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Lot Essay
This box is finely chased with pastoral scenes after paintings by François Boucher, whose works were celebrated for their subtle double entendres and playful eroticism.
For the cover, Frémin selected The Mysterious Basket; for the underside, Girl Feeding Chickens; and for the front panel, The Flute Lesson. All three compositions date from between 1748 and 1755, attesting to the enduring popularity of Boucher's imagery during the mid-eighteenth century.
Jean Frémin (1714-1786) registered his hallmark in 1738 after training in his father's workshop. He further strengthened his ties to the Parisian gold box trade through his marriage to Anne-Françoise Drais, a member of the prominent Drais family of snuff-box makers, and later sponsored Pierre-François Drais upon his admission to the guild in 1763.
Frémin's workshop changed address several times before becoming established on the Pont au Change, the principal centre of Parisian goldsmiths and luxury artisans working in precious materials. He held a number of offices within the Goldsmiths' Guild throughout his career before retiring around 1783. The inventory drawn up after his death in 1786 reflects his considerable prosperity, describing a comfortably furnished apartment containing silverware, numerous paintings and engravings, and indicating that he employed three domestic servants.
For the cover, Frémin selected The Mysterious Basket; for the underside, Girl Feeding Chickens; and for the front panel, The Flute Lesson. All three compositions date from between 1748 and 1755, attesting to the enduring popularity of Boucher's imagery during the mid-eighteenth century.
Jean Frémin (1714-1786) registered his hallmark in 1738 after training in his father's workshop. He further strengthened his ties to the Parisian gold box trade through his marriage to Anne-Françoise Drais, a member of the prominent Drais family of snuff-box makers, and later sponsored Pierre-François Drais upon his admission to the guild in 1763.
Frémin's workshop changed address several times before becoming established on the Pont au Change, the principal centre of Parisian goldsmiths and luxury artisans working in precious materials. He held a number of offices within the Goldsmiths' Guild throughout his career before retiring around 1783. The inventory drawn up after his death in 1786 reflects his considerable prosperity, describing a comfortably furnished apartment containing silverware, numerous paintings and engravings, and indicating that he employed three domestic servants.