Louis XVI Portrait Miniature of a Boy Vernis Martin Gold

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Louis XVI Portrait Miniature of a Boy Vernis Martin Gold

About the Item

A fabulous find, this petit snuff box is from the era of French King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, made of tortoise shell with an outer coating of thick Vernis Matin enamel and varnish, and fitted with a heavy solid framework of 10k solid gold, yellow in color. And if that were not appealing enough, once opened, it reveals the most charming portrait miniature of a young boy. The painting is protected beneath a fitted and polished slightly convex cover of glass, the old original for certain. The painting is on an oval wafer, however. I really can't see how to get into the painting without creating possible damage, so we're showing you only photos of it through the cover glass, but I can attest to it's greater beauty in person. The camera and lights wash out the portrait miniatures, which is why we always try to remove the painted wafer and scan it to capture the artist's fine detail in full, as the eye does. The painting is exceptionally fine, and rare one of a child. Very good to excellent condition for age and type, this snuff is late 1700s to very earliest 1800s, and there is loss to the Vernis Martin covering as you can see in our images. But the interior and body of the snuff box is solid fine tortoise shell and that remains in excellent condition, as does the painting and its original cover glass. We have tested the gold, and it acid-tests at 10k, yellow in color, and is substantial. The fitting is quite thick, a mm or more, and carries weight. Superb item for the portrait miniature collectors or snuff box collectors, and certainly worthy of a museum collection, as well. We see no signature visible on the painting. NOTE This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah office, and is not available to California customers, sorry.

Metal:
9k Gold
Style:
Georgian
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Early 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Louis XVI - Napoleonic Era c. 1770-1815
Condition:
Very good to excellent as noted above in description (details) and in our images. Some loss to the Vernis Martin varnish and enamel layers, visible in our photos.
Seller Location:
San Marcos, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: 212pmboysnf1stDibs: JU120209227125