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Lot Essay
The painting on the cover depicts L'Accordée de Village (The Marriage Contract) by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725-1805) exhibited in 1761 under the title of Un Mariage et l'instant où le père de l'Accordée délivre la dot à son gendre. Greuze’s picture became one of the most discussed works on view. Denis Diderot was among the many critics who penned long appreciations, exploring the psychological and social nuances of the family drama. The original painting, now in the Louvre, was in the collection of the Marquis de Marigny before being bought by Louis XVI in 1782. The scene on the reverse panel is from an engraving after Greuze's La bonne éducation now in the British Museum. The right-hand side panel is after an engraving La belle blanchisseuse also by Greuze.
Throughout Europe there were many engravings after well known artists that were used by miniaturists as a source of inspiration for the decoration of snuff-boxes many of which can be found in museums, including the Wallace Collection. Another box by this very rare goldsmith and set with panels of Japanese lacquer, is in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, see C. Truman, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, volume II, London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1999, cat. no. 4, p. 16-17.
Throughout Europe there were many engravings after well known artists that were used by miniaturists as a source of inspiration for the decoration of snuff-boxes many of which can be found in museums, including the Wallace Collection. Another box by this very rare goldsmith and set with panels of Japanese lacquer, is in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, see C. Truman, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, volume II, London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1999, cat. no. 4, p. 16-17.