The piqué panels on the present example were made specifically for it: the unadorned areas to either side of the cockerel on the lid help dramatise the proud pose of the bird while at the same time harmonising with the plain tortoiseshell panels of the sides. Meanwhile a small butterfly placed in the centre of the base panel offers a visual thrill to the otherwise austere design.
It is interesting to compare the piqué decoration of these boxes, and in particular the rendering of the cockerels. The coulé of the Couturier cockerel panel – which was probably made some fifteen to twenty years before the box itself – has a wiry nervousness. By contrast, the Ducrollay cockerel is almost sculptural in presentation. The wires are placed closer together and in some places, such as on the breast and around the eye, overlaid with another layer of wires, which emphasises the form and also adds to the descriptive detail. Further, while the tail of Couturier’s cockerel is described by a series of lines that simply follow the outline of the feather, the Ducrollay bird’s more dishevelled tail has the barbs of each rachis precisely detailed.

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