DRESDEN, CIRCA 1750

Details

A GERMAN GOLD-MOUNTED AMETHYSTINE QUARTZ AND GEM-SET SNUFF BOX**
Dresden, circa 1750
Formed as a goat with diamond-set horns and eyes, the hinged gold-mounted bezel and rim set with a diamond and ruby thumbpiece, the lid carved with a paterae, the interior set with a miniature of a reclining nude in the manner of Charlier, the bezel struck with later French control marks
3½in. (89mm.) long

Literature

The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989, no. 180, p. 232

Exhibited

"The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection," Christie's, London, 1989, no. 180

Special notice

Notice Regarding the Sale of Ivory and Tortoiseshell Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing ivory or tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Saxony's abundance of colorful hardstones provided inspiration for the lapidaries of Dresden who carved fanciful figures from the stone. The animal figures may have also been inspired by those produced at the nearby porcelain factory of Meissen. Other animal-form boxes carved of amethystine quartz are a sheep in the Gilbert Collection, a pug dog at Waddesdon Manor, and another sheep at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Three other hardstone animal-form boxes from Dresden, two lions and one stag, are in the collection of the Hermitage. A puddingstone snuffbox carved as a leopard, also from Dresden, sold in these Rooms, April 16, 1999, lot 28.

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