Gold Boxes and Miniatures of the Eighteenth Century

The group of precious objects recorded in this catalogue complement the other 17th and 18th century works of art brought together by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.

Most prominent among these objects are the series of gold boxes made by leading Paris goldsmiths of the 1760’s & 1780’s and mounted with miniatures painted by the Van Blarenberghes. This group is one of the largest painted by this family, besides snuffboxes there are also bonbonnières, patch boxes, needle cases and other containers, in gold, sometimes enameled, in hardstones, or covered in shagreen, and other precious materials. The creation and composition of the boxes in this exceptionally important collection, as well as the context in which they were used, are studied both in the introduction and in the catalogue entries.

Authors: Serge Grandjean, Kirsten Aschengreen Piacenti, Charles Truman and Anthony Blun.