LONDON.- The most important collection of porcelain snuff boxes ever assembled is to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London on 5th July 2011. Comprising 80 boxes, the Helmut Joseph Collection gives a comprehensive overview of the history of European ceramics in snuff boxes, with examples from all major factories including Capodimonte, Meissen, Fulda and Sevres. These exceptional and exquisite objects were considered the pinnacle of refined 18th century court culture at its most luxurious and the collection has been exhibited in the world-renowned institutions of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (1972-2000), alongside the Gilbert Collection in Somerset House (2003-2008) and most recently at the Bowes Museum, Co. Durham. The entire collection is estimated to fetch £800,000-1,000,000. Prolonged exposure to air causes snuff to dry out and lose its quality, so pocket snuff boxes were designed to be airtight containers with stron