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? ITALIAN

Snuff box

RCIN 4084

Circular gold hinged box. Lid inset with domed enamel miniature of the Judgment of Paris, framed by chased border of acanthus leaves. Engine turned base and sides. The lid of this box shows the Judgement of Paris. Paris was a Trojan prince who was asked to judge the most beautiful of three goddesses, Venus, Juno and Minerva. Paris awarded the prize to Venus. The prize, a golden apple, was in fact the Apple of Discord, and this episode was said to have led to the Trojan War and to Paris's death. This box was one of a group left to Queen Victoria by her aunts, Princess Sophia and Princess Augusta, daughters of George III, who bequeathed thirty snuff boxes to their niece.

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