This exceptionally rare and interesting piece which shows that enamel painters did not work exclusively for horologers and jewelers. More commonplace pieces, such as this one, were also made by them. The enamel is preserved intact, the inside with gold dividers, first soldered to the base, then painted over with the blue counter-enamel, shows very few scratches.The shape of the box is very curious; it was probably intended to contain unground spices. Although it is not signed, the enamel painting technique, and the palette of colors used are typical of the Huaud family.Pierre II Huaud (1647 - c.1698)Also known as Pierre Huaud l'aîné, he was apprenticed to his father, Pierre Huaud I (1612 -1680), a master goldsmith and a protestant who emigrated to Geneva, where he became a "habitant", in 1630. He married Eve Delarue in 1678 and had four children. It seems that in 1685/6 he went to Berlin to work in the service of the Brandenburg Elector, but returned to Geneva in 1686. His two younger brothers, Jean-Pierre and Amy Huaud, went to serve the Brandenburg Elector that year, probably on his recomendation. Pierre II went back to Germany at the end of 1689, and was named painter-miniaturist to Frederick I in 1691.He died sometime between 1696 and 1698.