Lot Essay
Five boxes by this goldsmith are in the Louvre (see S. Grandjean, Les tabatières du musée du Louvre, Paris, 1981, nos. 547-551).
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GENEVA, CIRCA 1780/1800, BEARING PRESTIGE MARKS INCLUDING MAKER'S MARK 'EC' A CROWN ABOVE, A CROWNED LETTER 'R' RESEMBLING THE PARIS DATE-LETTER FOR 1780/1781, A CROWNED ROSETTE RESEMBLING THE CHARGE MARK OF JULIEN ALATERRE AND A CHICKEN'S HEAD RESEMBLING THE DISCHARGE MARK OF JULIEN BERTHE, LATER STRUCK WITH TWO FRENCH POST-1864 IMPORT MARKS FOR GOLD
Details
A SWISS ENAMELLED GOLD SNUFF-BOX
Geneva, circa 1780/1800, bearing prestige marks including maker's mark 'EC' a crown above, a crowned letter 'R' resembling the Paris date-letter for 1780/1781, a crowned rosette resembling the charge mark of Julien Alaterre and a chicken's head resembling the discharge mark of Julien Berthe, later struck with two French post-1864 import marks for gold
Oval box, the cover, four side panels and base engine-turned with horizontal reeding scattered with pellets and divided by three vertical columns of a coin pattern, enamelled in translucent steel-blue, within fluted gold bands, the reeded gold borders scattered with opalescent pink enamelled beads and a translucent green enamelled garland of leaves on a frosted ground, the four side pilasters enamelled with Greek philosophers' heads surrounded by translucent green enamelled laurel crowns resting on three opalescent enamelled beads
2 5/8 in. (66 mm.) wide
Geneva, circa 1780/1800, bearing prestige marks including maker's mark 'EC' a crown above, a crowned letter 'R' resembling the Paris date-letter for 1780/1781, a crowned rosette resembling the charge mark of Julien Alaterre and a chicken's head resembling the discharge mark of Julien Berthe, later struck with two French post-1864 import marks for gold
Oval box, the cover, four side panels and base engine-turned with horizontal reeding scattered with pellets and divided by three vertical columns of a coin pattern, enamelled in translucent steel-blue, within fluted gold bands, the reeded gold borders scattered with opalescent pink enamelled beads and a translucent green enamelled garland of leaves on a frosted ground, the four side pilasters enamelled with Greek philosophers' heads surrounded by translucent green enamelled laurel crowns resting on three opalescent enamelled beads
2 5/8 in. (66 mm.) wide
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium