Live Auction 12030OPULENCE .Silver . Gold Boxes . 19th Century Furniture & Works of Art
A GERMAN GOLD-MOUNTED ENAMELLED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX
Lot 47

A GERMAN GOLD-MOUNTED ENAMELLED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX

PROBABLY DRESDEN, CIRCA 1740

Closed29 November 2016

Price Realised

GBP 68,750

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A GERMAN GOLD-MOUNTED ENAMELLED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX
PROBABLY DRESDEN, CIRCA 1740
rectangular box of agatized wood, the cover, sides and base applied with pierced gold cagework, the cover depicting Venus imploring Adonis not to leave her to go on his ill-fated boar hunt, the base with dancing putti, all amidst scrolling foliage, flowerheads, birds and insects, the flange with an opaque dark blue lapis lazuli enamel border, scalloped flange
3 1/8 in. (78 mm.) wide

Specialist note

Chemnitz is a city located near the border of Germany and the Czech Republic, and one of the city's most important landmarks is the Petrified Forest. From 1737, when this ancient landmark was first discovered, members of the Saxon Court in Dresden harvested the petrified or agatized wood and had it transformed into precious objects such as snuff-boxes and jewellery. The celebrated Dresden goldsmith Johann-Christian Neuber (1736-1808) used the stone from Chemnitz in many of his snuff-boxes.