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Lot Essay
This large snuff-box belongs to a small group of boxes made by Jean Formey with enamels signed or attributed to François Joseph Bourgoin (fl. 1759-1786) depicting mythological scenes inspired by the works of Carle Van Loo (1705 -1765), Louis de Boullogne (1654-1733) and François Boucher (1703-1770). Among the leading painters of the reign of Louis XV, all three enjoyed the patronage of the French court and of Madame de Pompadour. Whilst Boucher epitomised the graceful sensuality and decorative charm of the Rococo style, Van Loo and de Boullogne embodied an academic tradition grounded in careful draughtsmanship and classical balance. The choice of these images is clearly a reflection of the taste of Formey's patrons.
TWO COMPARABLES BOXES BY FORMEY AND BOURGOIN
The most notable comparable is a box in the collection at Waddesdon Manor dated 1764-1766 (acc. no.: 4.1997) with identical enamelled scenes but with a different gold mount.
The second one also dated 1767 and sold at Christie's in the Jaime Ortiz-Patiño Collection, Christie's London, 26 June 1974, part III, lot 17. Its enamelled scenes depict Neptune on the cover and Zeus and Hera on the base, both after engravings by Gilles Demarteau after François Boucher.
JEAN FORMEY
Jean Formey was born in Vitry-Le-Francois in the Marne department in 1714. Although little is yet known of these early years, he is recorded as a journeyman at the Gobelins Manufactory from 1741 to 1754, when he entered his mark, sponsored by Lazare Antoine Clérin. Formey worked on the Pont au Change until 1784 when he moved to Fontainebleau and appears to have reduced his activity, ranking only in the twentieth taxation class. He died at Fontainebleau in 1792.
Formey was among the most accomplished Parisian gold-box makers of his generation, producing works that closely followed contemporary fashions and tastes. He consistently ranked in the seventeen class out of twenty-two for the impôt du vingtième, (see H. Williams, op. cit., 2026, p. 119) and according to H. Nocq (1926, vol. II, p. 183), he worked almost exclusively with gold and frequently submitted significant quantities for official hallmarking.
This box, as well as the other mythological gold boxes enamelled by Bourgoin, ranks among Formey's most accomplished productions.
BOURGOIN, SPECIALIST OF VIBRANT MYTHOLOGICAL SCENES
François-Joseph Bourgoin is amongst the few enamellers who occasionally signed his work with a 'B' or with 'Bourgoin' in full (see H. Williams, op. cit., 2024, p. 241, no. 225). Born in Burgundy, he is first recorded in 1754 as a student at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, where he participated in the Concorsi Clementini and may later have taught (H. Clouzot, 1885, pp. 15-16).
By 1762 his name appears in the ledgers of the Menus Plaisirs du Roi as delivering two enamel portraits of the king, for which he was paid 912 livres, and again from 1767 until 1786 (C. Truman, op. cit.,2013, p. 41). His enamels are distinguished by their vivid palette and strong contrasts of colour, which he used to define his compositions, mostly mythological and allegorical subjects.
TWO COMPARABLES BOXES BY FORMEY AND BOURGOIN
The most notable comparable is a box in the collection at Waddesdon Manor dated 1764-1766 (acc. no.: 4.1997) with identical enamelled scenes but with a different gold mount.
The second one also dated 1767 and sold at Christie's in the Jaime Ortiz-Patiño Collection, Christie's London, 26 June 1974, part III, lot 17. Its enamelled scenes depict Neptune on the cover and Zeus and Hera on the base, both after engravings by Gilles Demarteau after François Boucher.
JEAN FORMEY
Jean Formey was born in Vitry-Le-Francois in the Marne department in 1714. Although little is yet known of these early years, he is recorded as a journeyman at the Gobelins Manufactory from 1741 to 1754, when he entered his mark, sponsored by Lazare Antoine Clérin. Formey worked on the Pont au Change until 1784 when he moved to Fontainebleau and appears to have reduced his activity, ranking only in the twentieth taxation class. He died at Fontainebleau in 1792.
Formey was among the most accomplished Parisian gold-box makers of his generation, producing works that closely followed contemporary fashions and tastes. He consistently ranked in the seventeen class out of twenty-two for the impôt du vingtième, (see H. Williams, op. cit., 2026, p. 119) and according to H. Nocq (1926, vol. II, p. 183), he worked almost exclusively with gold and frequently submitted significant quantities for official hallmarking.
This box, as well as the other mythological gold boxes enamelled by Bourgoin, ranks among Formey's most accomplished productions.
BOURGOIN, SPECIALIST OF VIBRANT MYTHOLOGICAL SCENES
François-Joseph Bourgoin is amongst the few enamellers who occasionally signed his work with a 'B' or with 'Bourgoin' in full (see H. Williams, op. cit., 2024, p. 241, no. 225). Born in Burgundy, he is first recorded in 1754 as a student at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, where he participated in the Concorsi Clementini and may later have taught (H. Clouzot, 1885, pp. 15-16).
By 1762 his name appears in the ledgers of the Menus Plaisirs du Roi as delivering two enamel portraits of the king, for which he was paid 912 livres, and again from 1767 until 1786 (C. Truman, op. cit.,2013, p. 41). His enamels are distinguished by their vivid palette and strong contrasts of colour, which he used to define his compositions, mostly mythological and allegorical subjects.