This oval silver tobacco box has a very fine mother-of-pearl plaque which is carved by the well-known Jan Bernard Barckhuysen from Harderwijk. The smooth oval box has a curved sides. The mother-of-pearl plaque depicts an allegorical scene carved in relief of figures making music in a landscape framed by rocailles and shell motifs.

Signed: I.B. Barckhuysen fecit for Jan Bernhard Barckhuysen.

Jan Bernard Barckhuysen (1684-1760), by profession an iron cutter at the Gelders Munt in Harderwijk, left an impressive oeuvre in mother-of-pearl and is now considered one of the most important artists in this field in 18th-century Holland. Some examples of his art can be found in museums across Europe, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Not only biblical subjects, but also mythological subjects appear in Barckhuysen's work.