Beschreibung:

A LOUIS XVI-STYLE ENAMELLED GOLD PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A ROYAL MINIATURE bearing marks resembling the maker's marks of Pierre Mathis de Beaulieu and a date-letter resembling that of Paris 1776/1777 and a mark resembling the charge mark of Jean-Baptiste Fouache 1774-1780, later struck with two French post-1893 import marks for gold, the miniature by Louis-Marie Sicardi (1746-1825), signed and dated 'Sicardÿ 1784' (lower left) Oval gold box, the cover centred by a glazed oval miniature depicting King Louis XVI of France (1754-1793), facing left in blue velvet coat with multi-colour embroidered borders, decorated with the blue moiré silk sash and the silver breast-star of the Royal French Order of the Holy Ghost, with the red sash and ribbon of the Royal French Military Order of Saint-Louis and with the jewel of the Order of the Golden Fleece, white stock and frilled lace cravat, powdered wig and black wig-bag, a blue velvet cloak embroidered with gold fleurs-de-lys draped over his right shoulder, within a double-border of rose-cut and old-mine cut diamonds, the panels of the cover, sides and base enamelled in translucent caramel colour with gold paillon freckles on an engine-turned ground of horizontal reeding, within white enamel bands with taille d-épargne gold wavescrolls, the matted gold borders chased with roses, translucent green enamelled leaves, opaque white enamelled pellets adn translucent red enamelled quatrefoils, the four side pilasters similarly chased with husk-hung pilasters enamelled with translucent green leaves and red bases on a matted gold ground 3 1/8 in. (80 mm.) wide