A GERMAN PASTE-SET ENAMELLED GOLD PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOX

The Hanseatic League, die Hanse in German, seems to have begun as an alliance between the northern German towns of Hamburg and Lübeck in 1241. It was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe. Created to protect the commercial interests and privileges granted by foreign rulers in cities and countries that the merchants visited, the League exerted great influence on the politics, culture and economics of European countries. It held occasional meetings, or Hanseatic diets, in Lübeck and other cities to conduct its business. It had probably reached the height of its powers in the mid-15th century with a presence in locations from Danzig to Cologne and London, but had largely lost its strength by the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 1550s and the increasing power of Europe's nation-states in the 1600s. The last meeting was held in 1669 with representatives from only six towns present.
For other boxes by this goldsmith see lots 108, 114 and 115.