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Lot Essay
This snuff-box is decorated with scenes inspired by the rustic tavern, peasant, and country-inn subjects of the Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690). This style of decoration became highly fashionable in the second half of the eighteenth century and was frequently employed on objets de vertu, watches and snuff-boxes (see lot 28 for a box by Tiron de Nanteuil decorated in a similar manner).
The scene on the cover is after Man with beer jug and a young woman in a tavern' dated circa 1660 and in the collection of the Statliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, and alludes to the theme of the 'unequal lovers', in which an older man attempts to seduce a younger woman. The scene on the underside is based on a painting dated circa 1640 and depicting an old couple counting money, a favourite theme with Flemish painters as an allegory of greed.
Beyond their functionality and aesthetic appeal, snuff-boxes could also convey a moral message. In this instance, the imagery serves as a reminder to guard against the vices of lust and greed.
Jean Formey was born in Vitry-Le-Francois in the Marne department in 1714. Although little is known about his early years, he is recorded as a journeyman at the Gobelins Manufactory from 1741 to 1754 when he entered his mark sponsored by Lazare Antoine Clérin. Formey worked on the Pont au Change until 1784 when he moved to Fontainebleau and appears to have reduced his activity, ranking only in the twentieth taxation class. He died at Fontainebleau in 1792. Formey was among the most accomplished Parisian gold-box makers of his generation, producing works that closely followed contemporary fashions and tastes. He consistently ranked in the seventeen class out of twenty-two for the impôt du vingtième, (see H. Williams, op. cit., 2026, p. 119) and according to H. Nocq 1926, vol. II, p. 183, he worked almost exclusively in gold and frequently submitted significant quantities for official hallmarking.
The scene on the cover is after Man with beer jug and a young woman in a tavern' dated circa 1660 and in the collection of the Statliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, and alludes to the theme of the 'unequal lovers', in which an older man attempts to seduce a younger woman. The scene on the underside is based on a painting dated circa 1640 and depicting an old couple counting money, a favourite theme with Flemish painters as an allegory of greed.
Beyond their functionality and aesthetic appeal, snuff-boxes could also convey a moral message. In this instance, the imagery serves as a reminder to guard against the vices of lust and greed.
Jean Formey was born in Vitry-Le-Francois in the Marne department in 1714. Although little is known about his early years, he is recorded as a journeyman at the Gobelins Manufactory from 1741 to 1754 when he entered his mark sponsored by Lazare Antoine Clérin. Formey worked on the Pont au Change until 1784 when he moved to Fontainebleau and appears to have reduced his activity, ranking only in the twentieth taxation class. He died at Fontainebleau in 1792. Formey was among the most accomplished Parisian gold-box makers of his generation, producing works that closely followed contemporary fashions and tastes. He consistently ranked in the seventeen class out of twenty-two for the impôt du vingtième, (see H. Williams, op. cit., 2026, p. 119) and according to H. Nocq 1926, vol. II, p. 183, he worked almost exclusively in gold and frequently submitted significant quantities for official hallmarking.