BY THE IMPERIAL PORCELAIN FACTORY, ST PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1760

Details

A VERY RARE PORCELAIN PACKET SNUFF BOX
BY THE IMPERIAL PORCELAIN FACTORY, ST PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1760
Rectangular, designed as a folded letter, the cover decorated with a dedication inscription in Russian ‘To my most Noble Lady, Nadezhda Ivanovna Malishkina [from] V Neronov’, the inside of the cover finely painted with a floral bouquet, the base painted with a red seal enclosing a decorative cartouche, with metal-gilt rim, marked inside base with impressed factory mark
3 ¼ in. (8.4 cm.) wide

Special Notice

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Lot Essay

The so called ‘packet’ or ‘package’ snuff boxes resemble a folded letter with a simulated wax seal. The cover is typically inscribed with a memorable phrase or message to the recipient, and sometimes even an address. Although these snuff boxes were widely produced in the early years of the Imperial Porcelain Factory during the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, relatively few survive. Today these pieces rarely appear on the market. For comparable packet snuff boxes, see S. Kaznakov, Paket Snuffboxes, St Petersburg, 1913.

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