The marks on this box are frustratingly illegible. What appears to be the maker’s mark comprises a crown with initials, two on one line and a third – possibly a G or an O – below; the second mark is a crown over a square with indented sides and the third would seem to reference the harrow charge mark used by Eloy Brichard and Etienne Somfoye in Paris, 1756–1762. Generically these marks conform to those used in Hanau, and more specifically they are not unlike those used by Esaias Obicker; however, their clustered arrangement differs from the linear placement used by this goldsmith. The absence of a Hanau shell or bird marks on the rim suggests the box was made prior to 1764, when these gold control marks were introduced.
Both the proportions of this snuffbox and the use of coloured golds to define the architectural motifs of the design reflect contemporary Parisian fashion. It is interesting to contrast the more robust treatment and casual placement of decorative motifs on this box – such as the leaf detail at the corners – with the precise rendering of the scrollwork element at the corners of a box by Charles Le Bastier

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