Late Examples of Steinkabinettabatiere

In 1786, Johann Christian Neuber placed the following advertisement in the Journal des Luxus und der Moden of Leipzig, an influential monthly magazine that reported trends in German cultural life: "An older invention of this clever artist, still largely unknown, is a kind of snuffbox made of gold and all kinds of precious stones from Saxony, known as Steinkabinettabatiere [stone cabinet snuffbox]. The stones are numbered and none appears twice, while a small booklet that accompanies the box provides their scientific names. Thus, luxury, taste, and science are brought together in this fashionable object of jewelry, which makes it desirable for every wealthy collector."

In the late 1780s and 1790s, Steinkabinettabatieres held samples of stone cut in straight lines, instead of in the shape of a flower petal, more common a decade earlier.

Two original booklets were presented in the exhibition, in the Garden Court.