ANTIQUE 18thC FRENCH 18k GOLD & ENAMEL SNUFF BOX, JOSEPH-ETIENNE BLERZY c.1776
Antique 18th Century Exceptional French 18k gold & enamel snuff box, of oval shape, the lid centred with an oval enamel medallion painted with an allegory of Justice after Angelika Kauffmann's Die Allegorie der Justitia, 1777, framed by a green and red enamel laurel border, the ground, sides and base of grey enamel over diaper-pattern engine-turning, within intertwined borders of white and red enamel beads and green leaves on a sablé ground, repeated in the dividers on the sides, maker's mark, charge and discharge mark of Jean Baptiste Fouache.
Reference Number: A7662
Antique 18th Century Exceptional French 18k gold & enamel snuff box, of oval shape, the lid centred with an oval enamel medallion painted with an allegory of Justice after Angelika Kauffmann's Die Allegorie der Justitia, 1777, framed by a green and red enamel laurel border, the ground, sides and base of grey enamel over diaper-pattern engine-turning, within intertwined borders of white and red enamel beads and green leaves on a sablé ground, repeated in the dividers on the sides, maker's mark, charge and discharge mark of Jean Baptiste Fouache.
Reference Number: A7662
Antique 18th Century Exceptional French 18k gold & enamel snuff box, of oval shape, the lid centred with an oval enamel medallion painted with an allegory of Justice after Angelika Kauffmann's Die Allegorie der Justitia, 1777, framed by a green and red enamel laurel border, the ground, sides and base of grey enamel over diaper-pattern engine-turning, within intertwined borders of white and red enamel beads and green leaves on a sablé ground, repeated in the dividers on the sides, maker's mark, charge and discharge mark of Jean Baptiste Fouache.
Reference Number: A7662
DESCRIPTION
Antique 18th Century Exceptional French 18k gold & enamel snuff box, of oval shape, the lid centred with an oval enamel medallion painted with an allegory of Justice after Angelika Kauffmann's Die Allegorie der Justitia, 1777, framed by a green and red enamel laurel border, the ground, sides and base of grey enamel over diaper-pattern engine-turning, within intertwined borders of white and red enamel beads and green leaves on a sablé ground, repeated in the dividers on the sides, maker's mark, charge and discharge mark of Jean Baptiste Fouache, Paris date letter for 1776, the rim numbered: 531.
On 27 February 1750, Joseph-Etienne Blerzy became apprentice to François-Joachim Aubert, a goldsmith who had specialised in mounting tortoiseshell and lacquer snuff boxes. Aubert also acted as sponsor in 1768 when Blerzy became master, from the pont au Change. His shop remained on the bridge until 1785 when all the houses were destroyed in order to widen the road. Blerzy subsequently moved to the rue de la Monnaie 41, and sometime before 1798 to the rue du Coq St. Honoré where he is recorded in the Almanach de Commerce in 1806 with his brother Etienne-Lucien. Blerzy was one of the most accomplished late eighteenth century Parisian gold box makers, and examples made during his long career can be found in most of the major museum collections for decorative arts, such as the Gilbert Collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum (e. g. inv. no 370-2008), or the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 17.190.1130).
CONDITION
In Great Condition - No Damage.
SIZE
Height: 3cm
Width: 8.2 x 6cm
Weight: 120g