The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 13, 2026

An ornate, rectangular gold box features wavy, curving edges and four deep blue lapis lazuli panels. At the center of the lid, a gold relief depicts two shields topped with a crown, flanked by a winged child and a figure in armor. Intricate vertical patterns of shells and curled leaf shapes decorate the sides, contrasting with the smooth stone panels above.

Gold Box

1728–29
maker

Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier

(French, 1695–1750)
France
gold and lapis lazuli
Overall: 3 x 8.3 x 5.2 cm (1 3/16 x 3 1/4 x 2 1/16 in.)
Purchase from the John L. Severance Fund, the Dudley P. Allen Fund, by exchange, and the Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund 2026.12
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This is one of the two known objects that bear the maker's mark of Meissonnier.

Description

With its central cartouche, heavy molding, and fluted sides, the design of this box attests to Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier’s interest in architecture. The box is further distinguished by a strong sense of movement, achieved through its dynamic contour, extraordinary level of detail, and the dramatic contrast between gold and lapis lazuli.
Such small boxes, known as snuffboxes, were used to hold scented powdered tobacco that was inhaled through the nostrils. Made of precious materials and highly ornamented, they conveyed the owner’s wealth, fashion awareness, sophistication, and social standing. These personal, collectible items were often presented as luxurious gifts. This box was made for the dowager Queen of Spain, Maria Anna of Neuburg, whose coat of arms – along with that of her late husband, Charles II – features on the cover.
  • 1728/1729–?
    Marie-Anne of Bavaria-Neubourg (1667–1740)
    ?–1930
    Russian Government
    1930
    Sold by the Soviets with Ball-Graupe, Berlin, 25 September 1930, lot 103
    Possibly Jacques Helft (1891–1980)
    ?–1941
    Collection of David David-Weill (1871–1952), Paris, inv. no. DW 30/204, from the above
    1941–1945
    Confiscated by Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg at Château de Sourches
    1945–1946
    Central Collecting Point Munich, 3 September 1945
    1946
    Repatriated to France on 18 April 1946
    1946
    Restituted to David David-Weill on 21 June 1946
    1971
    David David-Weill sale, Palais Galliera, 4 June 1971, lot 63
    1974
    The Jaime Ortiz-Patino Collection Part III, Christie’s, Geneva, 26 June 1974, lot 21
    c. 1990
    Wartski
    1993
    Sotheby's Private Sale
    1993–2026
    Private Collection
    2026
    Christie's Private Sale to The Cleveland Museum of Art
    2026
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Nocq, H. Le Poinçon de Paris. Paris: H. Floury, 1931. p. 26.
    Helft, Jacques.Vive la Chine! Mémoire d’un Antiquaire. Monaco: Éditions du Rocher, 1955.
    Helft, Jacques. Treasure Hunt: Memoirs of an Antique Dealer. London: Faber & Faber Ltd., 1957. pp. 197–198
    Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe. London: Faber and Faber, 1966. pl. 137/139.
    Nyberg, D. Meissonnier: An 18th Century Maverick. New York, 1969. pp. 7, 24.
    De Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, L. Aventure et Secrets Du Collectionneur. Paris: Stock, 1971.
    Connaissance des Arts 231 (May 1971): 72–73.
    Connaissance des Arts 234 (August 1971): 79.
    Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Paris: A Catalogue of the J. Ortiz-Patiño Collection. London: Robson Books, 1974. p. 21, cat. 5.
    Blakemore, Kenneth. Snuff Boxes. London: F. Muller, 1976. fig. 7.
    Humair, S. “'Les tabatières d'or de la première moitié du XVIII siècle.” La Gazette de Drouot 8 (19 February 1988): 72.
    Snowman, A. Kenneth. Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe. 2nd ed. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1990. pl. 146.
    Fuhring, Peter. Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier: Un Genio Del Rococò: 1695–1750. Torino: U. Allemandi, 1999. pp. 185–187, cat. 18.
  • A Loan Exhibition of Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes, Wartski, London, United Kingdom (organizer) (October 2–17, 1990), cat. no. 6.
  • {{cite web|title=Gold Box|url=false|author=Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier|year=1728–29|access-date=13 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2026.12