Papier mâché, polychrome hand painting on black lacquer
Brunswick, Germany, 1st third of the 19th century
Stobwasser factory (1740-1863) – manufacturer for lacquer goods
On the inside of the base with maker’s mark ‘St’ in red and ‘646’
Annotated on the inside of the lid with ‘Julie’
Online catalogue raisonné Stobwasser no. 964
Dimensions: 2 x 9 x 6 cm
Good condition
Provenance: German private collection
Stobwasser tobacco boxes are sought-after collectibles due to their exceptional miniature painting; the rectangular snuff box on hand can be found in the catalogue raisonné under ‘beauties’

This fine lidded rectangular tobacco box was made by the renowned company Stobwasser, which was the leading manufacturer for lacquered goods in the early 19th century. The lid shows a polychrome hand painted portrait of a beautiful woman named ‘Julie’, wearing a traditional Swiss dress with gold embroidery. Her hair is braided and she is adorned with fine pearl drop earrings. The background shows trees and a cloudy sky.



The tobacco box is in good condition with signs of age. The surface of the lid shows some craquelure. The left edge shows color loss in two areas. The hinge shows verdigris. The inside of the base bears the maker’s mark ‘St’ in red as well as the inventory number ‘646’. The inside on the lid bears the title ‘Julie’. The dimensions are 2 x 9 x 6 cm (height x length x width).



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).