Ref: 3167
Price : 35,000 €
Oval gold snuffbox from the reign of Louis XV
Jean George
Ref: 3167
Price : 35,000 €
Oval gold snuffbox from the reign of Louis XV
Jean George
Description: Oval gold snuffbox from the reign of Louis XV, Paris, 1763–1764, by Jean George.
Decorated all around with fine engraved and chased Neoclassical stylistic elements.
The lid and base each feature a medallion with gardening implements in four different coloures of gold.
Marks:
J G (Jean George) with a star beneath a crowned fleur-de-lis and two "grains de remede" (remedy grains) Rosenberg No. 6697 on the inside of the lid, the inside base, and the inside of the case front.
Z crowned: Date letter and guarantee mark (20.25 carats) of the Parisian "maison commune" for goldwork, 1763/64, on the inside of the lid, the inside base, and the inside of the case front.
Laurel wreath: charge-mark for goldwork, Fermier: Jean-Jacques Prévost, 1762–68, on the inside of the lid, the inside base, and the inside of the case front.
Dog's head: decharge-mark for goldwork, Fermier: Jean-Jacques Prévost, 1762–68, on the right side of the outer frame of the case.
On the outer side of the body-rim, at the back right, is the inventory number 582.
(Compared to the serial numbers of other Georges snuffboxes, this number fits the production year 1763/64.)
Jean George was undoubtedly "one of the most famous French gold box makers" (Charles Truman, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, Los Angeles, 1991, p. 71). He worked extensively for the French royal court, supplying a gold box for the Menus Plaisirs du Roi in 1755 and several other boxes for the royal gifts, the Présents du Roi, between 1755 and 1761.
His works can be found in the collections of the world's most important museums (Louvre; Hermitage; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Victoria & Albert Museum; etc.).
He established a workshop with his own mark on January 24, 1752, in the immediate vicinity of the Paris Observatory. This is likely the origin of the symbolic star in his mark.
Gold boxes by Jean George on the art market, as well as in museum collections, are often also marked with a number, usually three digits, which is interpreted as an inventory number. (Truman, “The Wallace Collection” p. 109)
After his early death in 1765, his widow Jeanne-Françoise Texier continued the business with his only apprentice, Pierre-Mathis de Beaulieu, whom she later married.
A gold snuffbox by Jean George, dating from 1754/55, fetched £77,500 (approx. €90,000) at Christie's in London on December 5, 2018 (see attachment).
Decorated all around with fine engraved and chased Neoclassical stylistic elements.
The lid and base each feature a medallion with gardening implements in four different coloures of gold.
Marks:
J G (Jean George) with a star beneath a crowned fleur-de-lis and two "grains de remede" (remedy grains) Rosenberg No. 6697 on the inside of the lid, the inside base, and the inside of the case front.
Z crowned: Date letter and guarantee mark (20.25 carats) of the Parisian "maison commune" for goldwork, 1763/64, on the inside of the lid, the inside base, and the inside of the case front.
Laurel wreath: charge-mark for goldwork, Fermier: Jean-Jacques Prévost, 1762–68, on the inside of the lid, the inside base, and the inside of the case front.
Dog's head: decharge-mark for goldwork, Fermier: Jean-Jacques Prévost, 1762–68, on the right side of the outer frame of the case.
On the outer side of the body-rim, at the back right, is the inventory number 582.
(Compared to the serial numbers of other Georges snuffboxes, this number fits the production year 1763/64.)
Jean George was undoubtedly "one of the most famous French gold box makers" (Charles Truman, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, Los Angeles, 1991, p. 71). He worked extensively for the French royal court, supplying a gold box for the Menus Plaisirs du Roi in 1755 and several other boxes for the royal gifts, the Présents du Roi, between 1755 and 1761.
His works can be found in the collections of the world's most important museums (Louvre; Hermitage; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Victoria & Albert Museum; etc.).
He established a workshop with his own mark on January 24, 1752, in the immediate vicinity of the Paris Observatory. This is likely the origin of the symbolic star in his mark.
