CIRCA 1740

Details

A Meissen silver-gilt mounted erotic "Mopshund" snuff-box
Circa 1740
(Tabatière in Form eines Körbchens) the model probably by Johann Joachim Kändler (1735), of quatrefoil oval basket form, the white-ground exterior modelled in relief with Sulkowsky-Flechtrelief, the inside of the cover with the humorous scene of two mating pug dogs (Mopshunde) on a purple drapery, the interior gilt
7..2cm wide

Special notice

Christie's charge a buyer's premium of 20.825% of the hammer price for lots with values up to NLG 200,000. If the hammer price exceeds the NLG 200,000 then the premium is calculated at 20.825% of the first NLG 200,000 plus 11.9% of any amount in excess of NLG 200,000.

Lot Essay

Cf. B. Beaucamp-Markowsky, Porzellandosen des 18. Jahrhunderts (Munich 1985), p.93 ill.64 and p.109 ill.77 for similar interior decorations, p.186 ill.142 for a snuff-box of similar shape and decoration.

Pug dogs were extremely popular in the 1740's. They were the favourite breed of Count Brühl, the most powerful man in Saxony and the director of the porcelain factory. They were also the symbol of the Order of the Pug, which was founded in Germany shortly after Pope Clement XII prohibited the faithful (Roman Catholics) from becoming Freemasons in 1738.

See illustration

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