CIRCA 1745

See Bertrand Rondot, Discovering the Secrets of Soft-Paste Porcelain at The Saint-Cloud Manufactory ca. 1690-1766, The Bard Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New York, 1999, p. 191, fig. 112 for an etching of arabesque flowers by Paul Androuet Du Cerceau. As indicated by the title, Petites Fleurs Arabesques ou Semences de Bouquets pour les Etoffes, these flowers were originally intended for use on textiles. However, they correspond closely to those found on the present box, including the clustered seeds in the center of the blossoms left in the white on the cover of the box.