Gold boxes by Jean George on the art market, as well as in museum collections, are often also marked with a number, usually three digits, which is interpreted as an inventory number. (Truman, “The Wallace Collection” p. 109)
After his early death in 1765, his widow Jeanne-Françoise Texier continued the business with his only apprentice, Pierre-Mathis de Beaulieu, whom she later married.
A gold snuffbox by Jean George, dating from 1754/55, fetched £77,500 (approx. €90,000) at Christie's in London on December 5, 2018 (see attachment).
Literature: Publications:
Rosenberg, Marc: The Goldsmiths’ Marks
3rd expanded and illustrated edition. Vol. I–IV. Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt, 1928
Henry Nocq: Le Poinçon de Paris. Répertoire des Maîtres-Orfèvres de la Juridiction de Paris depuis le Moyen-Age jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe siècle.
Vol. I–V; Paris, H. Floury 1926–1968.
Bimbenet-Privat, Michele & Gabriel de Fontaines: The Dating of Parisian Goldsmithing under the Ancien Régime. Paris 1995 (BPF)
Jean George:
Grandjean, Serge: Les Tabatières du Musée du Louvre; Paris 1981;
pp. 104–108 (6 snuff boxes)
Snowman, A. Kenneth; “Eighteenth-century gold boxes of Europe” Woodbridge: Antique Collectors Club, 1990, new edition; pp. 187–88; 237 (mark); boxes nos. 266, 303, 327, 348, 349, 353, 354, 355–357, 392, 396
Truman, Charles; “The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes”; Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1991; pp. 70–73
Truman, Charles; “The Wallace Collection – Catalogue of Gold Boxes”, London 2013; pp. 107–09 & 340–41
Grandjean, Serge / Aschengreen Piacenti, Kirsten / Truman, Charles / Blunt, Anthony: Gold Boxes and Miniatures of the Eighteenth Century – The James A. De Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg, Office du Livre, 1975; pp. 257–259 & 336–337
20.25-carat gold standard in Paris from 1721 to 1789:
Truman, Charles; “The Wallace Collection – Catalogue of Gold Boxes”, London 2013; p. 30
Seelig, Lorenz; “18th-century gold boxes from the collection of the Princes of Thurn und Taxis”, Hirmer Verlag, Munich 20
Rosenberg, Marc: The Goldsmiths’ Marks
3rd expanded and illustrated edition. Vol. I–IV. Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt, 1928
Henry Nocq: Le Poinçon de Paris. Répertoire des Maîtres-Orfèvres de la Juridiction de Paris depuis le Moyen-Age jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe siècle.
Vol. I–V; Paris, H. Floury 1926–1968.
Bimbenet-Privat, Michele & Gabriel de Fontaines: The Dating of Parisian Goldsmithing under the Ancien Régime. Paris 1995 (BPF)
Jean George:
Grandjean, Serge: Les Tabatières du Musée du Louvre; Paris 1981;
pp. 104–108 (6 snuff boxes)
Snowman, A. Kenneth; “Eighteenth-century gold boxes of Europe” Woodbridge: Antique Collectors Club, 1990, new edition; pp. 187–88; 237 (mark); boxes nos. 266, 303, 327, 348, 349, 353, 354, 355–357, 392, 396
Truman, Charles; “The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes”; Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1991; pp. 70–73
Truman, Charles; “The Wallace Collection – Catalogue of Gold Boxes”, London 2013; pp. 107–09 & 340–41
Grandjean, Serge / Aschengreen Piacenti, Kirsten / Truman, Charles / Blunt, Anthony: Gold Boxes and Miniatures of the Eighteenth Century – The James A. De Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg, Office du Livre, 1975; pp. 257–259 & 336–337
20.25-carat gold standard in Paris from 1721 to 1789:
Truman, Charles; “The Wallace Collection – Catalogue of Gold Boxes”, London 2013; p. 30
Seelig, Lorenz; “18th-century gold boxes from the collection of the Princes of Thurn und Taxis”, Hirmer Verlag, Munich 20
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Oval gold snuffbox from the reign of Louis XV