the beginning of tobacco consumption, tobacco was still kept in bags , following the example of the Indians , while tobacco snuff blossomed in the 18th century, tobacco products were produced. The center of tobacco production was in France. The boxes were made of gold , silver , ivory , porcelain , enamel , glass , stone , mother-of-pearl , shells , horn , wood , steel , copper , brass , crystal or bone . The high nobility mainly used golden porcelain and enamel boxes set with precious stones or set in gold, while the lower nobility and the bourgeoisie were content with simpler boxes made of less valuable materials.
With the cultivated sniff as the most elegant form of tobacco consumption, the tobacco box became an integral part of the fashionable appearance of a man of that time. To conform to social etiquette , possession of at least one of the precious cans was expected. However, the possession of a snuffbox was not a guarantee of the owner's elegance; only its elegant use and the observance of all rituals for its use testified to the elegance of the owner. First of all, it was important that the tobacco box was carefully tailored to the clothing and season. When using the can, the following steps also had to be observed: First, the can was gripped and taken with the left hand. Then it was tapped once, the can opened and offered to the company. Then you pulled the can back to you and collected the tobacco in the can by tapping on the side. The tobacco was then taken with the right hand, held in the fingers for some time, finally brought to the nose and sniffed properly and without a grimace. Finally, people sneezed, coughed, spat out and closed the can.
The blooming of the tobacco box also gave it an outstanding function in handicrafts . It also became a symbol of the gallant world, with which luxury and taste could be demonstrated. They also gained importance as a diplomatic and exclusive gift. In addition, the cans became a popular collector's item and prestige item at the time they were used. Collectors often owned several hundred cans. The best-known collection of tobacco products is probably that of the Prussian King Friedrich II . There are various details about the number of cans in his collection, mostly the numbers are between 300 and 400, but there are also details of up to 1,500 snuffers. His collection contained a considerable number of materials: jasper , agate , onyx , rock crystal , Silesian chrysoprase , shiny or colored enamelled gold bodies, decorated with mother-of-pearl , jewelery and precious stones, exotic shells and much more. The most famous snuffbox in his collection, if not the best-known snuffbox at all, is probably the one that the Prussian king carried with him in the battle of Kunersdorf on August 12, 1759 during the Seven Years' War. In this battle Frederick II was hit by a bullet, but the projectile got caught in the can, which saved his life.
See also
literature
- Winfried Baer: Prunktabatièren Frederick the Great . Hirmer, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-7774-6170-9 (exhibition catalog).
- Curtis, MM: The book of snuff and snuff boxes, Bramhall House, New York, 1935.
- Le Corbeiller, C., European and American Snuff Boxes, 1730-1830, Batsford, London, 1966.
- Schepskowsky, NS, Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky - art agent and painting collector in Frederician Berlin, Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 2009.
- Steisal-Paur, R., Snuff boxes or from the longing of the lascivious nose - catalog for the special exhibition of the Austrian Tobacco Museum from November 27, 1990 to January 31, 1991, Volume IV of the series of the Austrian Tobacco Museum, Vienna, 1990.
Web links
- Tobacco box with a relief portrait of Duke Carl I of Braunschweig in the Museum Schloss Fürstenberg