The six dynamic semicircular lobes are reminiscent of Byzantine and later orthodox sacred architecture but the Ottoman-influenced engraved floral decoration of pomegranates, tulips, and roses against black enamel suggests the canister served a useful purpose. When the domed lid is screwed down, it holds in place a second tidily inserted lid to hermetically seal the gilt interior. The arms belong to Michael Teleki of Szék and his third wife Judith Weér de Köröstarcsa, to whom the inscription VER JUDIT refers.

Literature
Fine Russian Works of Art, Fabergé, Watches and Clocks . . . Silver / Objets d’art russes, Fabergé, montres et pendules . . . orfèvrerie européenne. Sale cat., Christie’s, Geneva, November 12–15, 1984, p. 181, no. 529.
Judit H. Kolba. Hungarian Silver: The Nicolas M. Salgo Collection. London, 1996, p. 81, no. 59.
Wolfram Koeppe in “Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 2010–2012.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 70, no. 2 (Fall 2012), p. 29.

References
A plate inscribed with the same names and similar coats of arms was sold, Important Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine. Sale cat., Sotheby’s, Paris, December 1, 2011, p. 171, no. 280.
Elemér Kőszeghy. Magyarországi ötvösjegyek a középkortól 1867-ig / Merkzeichen der Goldschmiede Ungarns vom Mittelalter bis 1867. Budapest, 1936, pp. 113–15.

[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]