PROBABLY NAPLES, WITH LATER FRENCH MOUNTS, CIRCA 1760

Details

AN ITALIAN GOLD-MOUNTED TORTOISESHELL AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID SNUFF-BOX
PROBABLY NAPLES, WITH LATER FRENCH MOUNTS, CIRCA 1760
cartouche shaped box, decorated to the centre with coloured mother-of-pearl and gold inlay depicting a colourful scene of trees and flowers around a fountain, with birds amidst the foliage and scrolling gold borders, the sides and base similarly decorated
3 in. (75 mm.) wide

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Brought to you by

Dido Penny

dpenny@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2794

Lot Essay

The technique of inlaying tortoiseshell with mother-of-pearl, gold and silver probably originated in Naples towards the end of the 16th Century and, judging by the number of contemporary references to the Neapolitan piqué work and surviving pieces bearing the signatures of Neapolitan craftsmen, Naples appears to have remained the centre of production, certainly until the eighteenth Century.

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