BY ADRIEN-JEAN-MAXIMILIEN VACHETTE (FL. 1753-1839), PARIS, 1809-1819, WITH GARANTEE FOR GOLD 1809-1819, RECENSE MARK FOR 1819-1838, LATER CONTROL MARK IN USE AFTER 1838

Details

A FRENCH ENAMELLED TWO-COLOUR GOLD SNUFF-BOX
BY ADRIEN-JEAN-MAXIMILIEN VACHETTE (FL. 1753-1839), PARIS, 1809-1819, WITH GARANTEE FOR GOLD 1809-1819, RECENSE MARK FOR 1819-1838, LATER CONTROL MARK IN USE AFTER 1838
Rectangular, set with panels of engine-turned mesh ground enamelled en plein in camaieu rose with playing putti within reeded rims and fluted pilasters, marked inside base, cover, side, inside and outside bezel, also with 20-karat standard mark used after 1793
3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) long
gross weight 6 oz. 13 dwt. (208 gr.)

Provenance

The Ortiz-Patiño Collection of Highly Important French Gold Boxes; Christie's, London, 26 June 1974, lot 5.
A Gentleman; Christie's, London, 28 November 1984, lot 233.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 19 October 2001, lot 43.

Literature

K. A. Snowman, Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Paris: A Catalogue of the J. Ortiz-Patiño Collection, 1974, no. 64, p. 138-39.
C. Truman ed. The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver From the Al-Tajir Collection, London 1989, no. 186, p. 236.

Exhibited

London, Christie's, 'The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection', 1989, no. 186.

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

Vachette was one of the leading and most inventive Parisian gold box makers at the turn of the 18th to the 19th Century, best known for integrating alternative materials in his boxes such as lacquer and hardstones. Henry Nocq, Le poinçon de Paris, Paris, 1968, [reprint], p. 76, praises Vachette: 'Avant et après la Révolution les plus belles tabatières d'or sont marquées du poinçon de Vachette.' The mark of a boy's head with the numeral 2 is believed to be a standard mark for 20k gold, in use soon after the Revolution, circa 1793, and for some time thereafter. For a discussion of this mark, see: A. Somers Cocks & C. Truman, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: Renaissance Jewels, Gold Boxes and Objects de Vertu , 1984, no. 81, p. 242-44.

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