Antique early 19th c. French Empire Pressed Wood Snuff. On the Lid is Apollon (Apollo) the Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, music, song and poetry, archery, healing, plague and disease, and the protection of the young. Inside there is a tortoiseshell rim and a picture of Emperor Napoleon holding up his son, Napoleon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte (20 March 1811 – 22 July 1832), Prince Imperial, King of Rome, known in the Austrian court as Franz from 1814 onward, Duke of Reichstadt from 1818, was the son of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his second wife, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. These antique early pressed wood snuff boxes were made by turning a piece of wood to a block, then the decorative lids and bases were made by subjecting the wood to steam to soften them and then whilst the wood was slightly soft metal dies were pressed down on to the lids and bases impressing the wood with ornamental pictures. The blocks would then be cut in half to form lids and bases and hollowed out lined with tortoiseshell. Measures 3 1/4"x3 1/4"x3/4". Weight 2.1 oz. PROVENANCE: A Charleston SC Private Estate.

good, small nick to lid, base and chip to tortoise shell