The lid is applied with a diamond-set tugra of Abdülaziz (1830–1876), who succeeded his brother Abdülmejid (b. 1821) as the 32nd Ottoman Sultan in 1861. Son of Sultan Mahmud II (1785– 1839), he continued the military, administrative and fiscal reorganisation – Tanzimat – begun by his father. His admiration for the technological advances taking place in western Europe led him to undertake a tour there in 1867, travelling to, among other places, Paris, where he visited the Exposition Universelle, and London, where he was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria. A talented composer of classical music, Abdülaziz was deposed by his ministers for mismanagement of the Ottoman economy, particularly his lavish expenditure on the Ottoman Navy and on construction of the Beylerbeyi Palace in Constantinople. Crop failure further aggravated this economic crisis. Days after he was deposed, Abdülaziz was found dead in mysterious circumstances. In view of the project of westernisation of the Ottoman Empire pursued by Mahmud II and his sons and successors Abdülmejid and Abdülaziz, it is not surprising that the custom of western European rulers of giving presentation snuffboxes as a token of favour was adopted by the House of Osman. Slightly earlier, in 1799, and similarly inspired by European award systems, Sultan Selim III (1761–1808), father of Mahmud II, introduced the first Ottoman order of chivalry, the Order of the Crescent. (Due to objections from the ulama, the scholarly guardians of Islamic doctrine and law, the order was only bestowed on foreigners.) The earliest presentation boxes that may be associated with Ottoman Sultans were made in western Europe, often following an established decorative scheme that was deemed fitting for this market. It is probable that by the mid-nineteenth century some of these boxes were being made in Constantinople, in European style. The present snuffbox could be such a work – its hand-tooled sablé ground and slightly raised floral decoration are unlike the more even engraving and fine engine-turning favoured by the goldsmiths of Geneva, Paris or London at this date.

minimize...