Snuffboxes and Сigarette Сases

Snuffbox with a Carriage Scene (for the Ottoman Market)

    Snuffbox with a Carriage Scene (for the Ottoman Market)

    Switzerland, Geneva

    c. 1835–1845

    Gold, enamel, silver-set diamonds

    2.2 × 8.5 × 5.5 cm

    Unmarked

    further...

    Charles Truman suggested that the silver-mounted jewelled ornament on the lid which forms Turkish crescents at the corners was possibly later added in Turkey to enrich the box. Indeed a very similar box inset with an almost identical painted panel showing two beys smoking pipes and seated in a horse-drawn carriage, in the Sadberk Hanım Müzesi, Istanbul, has no diamond borders or decoration: see illustration opposite, bottom right. In the present case, however, the carriage with its crescent crests, the driver and the chased horses are all separate pieces, definitely applied in Geneva as the ground below has not been completely finished. Some gaps were left among the foliate scrolls of the border, anticipating it being overlaid with a jewelled mount that would complete the design. It is not possible to determine whether this particular part of the decoration was done in Geneva or Istanbul.

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    2878PC150/ДПИ