This snuffbox was illustrated by Osvaldo Patrizzi and Fabienne-Xavière Sturm in Montres de Fantaisie 1790-1850, Genève, 1979, fig. 54.Similar boxes are illustrated by Alfred Chapuis: History of the Musical Boxes, pp. 140 and 141, fig. 125 to 128.When not signed such carillon movements are usually attributed to the workshop of Jaquet-Droz; however, the existance of a gold and enamel snuffbox, fitted with a very similar movement signed made by John Rich, sold by Antiquorum in Geneva on October 22, 1995, lot 800, enables one to think that this London maker, who also worked in Geneva, actually made such carillon movements for Jaquet-Droz. Movements of this type with six hammers and six bells are extremely rare, musical movements being usualy fitted with five bells and five hammers only.John RichFamous English maker and retailer. He used to work in London and Geneva from the end of the 18th century to circa 1825. He was specialised in automaton and skeleton watches and snuffboxes with music, singing bird boxes and scent bottles with built-in watch and carillon musical movement. He used to deal with Jaquet-Droz & Leschot and the Rochat Brothers. Often made for the Chinese Market, his production was always of high quality and highly decorated.Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841)He learned his art under David-Etienne-Roux and Philippe-Samuel-Théodore Roux, becoming a most renowned enamel painter. His speciality was the painting of landscapes and particularly lake and marine scapes, often representing ships in a harbour or battles with fighting Men-of-War. He also painted portraits and hunting scenes. Although it may happen that his signature, in running hand-writing, appears on some of his work, more often than not his pantings are unsigned but can clearly be recognisedas being in his hand from the style and quality of the work. He applied his art principally to watch cases and snuffboxes and these were largely destined for the Chinese, Turkish, British and Italian markets.Richter, like other great enamel painters of the time, often found inspiration for his work from paintings or engravings by the artists then in fashion, such as Van der Myn (1684-1741), Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727-1785), John Francis Rigaud (1742-1820), John Hoffner (1748-1810) and Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), or even from particularly famous scenes such as the ?Rape of Helen? from the engraving by Guido Reni (1575-1642), now in the Cabinet des Estampes, Paris.