Empress Maria Alexandrovna: A diamond-set gold Imperial presentation snuffbox, Carl Martin Weishaupt Söhne, Hanau, circa 1855. Cartouche-shaped, the cover of the hinged lid centered with a slightly raised oval plaque enameled in translucent royal blue over a radiating engine-turned ground & applied with silver-mounted diamonds forming a scrolling letter M surmounted by the Russian Imperial crown, the plain gold bezel with a band of diamonds in fleur-de-lys-shaped silver mounts, the ground of cast & chased scrolling grapevines & foliage against a matted gilt ground, the scrolling foliage centering six rosettes in the spaces where diamonds could have been set, with chased fluted sides, the underside engraved scrolling ornament interspersed with grape leaves centering a floral bouquet, raised on a red gold foot & with red gold hinge. Marked inside base CMWS incuse, 14, & with Hanau city mark (shield with chevrons), the exterior left flange stamped 2836 & with scratched number 20345, the exterior right flange with the St. Petersburg inventory mark. Contained in its original fitted silk- & velvet-lined shaped leather case. Dimensions: 1 1/2 h x 3 1/2 w x 2 5/8 d in. (3.8 x 8.9 x 6.7 cm).