A unique commemorative Neoclassical double-sided composition "Americana Prosperitas" snuff box, attributed to Jean Martin Renaud (French, 1746-1821), circa 1785

Glazed on both sides, the decoration rendered in relief, the first side with the figure of Fame bearing portrait medallions of Franklin and Washington is inscribed, “Franklin" and "Wassington (sic)"; the second side with a family watched over by the figure of Mercury, a trading ship beyond, is inscribed, “Americana Prosperitas."

Dia: 3 in.

The French artist and sculptor, Jean Martin Renaud, was known for creating small Neoclassical relief portraits and vignettes in wax and clay. The method of modeling in these humble materials was traditionally a preliminary step used by medal-makers for eventual casting. Renaud, however, found the materials beautiful and sufficient works of art in themselves. He exhibited often at the Paris Salon. For an example of Renaud's work, see A Family Group Portrait, (1999.401), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York.

It is also interesting to note that Renaud made at least one pair of medallions in terracotta using the same designs as those on the snuff box. See Richard Margolis, Franklin in Terra Cotta (2015), pg. 192.

According to family tradition the snuff box was originally presented to Benjamin Franklin by King Louis XVI. The snuff box has been mentioned in the will of every generation of the Franklin-Bache-Scott family to the present owner.

The Franklin historian, Charles Coleman Sellers (1903-1980), records on page 388 of Benjamin Franklin in Portraiture (1962), “In the will of Franklin’s son-in-law, Richard Bache, dated Jan. 2, 1810, the box was bequeathed to his son as a French Snuff box.” At that time it contained locks of Benjamin Franklin’s and his daughter’s Sarah Franklin Bache’s hair.