Beschreibung:

AN IMPORTANT LOUIS XV GOLD SNUFF-BOX
BY JEAN-BAPTISTE BERTIN (FL. 1740-1771), MARKED, PARIS, 1752/1753, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JULIEN BERTHE 1750-1756
AN IMPORTANT LOUIS XV GOLD SNUFF-BOX BY JEAN-BAPTISTE BERTIN (FL. 1740-1771), MARKED, PARIS, 1752/1753, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JULIEN BERTHE 1750-1756 rectangular box, boldly chased with six reserves, the cover with a classical capriccio , a shepherd plays the bagpipes to two shepherdesses, one resting her hand on his knee, the other with a basket over her arm, on the base a young man sits at the feet of a young lady in a rustic landscape with architectural details beyond, on the front a young man plays the flute to his seated lady, on the reverse a boy holds a basket of fruit for a young lady who eats from a bunch of grapes, on the right-hand side a girl reaches her hand inside a bird-cage, on the left-hand side an elderly lady sits in an invalid's chair, her dog attached by a lead, each reserve on a sabl é gold ground within scroll borders, the slightly raised thumbpiece formed as a ribbon tied foliate spray, the interior of the cover engraved 'M r de Frieres' 3 1/8 in. (79 mm.) wide 8 oz. (246 gr.) Cover: C. Duflos after François Boucher Ce pasteur amoureux chante sur sa musette , from Les Amours Pastorales , 1742 © The Trustees of the British Museum. Base: C. Duflos after François Boucher Ne plaignons point le sort de ces bergers , from Les Amours Pastorales , 1742 Photo (C) Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Georges Meguerditchian