France. Napoléon Bonaparte Bicorne Snuff Box, C. 1830

The snuff box is fabricated from horn with a black finish, in the shape of the bicorne worn by Napoléon Bonaparte, the front panel with an enameled an d painted simulated plume, the rear panel illustrating the Vendôme Column in Paris, flanked by a soldier at its base on the right, with the inscription "NAPOLÉON LE GRAND ... CHERI DE LA VICTOIRE. / IL SUT PAR SON GENIE ETERNISER SA GLORIRE:", the column and inscription backed by multiple fine horizontal rules, the snuff box hinged along the bottom edge and when the rear panel is dropped down, reveals the housing for the snuff (a smokeless tobacco made from ground or pulverized tobacco leaves, which is inhaled or "snuffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering a swift hit of nicotine and a lasting flavoured scent, especially if flavouring has been blended with the tobacco), the snuff box measuring 79.5 mm (w) x 48.5 mm (h) x 26.7 mm (d), very fine.

Footnote: Place Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the corners give the rectangular place Vendôme the aspect of an octagon. The original Vendôme Column at the centre of the square was erected by Napoleon I, to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz. It was torn down on May 16, 1871, by decree of the Paris Commune, but subsequently re-erected and remains a prominent feature on the square today.