Live Auction 10397Centuries of Style: Silver, European Ceramics, Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes
A FRENCH SILVER CIGAR HUMIDOR
Lot 603

A FRENCH SILVER CIGAR HUMIDOR

MARK OF M. FRAY, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Closed3 June 2015

Price Realised

GBP 11,875

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

A FRENCH SILVER CIGAR HUMIDOR
MARK OF M. FRAY, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Oblong and on spreading base with foliage and scroll borders and on four paw feet, with two double scroll handles, the hinged front engraved with foliage scrolls and opening to reveal three trays for cigars, the hinged cover with finial cast as three figures seated on a Persian carpet while smoking a hookah pipe, marked on each side, on front, underneath and on each tray with French export marks, wood lined
11 1/2 in. (29.3. cm.) wide
gross weight 152 oz. 14 dwt. (4,749 gr.)

Specialist note

The allure of the Middle East captured the imaginations of European artists following Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798. Artists such as Ingres, Delacriox, Gerome and Descamps visited the regions throughout the first half of the 19th century, bringing images of harems and other genre scenes back with them. The present lot links Western and Middle Eastern smoking cultures with its depiction of the hookah.