BY JOSEPH WOLFGANG SCHMIDT (FL. 1769-1836), MARKED, VIENNA, 1804; WITH LATER FRENCH CONTROL MARKS

Details

AN AUSTRIAN GOLD-MOUNTED FOSSILIZED CORAL SNUFF-BOX
BY JOSEPH WOLFGANG SCHMIDT (FL. 1769-1836), MARKED, VIENNA, 1804; WITH LATER FRENCH CONTROL MARKS
Oval, the base and cover made of fossilized coral, the gold mount chased with geometrical textured motifs, marked in cover and base mounts;
Together with an Italian bonbonniere made of fossilized wood, the gold mounts chased with partly enameled foliate ribbon-tied border between, apparently unmarked, early 20th century
3 in. (73 mm.) long
5 oz. 8 dwt. (168 gr.) gross weight

Provenance

The Collection of the Rothschild family.
By descent to the present owners.

Conditions of sale

Lot Essay

Joseph Wolfgang Schmidt is recorded as having worked in Vienna from 1769 to 1836, where he was listed at Kohlmarkt 1218 as a Galanteriearbeiter beginning in 1802. A versatile gold box maker, many of his recorded work use mixed medium such as hardstone. A jasper snuff-box with applied gold decoration marked for Schmidt, 1774, is illustrated in C. Le Corbeiller, European and American Snuff Boxes 1730-1830, London, 1966, no. 458.

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