Napoleon is depicted riding his war horse Marengo, a grey Arabian that was imported to France from Egypt in 1799. Marengo carried the emperor at many decisive battles including Austerlitz, Jena–Auerstedt and Wagram. At the battle of Waterloo, Marengo was captured by William Petre, 11th Baron Petre (1793–1850), and brought to England where he was sold to Lieutenant Colonel Angerstein and unsuccessfully put to stud. Marengo died in 1831, probably aged thirty-eight. One of his hooves was incorporated into a table snuffbox – sic transit gloria mundi.
The rococo revival decoration on this box is at odds with the aesthetic preferences of Napoleon as revealed by snuffboxes specifically associated with him. The plaque was most probably inserted at a later date.

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