Mastery of Design: A Diamond Snuff Box, 1770

Table Snuff Box, 1770
German
Bloodstone, gold, diamonds
The Royal Collection

Over three thousand diamonds backed in silver, pink and yellow foil adorn this bloodstone snuff box. German in origin, the box was made for Frederick II of Prussia who had a collection of over three hundred snuff boxes.


Heralded for its magnificent use of gold mounts and the clarity of its diamonds, the box was considered one of the great treasures of Prussia. In 1917, it was seized by Soviet authorities and, as these things often did, somehow ended up in the hands of Mary of Teck.