Live Auction 10398Centuries of Style: Silver, European Ceramics, Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes
A LOUIS XVI VARI-COLOUR GOLD AND BLUE-GLASS SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MINIATURE
Lot 225

A LOUIS XVI VARI-COLOUR GOLD AND BLUE-GLASS SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MINIATURE

BY JEAN-BAPTISTE-FRANÇOIS LEBEL (FL. 1774-1806), MARKED, PARIS, 1777/1778, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JEAN BAPTISTE FOUACHE 1774-1780

Closed2 December 2015

Price Realised

GBP 8,750

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

A LOUIS XVI VARI-COLOUR GOLD AND BLUE-GLASS SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MINIATURE
BY JEAN-BAPTISTE-FRANÇOIS LEBEL (FL. 1774-1806), MARKED, PARIS, 1777/1778, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JEAN BAPTISTE FOUACHE 1774-1780
circular box, the cover, sides and base of dark-blue glass flecked with gold to simulate lapis-lazuli, the cover inset with an oval fixé-sous-verre miniature of dancing peasants with a tower beyond, the vari-colour gold borders chased with narrow bands of foliage and flowers on a sablé ground, with side pilasters chased with trophies, the base with a central flower rosette
2 in. (52 mm.) diam.
The maker's mark shows the initials arranged in horizontal order in two lines, whereas the mark illustrated by H. Nocq, Le Poincons de Paris, Paris, 1928, vol. 3, p. 45, shows the initials arranged in a vertical order.

The Massey Mainwaring Collection; Robinson & Fisher, London, 1904.
Earl of Harewood Collection; Christie's, London, 21 April 1964, lot 33.

Specialist note

The son of a shoe-maker William Lebel who worked on the rue du Temple in the parish of St Nicolas, Jean-Baptiste-François Lebel entered his mark on 24 July 1774 working on the Rue aux Féves and is noted at three other addresses up until 1806.
W. F. B. Massey MP (1845-1907) married Isabelle Mainwaring in 1872 and took her surname. Their collection was based on that of her first husband, C. B. Lee Mainwaring, who began collecting in 1820. The Massey-Mainwaring collection included jewellery, enamels, stained glass, porcelain, paintings and furniture. Substantial parts of the collection were lent to the South Kensington Museum from 1874 until 1904, when most of the collection was sold at auction.