Erotica, Curiosa – Anthropomorphic Snuffbox – Anticlerical – Folk Art – Lustful Priest

Late 19th century France. A striking folk snuffbox depicting a bearded priest, carved from dark wood, with a highly expressive face. The eyes are inlaid with small, light flecks, giving the gaze a singular, almost unsettling intensity, and reinforcing the silent and ambivalent nature of the figure. The priest, his head slightly inclined, stands with his hands clasped in a posture of contemplation. At first glance, everything evokes piety, humility, and restraint. Yet, the object reveals its true function through a discreet opening in the lower part: it is a snuffbox, forming a small tobacco container, without any mechanism or transformation, serving a strictly utilitarian purpose. Inside, there are no erotic scenes, and no elements are missing. Only the figure's legs are depicted, according to a principle of simplification typical of folk art. The contrast between its devout appearance and profane use firmly places this piece within the realm of late 19th-century curiosities, where everyday objects subvert sacred codes with discreet, never overt, irony. The sculpture is entirely executed with a knife: a fan-shaped, striated beard, veined hair, a carved rope at the waist, and deliberately simplified volumes imbued with strong expressiveness. The wood displays a dark patina, glossy in places, enriched by repeated handling. Natural drying cracks and a few old traces of wood-boring insects attest to its age and use. A conversation piece as much as a personal snuffbox, this piece perfectly illustrates the spirit of late 19th-century folk art, where humor, function, belief, and symbolic subversion coexist in a subtle balance. Height: 14 cm. Condition: beautiful old patina, signs of wear, natural wood cracks, a few old wood-boring insect holes, stable structure. ALL DELIVERIES ARE MADE BY DHL EXPRESS ONLY.