Snuffbox with Gallant Scenes
Painted after Jean-Baptiste Pater and François Boucher. With an "à cage" lid and a rocaille band on the inner rim of the box. Unmarked; mounting with French import and guarantee marks (Blatt, 1819–1838; Dog’s Head facing right, since 1838) and the engraved number "540." Mounting in rose gold, hinge pin in silver; lid mounted in à cage technique.
H. 4.5 cm, W. 8.3–8.5 cm, D. 5–5.2 cm
Meissen, 1765/70
Provenance: Brattig 2010, no. 91, pp. 210 ff.
Graphic Sources
Interior of the lid: Engraving by Pierre Filloeul (1696–1754) from 1739 after Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695–1736), La Dance, circa 1730/33 (oil on canvas, London, The Wallace Collection, Inv. no. P397).
Based on illustrations by François Boucher (1703–1770) for the Œuvres de Molière, Paris 1734, the following engravings by Laurent Cars (1699–1771) were used:
- Front side: Le Sicilien. Ou L'amour Peintre (Paris, Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, Coll. Edmond de Rothschild, Inv. no. 18396 L.R.).
- Left side: Les Précieuses Ridicules (Paris, Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, Coll. Edmond de Rothschild, Inv. no. 18369 L.R.).
- Female figure on the underside: La Comtesse Descarbagnas (Paris, Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, Coll. Edmond de Rothschild, Inv. no. 18353 L.R.).
- Male figure: Les Fascheux (Paris, Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, Coll. Edmond de Rothschild, Inv. no. 18347 L.R.).
