Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Rare rectangular box in varnished wood imitating Japanese lacquer.
It opens with a flap and a secret side drawer accessible by operating a metal tab on an interior crosspiece.
The five sides are decorated with gold and copper powder with red lacquer highlights on a black lacquer background.
The flap presents a lakeside decoration of shrubs on a rocky mound with two fishermen in traditional Chinese clothing (kimono, pointed hat, landing net, etc.).
The front face is decorated with a pair of ducks, a butterfly on a bank and a shrub.
The other three faces present branches of chrysanthemums, forget-me-nots and magnolia.
The interior is covered with old laid paper and pink silk.
Beautiful ornamentation of chiseled and gilded bronzes including a lock entry, a grip button and a self-locking hinge.
Beautiful state of conservation, small losses to the lacquer.
Parisian work from the Louis XV period around 1730-1750, probably by the workshop of the brothers Guillaume and Etienne-Simon Martin.
Dimensions:
Width: 35 cm; Height: 20 cm; Depth: 30 cm
Our opinion:
The box that we present displays a decoration that imitates the most beautiful lacquers of Japan from the EDO era.
In addition to the very pure iconography of the decoration, its very accomplished implementation is extremely close to Japanese productions.
The great mastery of all the techniques such as the presence of a strong relief, petals made with gold, copper or with highlights of red lacquer, the veins traced with a needle or the sprinkling of gold and copper flakes to create gradients direct us towards the workshop of the brothers Guillaume (1689-1749) and Etienne-Simon Martin (1703-1770) who developed their own varnish in the 1720s.
Guillaume even obtained the title of "varnisher to the king" in 1725.
Our box is probably one of their productions commissioned by a merchant haberdasher who sold travel kits, toiletry, tea or sewing services.
