Snuffbox
18th century
Medium
Aventurine glass, cast, cut and polished, with gilded bronze mounts
Dimensions
Overall: 1 1/2 × 2 3/8 × 3 1/4 in. (3.8 × 6 × 8.3 cm)
Classification
Glass
Culture
Italian, Venice (Murano)
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of James Jackson Jarves, 1881
Accession Number
81.8.53
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 18th-century snuffbox the Miotti Family Workshop the pinnacle of Venetian glass from Murano, Italy's historic center of the craft. Crafted in aventurine glass—a shimmering material flecked with metallic copper inclusions that mimic sparkling gemstones—the box was cast, meticulously cut, and polished to achieve its luminous, jewel-like surface. Adorned with ornate gilded bronze mounts, it as a luxury accessory for Europe's aristocracy, who indulged in the fashionable habit of inhaling powdered tobacco snuff during the Rococo era. The Miotti family, renowned glassmakers active fr...