Possibly a Russian writing tools box or Tabacco Box

This was brought to me by a co-worker who found it at a yard sale or flea market. It’s made of copper, and is 5 and ¼ inches by 2 inches by 1 and ½ inches deep. We know nothing about it and just want to know if it is old, is it worth anything and Maybe where it originated from. I put this on a web site called Treasure net where I place pictures of things I find metal detecting. I have had lots of feedback and still know very little about it. Below is one of many of the types of responses that I have gotten. I guess my question to you is do you agree with this comment. I have no Idea if you can tell me anything, But I have run out of places to go and just thought I would give you a try. Thank you very much for any help you can give me. I asked a Russian colleague for his opinion. Here is his response. Hi Mike. By style this is definitely Eastern Europe or Russia, as the costumes are very similar to Russian fashions of 16th century. I would dare to say it can be a writing tools box, or really an eyeglasses box. The theme on it is capturing of some possibly Russian city (by architecture though it is simplified but resembles the style used on the icons of that time). The scenes depict burning houses, looting, killing of the locals and mass execution. As soon as the captors also look Russians it may well be the memory of capturing the city of Novgorod by the troops of Ivan the Terrible, as Novgorod was an old democratic state, member of Hanseatic League, and Ivan was trying to have it overtaken by Moscow rule, Novgorodians were resisting vigorously despite the famine within the city walls, but Moscow army at the end took over. A lot of people were executed (practically all local elite, "patricians"), about 10,000 left to die starving and the rest taken out of the city and re-settled deep into Russia in the city of Khlynov, where they live till today and speak the same dialect as Muscovites (same tribe of Vyatich). Khlynov was renamed into Vyatka by Katherine the Great (18th century), as its name was sounding "rebelliously" , and then renamed by Communists into Kirov, in 1935 in memory of Leningrad's Party leader, apparently killed at Stalin's demand. Now it is Vyatka again, some 800 km East from Moscow. I would date the box at 2nd half of 16th century. The name of the owner is rather French, but Novgorod had a lot of foreigners living there, so maybe one of them ordered this box made as a memory of the disaster. The style of the bronze work itself is pretty consistent with the other Russian artefacts of the period I had in the past. My colleague suggests that if you are selling the item, you would be better to use a top-end auction house as it is of museum quality.

Fair