A GERMAN GOLD SNUFF-BOX

The brothers Esay (1723-1791) and Marc André Souchay (1730-1811) came from one of Hanau's Hugenot families of bijouteries, French speaking Hugenot jewellers who had been attracted to Hanau by the privileges and financial incentives extended by Prince Regent William, later Landgrave William VIII, to anyone who was willing to set up in business in Hanau. Within a very short period of time, Hanau developed into an important center for luxury goods with some thirty-two bijoutiers involved in the production of gold boxes. By the early 1770s Etienne Flamant, an expert guillocheur originally from Geneva, signed a contract with the leading Hanau goldsmiths for them to supply him with around 385 to 430 gold boxes for decoration every year. Les Frères Souchay agreed to supply him with 120 boxes, which gives some indication of the scale of gold box production in Hanau at this time.