For sale is a very rare treat - a snuff box made by Meissen
around 1745. This one is much nicer than most even from Meissen since
it it has 7 ! handpainted top notch merchant / harbor scenes on it as
well as some nice flowers. There are large scenes on the top, the inside
of the top and the bottom and four smaller scenes on all four sides.
The inside bottom part is entirely painted with floral arrangements and
flowers. The quality of the scenes is superb and comparing this one to
others I think they were painted by Christian Friedrich Herold who was
one of the top painters for such scenes during this period. I am always
amazed how they could paint so well seeing that the heads of the figures
are only a millimeter are so in size! The mounts on this piece are gold
which means it must have been very special even back then since many
were just gilded silver and very few were actual gold. The box is in
amazing condition. There is a tiny bit of wear on the flowers on the
inside from use with snuff, some minor scratches to the gold and some
very very minor wear to the scenes especially considering the age. Even
the underside scene is in remarkable condition! The box is not marked
which is normal but the piece speaks for itself. The gold mounts are
marked with what appears to be an impressed letter P on one side. The
snuff box is about 1.25 inches tall, 2.75 inches wide and 2 inches
deep. If you like my goodies have a look at my other auctions for a lot more top maker pieces or contact me through Ebay if you are looking for something else.