Snuffbox with six scenes of country pastimes 1774 - 1775

This snuffbox with six scenes of country pastimes was created by Pierre François Drais in France in the 18th century. The box itself is made of gold, and the miniature scenes are painted on enamel. These scenes are visual codes of the leisure and pleasure that define the French Rococo and its aristocratic lifestyle. The paintings present an idyllic vision of rural life. It evokes a kind of nostalgic yearning for a simpler time, even as it caters to the elite's desire for elegant and refined luxury items. Snuffboxes were luxury items that circulated among the wealthy, and the images that adorn them provide a window into the values and interests of this privileged class. Art historians can use inventories of aristocratic collections, for example, to understand the role these objects played in shaping social identity. By interpreting these sources, we begin to grasp the meaning of art as something deeply rooted in social and institutional context.