GENEVA, CIRCA 1810, WITH INDISTINCT MAKER’S MARK POSSIBLY THAT OF JEAN-GEORGE REMOND

Details

A SWISS ENAMELLED GOLD SNUFF-BOX
GENEVA, CIRCA 1810, WITH INDISTINCT MAKER’S MARK POSSIBLY THAT OF JEAN-GEORGE REMOND
Rectangular with rounded corners, the cover set with a finely painted plaque depicting Aeneas and his family fleeing from Troy, with figures of Roma holding the infants Romulus and Remus, the cover, sides and base with blue and black guilloché enamel in feather pattern within chased foliate border and taille d'épargne pilasters, with original fitted leather case, marked in cover
3 5/8 in. (92 mm.) wide
gross weight 4 oz. 8 dwt. (137 gr.)

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, Geneva, 16 November 1989, lot 156.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, South Kensington, 11 April 2003, lot 185.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Harry Williams-Bulkeley International Head of Silver Department

hwilliams-bulkeley@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2666

Lot Essay

The scene featured on this snuff-box is after a painting 'Aeneas and Anchises' by Leonello Spada or Lionello Spada (1575-1622) dated circa 1615 now in the Louvre Museum, Paris (INV 680; MR 183). The scene depicts Anchises being carried by his son Aeneas as they flee Troy to escape being enslaved, travelling to Italy to become progenitors of the Romans, represented by Roma holding Romulus and Remus. The style of this snuff-box is reminiscent of that of Jean-George Rémond who often used scenes after classical paintings which carried a strong political message mostly relevant to the French Revolutionary Wars, which in 1798 overran Switzerland, renamed the Helvetic Republic by Napoléon. The Swiss confederation was partially restored in 1803 by Napoléon's Act of Mediation, but it was not until the Congress of Vienna of 1815 that its independence was fully re-established and the European powers agreed to recognise its neutrality.

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