.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The fashion for mother-of-pearl or burgau shell boxes set with figurative hardstone, coral or shell elements, was started in Germany, in Dresden and Berlin, during in the late 1710s. The success of this new style prompted the marchands-merciers to import panels to be mounted in a cagework by gold box makers.
This snuff-box is very similar to a box in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (409-2008) which features a large peacock on the cover. It is described as made in Germany circa 1750, confirming that the panels used on this box were probably imported in order to be mounted by a Parisian maker. Although the present lot shows similar workmanship it is likely that it was made in the nineteenth century.
This snuff-box is very similar to a box in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (409-2008) which features a large peacock on the cover. It is described as made in Germany circa 1750, confirming that the panels used on this box were probably imported in order to be mounted by a Parisian maker. Although the present lot shows similar workmanship it is likely that it was made in the nineteenth century.