Circular, gold snuff-box. France. Dated 1657. Circular in shape, the outside and the bottom are alternately decorated with thin strips of gold and slate. The lid is decorated with an oil-painted miniature depicting a country landscape. The interior is covered in tortoiseshell. An old clipping of the fragment of the Christie's catalogue of the auction from which the box was purchased is to be found in the box. The clipping has the handwritten inscription 'Hawkins Coll'. The snuff box is in a superb state of conservation, despite the fact that 4 of the small gold strips at the top of the box are missing. 3 x 5.5 cm. Provenance: Christie's auction, 27 March 1928.