Fine Antique French Napoleon III to Belle Epoque era J.M. Paillard painter's box, rosewood veneers with brass strip & cartouche inlays and original tray interior with five gold enamel accented porcelain mixing pots, porcelain palette and several J.M. Paillard marked watercolor paint tiles! The Paillard origins date back to the 1788 when P. C. Lambertye founded his business in the production of watercolors. The company changed hands several times, first in 1822 and then in 1850, when it became the property of J. M. Paillard, assuming his name. The porcelain palette is marked with "LF" and crossed anchor & caduceus, a trademark used by Lefranc et Cie, a Parisian art supply company founded in 1773. This particular design, however, featuring a shield contained within a circle, was registered and in use by them only from 1880. This beautiful 19th century French watercolor box just arrived from France and it's in fine form throughout with rosewood veneers and brass inlays. The lift-out tray has several old French watercolor bricks, as you can see. Full measurements noted on the photos.
Very good condition for age and type, c.1890-1930 would be my best guesstimate on age. You can make out the embossed markings on some of the paint bricks in our enlarged photos, J.M. Paillard. Box is well preserved with no missing inlays but does have a slight split in the brass strip/stringing along the rear of the lid. Original lift out tray with partitions, a few missing or re-glued in place (as are the small wooden corner supports in the bottom of the box that holds the tray. There is no key but al hardware is original. No breaks or chips to the five hard paste porcelain pots but there is a glued flash chip to one side of the porcelain palette (shown in pictures). There is also a bit of paint staining to the bottom of the box interior, visible in the images. A very nice set, indeed! See images for measurements.
