Lot Essay
An enamelled gold snuff-box with identical marks is in the Louvre, illustrated in S. Grandjean, Les tabatières du musée du Louvre, Paris, 1981, no. 553.
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GENEVA, CIRCA 1780/1800, BEARING PRESTIGE MARKS INCLUDING A CROWNED LETTER 'F' RESEMBLING THE PARISIAN DATE-LETTER FOR 1769/1770, A PARTLY RUBBED MAKER'S MARK CONTAINING A LETTER 'F' FLANKED BY THE TWO GRAINS, A FLORAL ROSETTE RESEMBLING THE CHARGE MARK OF JULIEN ALATERRE, AND A CHICKEN'S HEAD RESEMBLING THE DISCHARGE MARK OF JULIEN BERTHE, LATER STRUCK WITH TWO PARISIAN POST-1838 RESTRICTED WARRANTY MARKS FOR GOLD
Details
A SWISS ENAMELLED TWO-COLOUR GOLD SNUFF-BOX SET WITH AN ENAMEL MINIATURE
Geneva, circa 1780/1800, bearing prestige marks including a crowned letter 'F' resembling the Parisian date-letter for 1769/1770, a partly rubbed maker's mark containing a letter 'F' flanked by the two grains, a floral rosette resembling the charge mark of Julien Alaterre, and a chicken's head resembling the discharge mark of Julien Berthe, later struck with two Parisian post-1838 restricted warranty marks for gold
Oval box, the panels on cover, sides and base engine-turned with a vertical coin pattern and enamelled in translucent orange, within opaque white enamel borders flanked by gold flutes and by a gold border of husks tied with a ribbon, the lid set with an oval enamel miniature painted in brown camaïeu with a medieval warrior standing in a landscape and holding a laurel wreath and a shield, within a bright-cut and fluted gold frame surrounded by laurel, the gold borders engraved with a herringbone pattern and applied with a band of foliage alternating with ovolos, the four side dividers enamelled in translucent orange on a garland of leaves
3 3/8 in. (86 mm.) wide
Geneva, circa 1780/1800, bearing prestige marks including a crowned letter 'F' resembling the Parisian date-letter for 1769/1770, a partly rubbed maker's mark containing a letter 'F' flanked by the two grains, a floral rosette resembling the charge mark of Julien Alaterre, and a chicken's head resembling the discharge mark of Julien Berthe, later struck with two Parisian post-1838 restricted warranty marks for gold
Oval box, the panels on cover, sides and base engine-turned with a vertical coin pattern and enamelled in translucent orange, within opaque white enamel borders flanked by gold flutes and by a gold border of husks tied with a ribbon, the lid set with an oval enamel miniature painted in brown camaïeu with a medieval warrior standing in a landscape and holding a laurel wreath and a shield, within a bright-cut and fluted gold frame surrounded by laurel, the gold borders engraved with a herringbone pattern and applied with a band of foliage alternating with ovolos, the four side dividers enamelled in translucent orange on a garland of leaves
3 3/8 in. (86 mm.) wide