Circular box
Unknown Artist
ca. 1780
Medium
Two-tone gold, rock crystal
Dimensions
confirmed: 1 1/8 × 2 1/16 in. (2.9 × 5.3 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Gold and Platinum
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
Accession Number
2019.283.102
Art Historical Context
This exquisite circular box, crafted around 1780 in France by an unknown artist, exemplifies the pinnacle of18th-century European luxury metalwork. Measuring just 1 1/8 × 2 1/16 inches, its petite scale suggests it served as a snuffbox, bonbonnière, or patch—intimate accessories favored by the aristocracy. Fashioned from two-tone gold and translucent rock crystal, the piece showcases the era's masterful goldsmithing techniques, likely featuring engine-turned patterns in contrasting gold shades for a shimmering, reflective surface, topped with a crystal lid that catches the light like fine jewe...