The hinged cover chased with an imposing portrait bust of the Empress Elizabeth against an architectural background, a figure of Victory above her in the clouds, the thumbpiece mounted with scrolling diamonds, the underside chased with figures of Athena and Mercury, the side panels depicting the life of the Empress, with scenes of the Empress and her grand nephew Paul Petrovitch as a young child, the Empress receiving homage from the Navy, the Empress receiving homage from the Army, Providence presenting the new born Paul Petrovitch to the Empress, and the Empress receiving homage from allegorical figures.
The scene of Providence engraved with initials F.R. and G.F. on the paving stones, also with French import marks
11 cm in diameter
445 grams in weight
Only one other box of this stature is known. It too features Empress Elizabeth on its cover and is in the collection of the Kremlin Armory, Moscow.
Wartski advised on and acquired this box for a customer.
Illustrated:
Henry and Sidney Berry-Hill, Antique Gold Boxes: Their Lore and Their Love, New York, 1953, pp. 184-185, nos. 189-193 (illustrated).
K. Snowman, Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe, London, 1966, pp. 613-615 (illustrated).
A La Vieille Russie, The Art of the Goldsmith & the Jeweler, New York, 1968, p. 76, no. 174 (illustrated).
A. M. Terekhova, A Gold and Diamond Snuffbox of the 18th Century by Pauzie, in Annual Report of the State Museum of the Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, 1973, p. 167 (listed).
A. Solodkoff, Russian Gold and Silver, London, 1981, pp. 140, no. 166 (illustrated).
K. Snowman, Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe, London, 1990, p. 361, pl. 765-767 (illustrated).
Provenance:
Almost certainly commissioned by Empress Elizabeth as a presentation gift.
With A La Vieille Russie, New York.
Property from the Estate of a Lady; Christie’s, New York, 19 April 2002, lot 58.
With S.J. Phillips, London.
Acquired by Irene Roosevelt Aitken from the above at the Grosvenor House Fair, London, June 2004.
Christies, New York, The Irene Roosevelt Aitken Collection, 13th February 2026, lot 471.