A FRENCH ORMOLU AND FRUITWOOD AND CUT-BRASS-INLAID IVORY MARQUETRY CASKET

With its sumptuous ivory mosaic decoration, this casket is a fine example of the luxurious objets d'art created by the firm Maison Alphonse Giroux. Founded in Paris in the late 18th century, Maison Giroux quickly evolved into one of the foremost purveyors of objets de luxe with sophisticated clientele including Louis XVIII and Charles X. Under the leadership of Ferdinand Duvinage and his wife, Rosalie-Eléonore-Antoinette, they developed a special technique patented as ‘une mosaïque combiné avec cloisonnement métallique’ which is splendidly manifest in the present lot. These unique objects were first shown at the 1878 Exposition universelle in Paris.