Snuffbox Depicting Telemachus Sacrificing to Minerva
Snuffbox Depicting Telemachus Sacrificing to Minerva
Switzerland, Geneva
1801–1804
Rémond, Jean-George, Rémond, Lamy & Cie
Gold, enamel
1.5 × 9.5 × 6.6 cm
Marks: maker’s incuse mark RL&C, French post-1893 hibou import mark struck twice
The subject of the enamel panel is Telemachus making a sacrifice to his patroness, the goddess Minerva, on the advice of his sage companion Mentor who, confusingly, is Minerva herself in disguise. The passage appears in book XXIV of François Fénelon’s popular didactic work, Les aventures de Télémaque, first published in 1699. The enamel panel is framed in chased gold and flanked by two allegorical figures symbolising Victory. This style of calling attention to a painted enamel by framing it within figural or symbolic chased gold, on dark blue translucent enamel over elaborately patterned engine-turning, is typical of Rémond’s work in the early 1800s. The small panels of fused macédoine glass are an unusual addition to the ensemble.
4252MC395/ДПИ