Papier mâché, polychrome oil painting on black lacquer
Brunswick, Germany, beginning of the 19th century
Stobwasser Factory (1740-1863) – manufacturer for lacquer goods
On the inside of the base with manufacturer’s mark ‘Stobwasser’s / Fabrik / Braunschweig’ and number ‘198.’
Titled in red on the inside of the lid with ‘La bonne nouvelle’ and ‘198.’
Diameter: 9.5 cm
Good condition
Provenance: German private collection
Stobwasser tobacco boxes are sought-after collectibles due to their exceptional miniature painting; this round snuff box with the portrait of a young woman is rendered in a particularly fine manner

This fine round box and cover titled ‘La bonne nouvelle’ (The good news) was made by the renowned company Stobwasser in the early 19th century. Snuffboxes of this kind used to be a common possession to store one’s tobacco. The lid shows a portrait of a young woman who has just received good news in a letter. She is dressed in a charming white garment to which she has attached a beautiful brooch and she is wearing fine pearl earrings. Stobwasser’s own painting school guaranteed small scale painted scenes of exceptional quality, which is apparent here in the masterful depiction of the subject matter.



The snuff box is in good condition with some signs of age. There is minor loss to the material at the rim of the base and the surface of the lid shows some signs of craquelure and minor surface blemishes. On the inside of the base with manufacturer’s mark ‘Stobwasser’s / Fabrik / Braunschweig’ and the number ‘198.’. The inside of the lid bears the title ‘La bonne nouvelle’ and ‘198.’ The diameter is 9.5 cm.



Stobwasser Factory (1740-1863)

The manufactory Stobwasser was established in 1740 by Georg Siegmund Eustachius Stobwasser. Georg Stobwasser started trading haberdashery; the trading of lacquered goods was introduced by his son Johann Heinrich Stobwasser in 1757. In the 1760s the Bayreuth margrave Friedrich III commissioned a large number of lacquered boxes as well as drinking vessels and cups. In 1762 the entire family Stobwasser moved to Brunswick on the wish of the Duke Carl I., who promised them some money for production, citizenship as well as free accommodation. After having a few difficulties, business soon picked up and the repertoire of lacquered goods extended. Shell pouches, drinking vessels, snuff boxes and even furniture was part of their range. In 1768 Stobwasser was commissioned to lacquer state carriage of Friedrich the Great. Thereon the company gained the sole privilege of calling their goods ‘Brunswick lacquer ware’.



The products were laboriously crafted from papier mâché, wood and rolled tin plate and iron sheet. To guarantee the high quality of the décor Stobwasser opened its own painting school in 1780 run by the renowned Brunswick artist Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch (1723-1803).