-George Rémond & Co 1810 Enameled Snuff-Box In 18Kt Gold With Painted Landscape
An early 19th century Swiss enameled gold snuff-box by George Rémond & Co.
This fabulous antique snuff-box, was created in Geneva Switzerland in the early 19th century, circa 1810. The stupendous box has been designed in the baroque-Louis XV style at the workshop of Jean-George Rémond & Co in a rectangular shape with curved corners. It was carefully crafted with exceptional craftmanship in vari-colour of solid yellow and rose gold of 18 karats.
The lid of the box is decorated on top with repousse, chiseled scrolls motifs with foliate borders. It is embellished in the center with an inset oval panel painted with polychromate glass enamels attributed to the Swiss master Jean-Louis Richter. The scene depict a romantic Italianate landscape with a lake, trees and mountains with several walking personages and a carriage of two horses, most probably the lake Léman in Geneve. This central panel is lined with a navy blue enameled frame. The four sides and the base are similarly decorated with engine turned guilloche, chiseled scrolls, drapery with laurel leaf and tassels. The lid is fitted with a concealed hinge of seventeen barrels.
Lake Léman, Geneva
Weight: Total 125.6 Grams, (80.52 Dwt).
Measurements: 89 mm by 62 mm by 22 mm (3.51 x 2.44 x 0.87 Inches).
Hallmarks: Stamped twice with Swiss marks for the maker's mark and the assay of the 18 karats gold and French import mark.
Literature: Christies London, 2 December 2015, Centuries of Style: Silver, European Ceramics, Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes, Lot-232, for a very similar piece in technique, shape and finishes illustrated.
Jean-George Rémond (1752-1830)
He was a jeweler, goldsmith and founder of the company "Jean-Georges Rémond & Company". Rémond was born in Hanau and came from a Huguenot family. Jean-Georges Remond was trained in his home town. He later perfected his skills in Paris, Berlin and London. His works were in great demand and soon Jean-Georges belonged to an elite group of European artists. At the age of thirty-one, Jean-Georges Remond moved to Geneva and registered as a "jeweler from Hanau" on 18 June 1783. He founded the company "Georges Rémond & Cie" and registered his first hallmark. In the following years he used various hallmarks: "GRC" under a crown with branches, "GRC" under a crown, "IGR & C" and "IGRC". He made snuff boxes with movements by Jacquet-Droz, Leschot and Piguet & Meylan and decorated them with miniature paintings by Jean-Louis Richter and Jean-Abraham Lissignol. Due to the splendor of the decoration and the superior artistry, his works always aroused admiration.
Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841)
He is among the best and best-known of Geneva enamel painters on watch cases, automata and snuff boxes. Richter’s father, an engraver from Frankfurt, had settled in Geneva in 1766, being formally received as habitant on 7 February 1766, a week before he married Françoise-Colette Pelaton; the eldest of their five children, Jean-Louis, was baptized on 25 August of the same year. The family lived in the parish of Saint-Gervais among the multitude of workers in Geneva’s Fabrique, a community that produced a large part of Geneva’s wealth at the time by manufacturing everything needed for its flourishing export trade in watches and bijouterie. The young Jean-Louis was apprenticed in 1778, at the age of 12, to the brothers Philippe-Samuel-Théodore (1756-1805) and David-Etienne (1758-1832) Roux, enamel painters, for a term of 6 years and remained in Geneva supplying exquisite painted enamels to the Fabrique for the next forty years. His work drew upon many different engraved sources, often combining elements from several different prints into one painting. His Italianate views, taken from Vernet, such as the present example, were apparently also very popular with the Ottoman market. De Saussure’s first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 and the Romantic interest in awesomely dramatic mountain scenery led to Richter’s development of the Alpine landscapes for which he is most famous. Indeed he is credited with being the first artist to use an engine-turned ground under translucent enamel to represent the shimmering rosy effect of a sunrise or sunset seen behind the mountain tips. It is certain that in his long career, Richter produced many more works than he signed.
Collateral: It is accompanied by a presentation jewelry pouch.
Condition: The overall condition of this box is excellent. Beside the little normal wear, there is no damage to the gold. The enamel panel is secured in their settings. This box has been carefully inspected to guarantee the condition and authenticity.
INVENTORY REF: D060624MNNNS/3.019
