.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This box is one of the only surviving snuff-box made by François-Thomas Germain, one of Paris most important goldsmith. It can be dated precisely to July 1755 as it has two date-letters indicating it was finished at the time of the change of date-letters.
François-Thomas Germain (1726–1791) is the heir to a family tradition of artistic and technical excellence spanning nearly a century. The son of the celebrated royal goldsmith Thomas Germain (1673–1748) he was received as a master goldsmith in 1748, only months after his father’s death although still a minor. He nonetheless took control of the family workshop in 1750 initially with the help of his mother. He soon enlarged and re-organised the atelier to meet the growing demand for his work. The first decade of his career brought an exceptional succession of commissions, including prestigious orders for the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and the Présents du Roi, as well as commissions from the Portuguese and Russian courts and an extensive private clientele. Building on his father’s reputation, Germain established himself as one of the leading goldsmiths of 18th-century France, his work combining sophisticated elaborate designs with outstanding technical craftsmanship.
Although he is best remembered for his table silver, François-Thomas is also known to have produced small objects such as spinning wheels, cane handles, watch cases, buckles, orders, various ornaments and snuff-boxes (see C. Perrin, p. 51) although these are rarer and probably not well identified. His skill in the production of objects of vertu is undeniable if one remember that he trained Henry Bodson (fl. 1763-1789), who became a celebrated gold box maker.
The fashion for gold-mounted Japanese lacquer boxes developed in Paris in the mid-18th century as part of the European fascination with Japanese luxury goods. These were generally imported by the Marchands Merciers who would sell to Parisian goldsmiths small fragments, offcuts and even damaged or outdated pieces, particularly suited to the small surfaces of snuff-boxes.
This practice gave rise to the fashionable tabatière à cage, in which thin panels of Japanese lacquer were fitted into a delicate gold framework and the earliest known example using Japanese rather than Chinese lacquer dates to around 1749–50.
François-Thomas Germain was certainly working with marchands-merciers as he is mentioned in the livre-journal of the famous Marchand-Mercier Lazare Duvaux as a client "marchand- bijoutier" suggesting Duvaux supplied the panels used on this snuff-box.
For a relatively short-period these gold-mounted lacquer boxes were very fashionable, owned by important collectors such as Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764) and Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) who owned an important collection of Japanese lacquer.
The chrysanthemums allude to immortality and the Japanese legend of Kikujido, the Chrysanthemum Boy, who devoted himself to copying a verse from the Lotus Sutra onto chrysanthemum leaves. After drinking from a stream into which dew from the flowers had fallen, he was miraculously freed from ageing and illness.
The mandarin ducks, admired for their striking plumage and lifelong pair bonds, became enduring symbols of love, fidelity and marital devotion in East Asia.
For a comparable snuff-box dated 1754 by Jean Ducrollay, see Christie's, Geneva, 16 May 1995, lot 114.
François-Thomas Germain (1726–1791) is the heir to a family tradition of artistic and technical excellence spanning nearly a century. The son of the celebrated royal goldsmith Thomas Germain (1673–1748) he was received as a master goldsmith in 1748, only months after his father’s death although still a minor. He nonetheless took control of the family workshop in 1750 initially with the help of his mother. He soon enlarged and re-organised the atelier to meet the growing demand for his work. The first decade of his career brought an exceptional succession of commissions, including prestigious orders for the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and the Présents du Roi, as well as commissions from the Portuguese and Russian courts and an extensive private clientele. Building on his father’s reputation, Germain established himself as one of the leading goldsmiths of 18th-century France, his work combining sophisticated elaborate designs with outstanding technical craftsmanship.
Although he is best remembered for his table silver, François-Thomas is also known to have produced small objects such as spinning wheels, cane handles, watch cases, buckles, orders, various ornaments and snuff-boxes (see C. Perrin, p. 51) although these are rarer and probably not well identified. His skill in the production of objects of vertu is undeniable if one remember that he trained Henry Bodson (fl. 1763-1789), who became a celebrated gold box maker.
The fashion for gold-mounted Japanese lacquer boxes developed in Paris in the mid-18th century as part of the European fascination with Japanese luxury goods. These were generally imported by the Marchands Merciers who would sell to Parisian goldsmiths small fragments, offcuts and even damaged or outdated pieces, particularly suited to the small surfaces of snuff-boxes.
This practice gave rise to the fashionable tabatière à cage, in which thin panels of Japanese lacquer were fitted into a delicate gold framework and the earliest known example using Japanese rather than Chinese lacquer dates to around 1749–50.
François-Thomas Germain was certainly working with marchands-merciers as he is mentioned in the livre-journal of the famous Marchand-Mercier Lazare Duvaux as a client "marchand- bijoutier" suggesting Duvaux supplied the panels used on this snuff-box.
For a relatively short-period these gold-mounted lacquer boxes were very fashionable, owned by important collectors such as Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764) and Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) who owned an important collection of Japanese lacquer.
The chrysanthemums allude to immortality and the Japanese legend of Kikujido, the Chrysanthemum Boy, who devoted himself to copying a verse from the Lotus Sutra onto chrysanthemum leaves. After drinking from a stream into which dew from the flowers had fallen, he was miraculously freed from ageing and illness.
The mandarin ducks, admired for their striking plumage and lifelong pair bonds, became enduring symbols of love, fidelity and marital devotion in East Asia.
For a comparable snuff-box dated 1754 by Jean Ducrollay, see Christie's, Geneva, 16 May 1995, lot 114.