Snuff Box (Tabatière) with Portrait of Marie-Thérèse of Austria

In 18th-century France, ornately enameled boxes that held snuff—powdered tobacco—became a popular accessory in the French court. This box is decorated with a miniature portrait of Marie-Thérèse of Austria, the queen consort of French King Louis XIV. Their union was largely political. A year into their marriage Louis XIV took an official mistress, Madame Pompadour.