Description: Two Japanese cigarette cases with fine detail. 1. Brass with enamel highlighting. Front side is Mt. Fuji in the background and pagodas in the foreground. The back side is a dragon. Inside is gold washed with floral pattern and small chains attached on either side to hold cigarettes in place. 2. Silver, copper brass inlay of Mt Fuji on front of case over enameled brass. Inside is the same scene.


History: The functional reason for a cigarette case is to keep the fragile tubes of tobacco within from being crushed. But smoking cigarettes has never been a purely utilitarian pursuit. It has long been associated with style and fashion, which is why cigarette cases quickly became highly decorative personal accessories. There are two general categories of antique and vintage cigarette cases. The first is the case designed for home use. In the late 19th century, Fabergé made rounded sterling silver cases with delicately worked surfaces and a slender row of tiny rose diamonds on the case’s thumb piece. In the 1920s, Art Deco cigarette boxes were fashioned out of polished panels of sterling, with stepped covers that recalled the shapes of Mayan temples. By the 1940s, home cigarette cases were being produced out of laminated slabs of Bakelite. The more common type of case, and the one that probably comes to mind first when we think of cigarette cases, was the slim rectangle or square designed to fit in a jacket pocket or a small purse. In the late Victorian era, these cases were often paired with matching vesta cases, which were used to hold friction matches known as vestas. One of the unique attributes of a vesta case was a rough or ribbed area, often at the bottom of the case, so the vesta could be struck.

Provenance: FL Estate


Dimensions: Weight (Pounds & Ounces) = 0.5 | Height(in) = 4 | Width(in) = 8 | Depth(in) = 6

Size of Artwork(in): .50 x 4.5"


Artist Name: Japan


Medium: Brass, copper, silver,


Circa: Circa 1920

Very good condition. Clasps in excellent working order. Only a minor loss of enamel on the inside of #2.