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A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70 image 1
A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70 image 2
A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70 image 3
A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70 image 4
A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70 image 5
Lot 32

A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70

5 July 2011, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £15,600 inc. premium

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A documentary Frankenthal gilt-metal-mounted snuff box, circa 1765-70

Finely painted on the cover, sides and base with landscape scenes depicting Watteauesque figures in park settings, the inside cover painted by Jacob Osterpey with an interior scene depicting a lady standing in front of drapery with Scapino to one side behind the curtain, signed bottom right 'Osterpeij/ PINXIT', the mounts with wavy thumpiece, 7cm wide

Footnotes

Literature:
Beaucamp-Markowsky 1985, no. 293;
Beaucamp-Markowsky 1988, no. 66;
Jansen (ed.) 2001, no. 107

Exhibited:
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1972-2003;
Berlin, Charlottenburg, Commedia dell'Arte Fest der Komödianten, 14 July-14 October 2001;
London, Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, 2003-2008;
Barnard Castle, Co. Durham, The Bowes Museum, 2008-2010

The scene on the inside of the cover is based on two different prints, 'Les Habits sont Italiens..' by Louis Surgue (1686-1762) and 'Arlequin, Pierrot et Scapin dansant' after J.-A. Watteau. The reclining couples on the front and back are derived from the engraving 'L'Ile Enchantée' by J.P. Le Bas, after a painting by Watteau.

Les habits sont italiens/ Les airs françois, et je parie/ Que dans ces irays comédien/ Git aimable tromperie./ Et qu'Italien et françois/Riant de l'humaine folie,/ Ils se moquent tout à la fois,/ De la France et de l'Italie

The clothes are Italian/ The tunes French, and I hazard a guess/ That in this comedy/ Lies friendly deception./ And an Italian and Frenchman/ Laugh at the human folly,/ They laugh at everything together,/ From France and Italy

Jacob Osterpey (1730-1782), one of the Frankenthal manufactory's best painters, is recorded there between 1759-82.

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