BY NOEL HARDIVILLIERS (FL. 1729-1771), MARKED, PARIS, 1753/1754, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JULIEN BERTHE 1750-1756, STRUCK WITH TWO FRENCH POST-1838 RESTRICTED WARRANTY MARKS FOR GOLD

Noel Hardivilliers, one of the most celebrated of the Parisian goldsmiths, was first apprenticed in Paris in 1720 to Jean Chéret but later moved in 1725 to François-Siméon Barré. Becoming a master in 1729 he was made a warden of the guild in 1746-1747 and retired in 1771. The Parisian warden's mark in the form of a crowned letter in a cycle of the alphabet, was renewed in mid-July of each year. The cover and sides of the box are struck with the warden's mark for 1753, whilst the base is struck for 1754, indicating that the box was made and completed during the summer of 1753. The size of this box suggests that it may have been made for a lady to use, or as a boîte-a-journée, a box made to be carried in one's pocket with just enough snuff for a day's journey or a day's hunting.