BY JEAN GEORGE (FL. 1752-1765), MARKED, PARIS, 1755/1756, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JULIEN BERTHE 1750-1756, THE BASE STAMPED 377, THE FLANGE ENGRAVED 'GEORGE À PARIS'

Details

A LOUIS XV ENAMELLED VARI-COLOUR GOLD SNUFF-BOX
BY JEAN GEORGE (FL. 1752-1765), MARKED, PARIS, 1755/1756, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JULIEN BERTHE 1750-1756, THE BASE STAMPED 377, THE FLANGE ENGRAVED 'GEORGE À PARIS'
rectangular box of polished gold, the cover and base finely chased in four-colour gold with exotic birds, trees and fruit, on a sunburst ground within wavy cartouches framed by reeded scrolls, the sides similarly chased with fruit and plants, all corners enamelled en basse-taille in translucent blue, green and yellow with flowersprays, the centre of the lid similarly enamelled with a vase of flowers, within reeded gold rims

2¾ in. (70 mm.) wide

Provenance

Formerly Jeanne van Volxem Collection.
Christie's, London, 28 November 2006, lot 47.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Jean George was undoubtedly 'one of the most celebrated of the French gold boxes makers' (C. Truman, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, Los Angeles, 1991, p. 71). The enamelling on this box can be compared to a Louis XV gold carnet by Jean Ducrollay of 1750/1752 with similar basse-taille enamelled flowers in the Thyssen Collection, as well as a similarly enamelled snuff-box by Jean Frémin of 1752/1753. The enamelling for those pieces has been attributed to Hubert-Louis Cheval de St-Hubert, an orfèvre-émailleur who worked at least from 1751 to 1762 (see A. Somers Cocks and C. Truman, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Renaissance jewels, gold boxes and objets de vertu, London, 1984, nos. 56 and 58). Another box by Jean Ducrollay marked, Paris, 1754/1755, with very similar enamelling was sold in Christie's, London, 12 June 2006, lot 19. For another box by this goldsmith see lots 62 and 63.

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