Objets de vertu are small, finely made luxury objects valued for their craftsmanship, precious materials and artistry rather than for any practical purpose they may serve. The term, a nineteenth-century coinage in imitation French, covers snuffboxes, étuis, scent bottles, bonbonnières, patch boxes, vinaigrettes, carnets de bal, seals, fob watches and similar small treasures.
The great age of objets de vertu was the eighteenth century, when goldsmiths in Paris, London, Dresden and St Petersburg made gold boxes and accessories decorated with enamel, hardstones, diamonds, lacquer, mother-of-pearl and portrait miniatures. Snuff-taking created a demand for elaborate boxes that were given as diplomatic gifts and displayed as marks of taste and wealth. English enamel boxes from Bilston and Birmingham offered a more affordable version, and in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the workshops of Fabergé produced some of the most celebrated objects of this kind. Collectors examine marks, quality of chasing and enamelling, the condition of hinges and the fit of lids, and evidence of repairs or replaced panels. Because of their high value, objets de vertu have been extensively faked and reworked, so provenance and specialist advice are important.
