Heavy smoker of tobacco of Virginia, Cambaceres
affectionnait the snuffboxes. Fact ignored nowadays, this passion is
perfectly known of its contemporaries: whoever wanting to obtain a favour of
its share, offered a snuffbox to him.
His collection contained of it approximately a
hundred, of which much is present of the Emperor or Mrs Mère. Here some
snuffboxes having belonged to Archchancellor which were sold by Christie's
Geneva :
Snuffbox with an ancient miniature of
style on a pompéian red bottom.
Snuffbox out of gold and agate of time
of Restoration.
Gold snuffbox with in its center a
profile of Cambaceres in large uniform(click above to increase the
cameo).
Snuffbox with a mosaic representing the
Saint-Charles theater in Naples.
Snuffbox with a mosaic representing the
head of Bacchus de Campidoglio.
Snuffbox with a mosaic representing
Mercury and Argus (scene drawn from the Metamorphoses of Ovide).
Snuffbox with a miniature drawn from a
self-portrait of Raphaël.
Snuffbox with a mosaic of Roman
style representing a dog attentively observing a duck swimming on a lake.
Snuffbox out of malachite and agate
offered to Cambaceres by prince Kourakine,
ambassador of Russia, probably at the time of its arrival in 1808.
(Note the triangle, parallel emblem maconnic and it with malachites of
Trianon offered to Napoleon Bonaparte by the Alexandre tsar).
Snuffbox with two miniatures
representing the main courtyard and the gardens of the Mole hotel,
residence of Cambaceres of 1808 to 1816 (pass the mouse on the
snuffbox to see the other face).
Snuffbox wood with a nail gilded
in its center.
Gold snuffbox with a mosaic representing
Adonis and Venus.
Gold snuffbox with a miniature on
opaline representing Aurora on her char.
Gold snuffbox with a sard cameo “Jupiter
in majesty” dating from the IIE or IIIE century after J.C.
(click above to increase the snuffbox).
This cameo was given in 1804 by the
pope Pie VII to Cambaceres in thanks of the part played by this one in
the negotiations on the works of art seized in Rome by the French troops.