The delicate colours of this étui à tablettes are remininscent of what we commonly call today "Gustavian blue". This grey-blue palette was indeed popularised by Gustav III after he visited the French court and Versailles. Indeed Gustav III decided to introduce a Swedish version of French Neoclassicism more suited to Sweden so that interiors were adapted using painted finishes in light, reflective colours, including soft greys, pale blues, blue-greys, and off-whites.

Gustav III of Sweden (1746-1792) reigned as King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. Renowned as an enlightened monarch and a great patron of the arts, he strengthened royal authority through a coup d'état in 1772 and promoted cultural and intellectual life in Sweden. A passionate admirer of French culture, he founded the Royal Swedish Opera and the Swedish Academy, helping to establish Stockholm as a major artistic centre. His reign also saw important political and judicial reforms, although his increasingly autocratic rule provoked opposition among the nobility, culminating in his assassination at a masked ball in Stockholm in 1792.