SNUFFBOX WITH THE BATTLE OF KUNDERSDORF
Creator(s): Unknown
On view in: French Drawing Room
About this object
The Russian inscription, "Kunersdorf, Saltykov, Victory," at the top of the box, identifies the battle that this souvenir commemorates. In 1759 at the Battle of Kunersdorf, the combined Russo-Austrian army, commanded by Count Petr Saltykov, soundly defeated Frederick the Great's Prussian troops, led by the emperor himself. The many identical boxes in museum collections and on the market have alternatively been called English and Russian. After a comparison with Hillwood's English enamel boxes, it appears quite certain that the stylized folk-like painting is Russian.
The box is rectangular with rounded corners. The lid is painted with a battle scene, above which is a banderole with the inscription "Kunersdorf/Saltykov/Victory" in cyrillic. The sides and base are painted with military trophies. The interior of the lid is decorated with a portrait of Elizabeth Petrovna, also inscribed in cyrillic: "God save Elizabeth I, Empress of all Russia." The lid of the box is framed with wavy gilt metal mounts.
- Object name:
- SNUFFBOX WITH THE BATTLE OF KUNDERSDORF
- Made from:
- Enamel -- gilt metal
- Made in:
- Birmingham, England
- Date made:
- After 1757
- Size:
- 3.8 x 8.1 x 6 cm (1 1/2 x 3 3/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
Detailed information for this item
- Catalog number:
- 15.229
- Signature marks:
- Credit line:
- Museum Purchase, 2004