The shape of this rectangular box, with deep sides and shallow depth of the lid, was particularly favoured in St Petersburg during the middle third of the nineteenth century. The elegant reeded motif was referenced later in the century by goldsmiths such as Köchli and Fabergé for the decoration of cigarette cases, the fashionable accessory that effectively replaced the snuffbox.
The maker’s mark FH is not included in Karl Leonard Bäcksbacka’s record of St Petersburg goldsmiths active in the years 1714–1870. As the initials are in Latin script, the maker must have been non-Russian and was probably working as a subcontractor to a retail jeweller.

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