Snuff Box with Clock
Unknown Artist
c. 1750
Medium
gold-mounted agate, enamel dial, glass
Dimensions
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Classification
Miscellaneous
Department
Decorative Art and Design
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Howard F. Stirn
Accession Number
2009.75
About this artwork
Luxurious personal objects, like this snuff box, were an essential part of a privileged wardrobe during the 1700s and early 1800s, emphasizing their owner’s refinement and wealth. Their glittering surfaces, however, disguised a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved or indentured people, whether in gold or stone mines, tobacco farms, or shops where these goods were made. This small, elaborate box held snuff, a form of powdered tobacco that was inhaled in tiny amounts. Like cotton, s...