Description:
A shaped casket covered in boulle work of brass and red tortoiseshell,  with guilt ormolu mounts and feet. The pattern is in bold swirls forming floral designs and cusps typical of 18th century work.  The brass is engraved to give dimension to the design. The top is built around a stage where a musician sits playing his instrument. A complex composition, opulent and at the same time whimsical. The box is lined with silk.  Circa 1750

Origin: France

Circa: 1750

Size: 32 cm wide by 27 cm by 12.8 cm including feet:  12.6 inches wide by  10.6 inches by  5 inches.

Condition: Good overall.

See: Antique Boxes, Tea Caddies, and Society, 1700--1880 
Antigone Clarke & Joseph O'Kelly, ISBN: 0764316885

"Marquetry of alternating metal and shell originated in Italy, but it was not widely practiced until the technique was advanced by A.C. Boulle (1642-1732) ébéniste to Louis XIV. This kind of work found favor in England throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Boulle's technique involved the cutting of patterns in sheets of tortoiseshell and brass, which were secured one on top of the other. The resulting half sheets were then used to veneer the wooden surface of the box, or piece of furniture. 

 

"They were fitted together, one brass sheet into one shell sheet, or vice versa. The brass into shell was referred to as première partie and the shell into the brass, contre partie. The surface to be veneered was gessoed and usually colored red. 

"The shell was sometimes backed with foils. In early pieces, the whole veneer was sometimes backed by canvas before it was stuck onto the wooden surface. Different makers had their own techniques and order for preparing and coloring the base before attaching the final marquetry veneer. Ivory, wood, horn, silver, mother of pearl, and other materials were incorporated in larger more ambitious designs. This work, which has a distinctive French flavor, is often attributed to French makers. In some cases this is correct, as boxes made in France did find their way to England . However, this is not always the case.

"Gerrit Jensen (1680-1715) was the first major exponent of the work in England. He was a Royal maker of great repute. What is interesting for our purpose is that in the patent renewing his appointment as "Cabinet Maker In ordinary" to William and Mary, "Cabbinets Boxes" are listed as part of his work. It is therefore possible that some early 18th century boulle boxes originated in England and not in France.

"However, some of the London makers did originate in France . There is evidence that Jensen employed French workers, as did other cabinet makers during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some French cabinet makers worked in England  on their own account.

"Pierre Langlois, one of the pioneers of this work, was active in London during the 1760s and 70s. His trade card was designed very much in the French style, complete with rococo scrolls and putti. It was printed both in English and French. He offered brass and tortoiseshell inlays "in the Politest Manner" and also careful repairs. He promised "Lowest Prices".

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