Agate snuffbox
Agate snuffbox
France, Paris
1779–1780
Drais, Pierre François
Gold, enamel, agate, pearls
3.6 × 8.9 × 4.8 cm
Partially legible maker’s mark; charge mark of Jean Baptiste Fouache; date letter Q; discharge mark of Henry Clavel; Paris petite recense
Centring around a great domed bull’s eye agate on the lid, the choice of patterned stones for this box is masterly. Those on the ‘ground’ with matching grey/beige striations surround oval panels of marmalade-coloured agate. The use of blue enamel with pearls for the framing borders rather than the more usual leaf green enamel is slightly shocking but ultimately successful
4382MC640/ДПИ