BY JEAN-FRANÇOIS RAVECHÉ (FL. 1720-1747), MARKED, PARIS, 1743/1744, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF LOUIS ROBIN 1738-1744, SIGNED ON ONE FLANGE 'RAVECHET A PARIS'

Details

A LOUIS XV DOUBLE-OPENING GOLD-MOUNTED HARDSTONE SWEETMEAT BOX
BY JEAN-FRANÇOIS RAVECHÉ (FL. 1720-1747), MARKED, PARIS, 1743/1744, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF LOUIS ROBIN 1738-1744, SIGNED ON ONE FLANGE 'RAVECHET A PARIS'
formed as a rock-crystal barrel with faceted staves, each hinged cover incised with a rosette, within polished gold mounts with scroll thumbpiece, an internal dividing panel creating two compartments
2 1/8 in. (53 mm.) high

Provenance

Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection, Christie's, New York, 19 November 1982, lot 35.

Literature

A. K. Snowman, Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe, Woodbridge, 1990, p. 100, ill. 156.

Exhibited

A La Vieille Russie, 'The art of the Goldsmith and the Jeweller', New York, 1968, no. 54.

Brought to you by

Victoria Drummond

vdrummond@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2699

Lot Essay

Boxes of this kind were probably designed to hold sweetmeats or comfits with which to freshen the breath. The term bonbonnière, usually used for a box with a detachable cover, does not seem to appear before around 1770 and prior to this date the term boïte à bonbons was used. The duc d'Aumont possessed "Deux bonbonnières rondes guillochés de crystal de roche garnies de gorge bec & Charnière d'or" [Two round engine-turned bonbonnières in rock-crystal with rim, thumbpiece and hinge in gold], which were sold after his death in 1782 (Paris, 12 December, 1782, lot 246), C. Truman, The Wallace Collection of Gold Boxes, London, 2013, p. 191.

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