Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Mastery of Design: The Diamond-Eyed Pug Snuff Box




Snuff Box
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Images Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II



Of Prussian origin, this snuff box of bloodstone takes the shape of a recumbent pug dog.  He sports diamond-set eyes and teeth, a tongue of rhodonite and the gold inlaid inscription "TOUJOURS FIDELE" on his collar.

The doggie sits upon a rectangular four-color gold base which has been chased with a scene of three hounds attacking a bull in a wooded landscape.

The box was given by George, Duke of Cambridge to King Edward VII.  Edward bequeathed the box to his son, King George V.




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