We have bought a large collection of these fish shaped silver snuff boxes. Antique Judaica Silver Besamim Spice Box FishThis is my finest example.
This one is a rare model with not just the eyes in stones but also two on the top. Indicating a sort of fish, I suppose. In Denmark these fishes were used against The Filthy Rich!
Only the very wealthy persons were allowed to be buried inside the church and the result was that the place had a nasty smell. The ones with money bought one of these snuff boxes, inside some cloth with a pleasant smell and you would hold it close to your nose during service. So that is why the nose opens up and there was also room for a penny (øre in Denmark) or two for the church money box that would be passed around.
This example is in really nice shape, they were used in the 1700 and 1800 period so many did not last, as they were made of silver and not very strong. The silver marks are (as usual) unclear. This kind with 4 stones I have never seen before.
