Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Pill Box Hand Painted Miniature of a Lady with Small Dog, Art Nouveau Salimbeni

About the Item

Domed round 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated pillbox with fire enamels above and below, and hand-painted miniature of a lady with small dog, in Viennese Art Nouveau style second half of the 19th century. Size diameter cm. 4.2 height cm. 1.8. Weight gr. 41. Produced in Florence at the Salimbeni company headquarters in 1979 with handwork by skilled artisan artists. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors. With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color. It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times. Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene. Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors. The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real ivory plates and are watercolor paints which, being delicate, must be protected by glass and, above all, must not undergo washings or anything else over time because they fear humidity. The miniatures on mother-of-pearl are original and typical Russian and are painted with acrylic colors on smooth and shiny mother-of-pearl plates. The mirroring of the mother-of-pearl of the background creates very delicate reflective effects.

More From This Seller

View All
Pill Box monochrome hand-painted miniature Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired asu guillochè enamel also on all sides and monochrome hand-painted miniature on the lid. Dimensions c...
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Pill Box Floral miniature and fine hand-engravings Art Nouveau style Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Pill Box Floral miniature and fine hand-engravings Art Nouveau style Salimbeni.Shaped pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucen...
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver

Pill Box Sterling Silver Hand Painted Miniature Enamel on Guillochè Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Shaped pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with hand-painted miniature in Louis XVI style, second half of the 19th century, and fine hand engravings. Measure cm. 3,5 x 4,...
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Pill box light green hand-painted floral miniature Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Salimbeni, Franco Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round domed pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent enamel fired on guilloche above and below, and hand-painted floral miniature. Viennese Art Nouveau style...
Category

Vintage 1960s Italian Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Pill Box Yellow floral miniature in Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Pill Box Yellow floral miniature in Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni.Round pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent...
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver

Pill Box Silver Sterling Enamel hand-painted Art Nouveau style floral miniature
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Discover an authentic artisanal treasure with this refined oval pill box. Made of gold-plated 925/1000 silver, this piece is embellished with translucent enamels fired on guilloché ...
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

You May Also Like

French Art Nouveau Period Sterling Silver Pill Box
Located in New York, NY
A small French sterling silver pill box, Art Nouveau period, decorated with flowers and a gold gilt interior, circa late-19th century, France. Piece ...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Art Nouveau Box, Hand Painted, France Circa 1920
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This box is in wood. It is Hand painted, in black and green, color. It has been made in France circa 1920.
Category

Vintage 1920s French Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Vintage Regency Hand Painted Limoges Pill Box
By Limoges
Located in west palm beach, FL
Exude opulence and old-world charm with this exquisite vintage Limoges porcelain pill box, hand-painted in the form of a dashing Regency-era military officer. This collectible piece ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Regency Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

Sterling Silver & Enamel Pill Box with Dog Motifs
Located in New York, NY
Sterling silver pill box with an applied enamel plaque on top depicting dogs in a landscape. It measures 2 1/4'' by 1 2/3'' by 3/4'', weighs 2 troy ounces, and bears hallmarks as sho...
Category

20th Century American Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Antique Biscuit Box, by Armand Fresnais, Art Nouveau Hand-Painted Glass, France
By Armand Fresnais
Located in Ijzendijke, NL
Antique Silver-plated Biscuit Box ,By Armand Fresnais, Art Nouveau Hand-Painted Glass , France 1877-1927 A gorgeous Art Nouveau cake container/ biscuit box. Thick, hand-painted glas...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Jars

Materials

Silver Plate

Art Nouveau casket with a portrait of a lady
Located in Hamburg, DE
Introducing our exquisite Small Rectangular Box, a beautiful relic from the turn of the 20th century that showcases a captivating blend of artistic styles. This charming box is a tes...
Category

Early 20th Century Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Glass, Bakelite, Wood, Paper

Recently Viewed

View All