Large Antique French Sevres style kiln-fired enamel & gilt bronze 5 7/8" jewelry casket, ornate 'jewel' like decoration on cobalt blue convex enamel panels on all sides, scrolling cabriole style legs and in wonderful condition! I sold a similar 8" long enameled box recently and, in that process, I realized I have 7-8 of them in my display case, not listed at all. No wonder they haven't sold, huh. But I'm working them up so check our current offerings. These are truly works of art! Kiln-fired enamel, painstakingly worked as muddy mauves to blues as glaze slip, impossible to know what color they will be when the kiln's heat melts the powders into a glassine porcelain-like layer. This art is incredibly difficult, and apprentices will work many years before being capable of panels like these 5, dainty florals, shaded and elegant. I know this because I have tried this art. You must know and remember where every dab and stroke of the various slip goes, and an error in memory or stroke can ruin an entire panel. The deep convex plaques you see are copper, and are each worked separately, then installed into the bronze or dore alloy, lined in silk, and many of the finest were offered through TAHAN - some holding onto their stickers or with lock plate engraved as such. Two colonies of enamelist artisans were at work in France through the 1800s, creating these, the styles identifiable with experience. This one is likely a Sevres enamelist community casket. More to decorative styles also seen on porcelains. The other was Bresse, France artisans, creating raised dots, foiled and a more patterned decorative product, referred to as "Bressan".
This one is very good to excellent for age and type. Most have at least some light imperfections to the old glassine porcelain like layer on copper, so you might see fine hairlines on to shattered, badly chipped panels and boxes, items. This one is very minimally showing its age. Depending on how the light hits it, you can see some faint hairline cracks within the deep cobalt blue but no notable losses or damage. Additionally, a white raised jewel dot or 2 might have gone missing. The interior is original, tan tufted silk and does show its age with splits & staining. Photos show it from all angles, be sure to look at them all. The box is also slightly less than perfectly rectangular, being hand made to fit the panels it is possible that the shape is original but I'll see if I can straighten it a bit. See pictures for all measurements.
