The appearance of this snuffbox, with engine turned panels framed by borders chased in coloured golds with flowers and foliate scrolls, shows the pervading influence of the goldsmiths of Hanau, who had first conceived this form of design in the early 1820s. Designers provided goldsmiths with multiple variations for these borders, using a limited number of motifs – scrolls, fruit and flowers. As these borders often framed enamel or chased plaques it is likely that the designers took inspiration from a new form of picture frame that had emerged some years earlier. These carved or moulded motifs were often set against a ground enlivened by punching, which chasers could render as a sablé ground.

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