Snuffbox with a portrait of the Duchess of Portsmouth
Snuffbox with a portrait of the Duchess of Portsmouth
Germany, Berlin
Circa 1785
François Claude Thèremin with Fréres Jordan
Enamel, gold, emeralds; enamel over guilloché, chasing, engraving, painted enamel, gemstone setting
3.2 x 8.2 x 6.1 cm, case 6.4 x 11.8 x 9.3 cm
The item is stamped with French gold marks, maker's marks in the form of letters “T” and “J” under crowns, crossed leaves, circa 1785. Struck on the rim are the 19th-century control marks of St. Petersburg: maker's mark, a double lily between them, city mark, fineness mark - 72 zolotniks, also serial number 524 on the rim.
The hinged top lid of the oval gold body with a flat bottom is decorated with an oval medallion featuring an enamel insert. The insert depicts a painted portrait of a young woman, probably the Duchess of Portsmouth, in a blue dress with lace trim, with a pearl necklace around her neck and pearls in her hair. The medallion is placed on a guilloché background under brown translucent enamel. The general motif of the snuffbox decoration consists of narrow polished contours with thin chains of chased "beads" alternating with foliate emerald inserts surrounding opalescent cabochons. The side surface is decorated with four rectangular guilloché plaques under brown translucent enamel. The plaques, surrounded by thin chased frames, are separated by vertical decorative elements in the form of twisted ropes topped with emerald leaves. The central part of the bottom surface of the snuffbox is occupied by an oval guilloché field covered with translucent brown enamel. The inner surfaces of the snuffbox are mirror-polished.
1464.1-2/ДПИ