A LOUIS XVI ENAMELLED GOLD SNUFF-BOX
These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more
A LOUIS XVI ENAMELLED GOLD SNUFF-BOX

BY JOSEPH-ETIENNE BLERZY, PARIS, 1776/1777

Details
A LOUIS XVI ENAMELLED GOLD SNUFF-BOX
BY JOSEPH-ETIENNE BLERZY, PARIS, 1776/1777
oval box, the cover, sides and base with panels of guilloché enamel painted to simulate ocelot fur within opaque white enamel frames and beading, with translucent red and green enamel berried foliage outer borders and similarly decorated pilasters, the cover centred with an oval enamel plaque depicting Jason taking leave of King Pelias, after Le Brun
3¼ in. (83 mm.) wide
For other boxes by this goldsmith see lots 119, 151 and 214.
Provenance
Mayer Carl von Rothschild (1820-86), Frankfurt to his daughter Emma Louise (1844-1935) who married her cousin, Nathaniel Mayer of the London branch, the first Lord Rothschild and then by descent to Victor, 3rd Lord Rothschild by whom sold
The Lord Rothschild Collection, Christie's, London, 30 June 1982, lot 32.
Literature
Included in an inventory of the collection of Freiherrlich Carl von Rothschild at his house at No. 15 Untermainkai, Frankfurt.
In translation the description reads:
127 Ditto (i.e. an oval gold and enamel box), ground in speckled tiger skin colour. Edges in polychrome enamel, the centre an enamel, suspended from a green ribbon, depicting ‘farewell scene of a Turk’. 8 cm long, 6 cm wide.

Special notice
These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Matilda Burn
Matilda Burn

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

Sign in
View condition report

Lot Essay

Lord Rothschild's collection of gold boxes was inherited principally from Baron Carl von Rothschild of Frankfurt. On Baron Carl's death in 1886 his remarkable collection, housed in his mansion at Untermainkai in Frankfurt, was divided amongst his five daughters, the second of whom, Emma Louise, married Nathan Mayer, 1st Lord Rothschild. The boxes and other works of art, augmented by the inheritance of Lady Rothschild's father-in-law, Baron Lionel de Rothschild, were housed at 148 Piccadilly. The contents of 148 Piccadilly were sold in 1937, but the boxes were retained by Lord Rothschild and subsequently sold in these rooms 30 June 1982. They formed an important group of the finest examples of the works of the great Paris goldsmiths of the 18th century and also exceptional boxes from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and reflected both the range and quality of the taste for so long associated with the Rothschild family. See the essay by P. Shirley , 'The Rothschilds as Collectors of Gold Boxes' in ed. T. Murdoch and H. Zech, Going for Gold , London, 2014, pp. 236-7. We are grateful to the Rothschild Archive for allowing access to the Untermainkai inventory.
For another box from the Lord Rothschild Collection sale see lot 151.

More from Centuries of Style: Silver, European Ceramics, Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes

View All
View All