A extremely fine and equally rare, gold and enamel, snuff-box. Rectangular-shaped with paterae and bright-cut borders, engraved pilasters at the corners, incorporating six enamelled miniatures decorated en plein, mounted à cage. The scenes, which appears to be after David (II) Teniers (1610-1690) the Younger, depict: On the lid: villagers dancing feverishly a Gavre (Flemish traditional dance for four) to the sound of a biniou (bagpipe), outside a tavern. On the base: three peasants seated at a barrel smoking clay pipes, drinking and eating, with two others standing also smoking (... two of them seem to lamenting about the Human condition or they are afraid to go home to find their wives!); on the left side of the scene, two men drink in front of the fireplace. On the front side: villagers dancing a Bravade (Flemish traditional dance for two) to the sound of a biniou (bagpipe), inside a tavern, with on the left a mother holds her child in her left arm and plays with a small dog. On the right side: an old man in his lair stirs the embers of a fire with bellows at a furnace (... probably an alchemist who dreams of piercing the secret of the Philosophical Stone!). On the backside: two dice players at the table with a third standing (... probably the innkeeper who plays rather than working at his service before his wife arrives!); on the left side of the scene, three men speak near the fireplace. On the left side: two peasants smoking clay pipes at a table, until the innkeeper's wife brings them food and drink; on the left side of the scene, three men warm up in front of the fireplace. Inside mark punched "G R / M" inside a vertical lozenge, for Gabriel-Raoul Morel (1764-1832), Paris (master goldsmith recorded between 1797 and 1832). DIAM. 81 x 63 x 43 mm. Provenance Christie's, Geneva (Switzerland), auction, June 27, 1973, lot 85 The Patino Collection. Taking snuff (powdered tobacco) became a fashionable pursuit in the early years of the 18th century. Ladies and gentlemen would offer each other snuff from rich, elegant boxes in the latest styles. Boxes with hinges are today described as tabatières or snuff-boxes, then them without hinges are now described as bonbonnières, used for sweets or comfits, although the term does not appear before 1770. Snuff-boxes with enamelled miniatures panels decorated en plein, mounted à cage, are extremely rare. Already existing at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, they are again in vogue in the years 1820-1830, especially made by some Parisian goldsmiths, including Gabriel-Raoul Morel (1764-1832) and later to a lesser extent by Alexandre-Jean-Marie Leferre (active circa 1837 - after 1852). One of the most beautiful examples of snuff-boxes mounted à cage, circa 1700, is the one attributed to the Frères Huaud - Jean-Pierre Huaud (1655-1723), the Eldest, and Ami Huaud (1657- 1724),the Youngest; Genevan artists active in Geneva (between 1682 and 1686-1688 and after 1700) and in Berlin (1686-1700) -, sold by this auction house (see "The Bath of Bathsheba" and "Les victimes de la tentation": Antiquorum, Geneva, auction, November 16, 1997, lot 8, unsold; Antiquorum, Geneva, auction, November 13, 2005, lot 197, sold for CHF 109 250.- including buyers' premium;Antiquorum, Vox, Summer 2004, pp. 40-49). The rustic scenes are in the style of the Flemish painter, David (II) Teniers (1610-90) the Younger, whose paintings were an extremely popular source of inspiration for enamel artists since the mid-18th century. Dutch painting was particularly fashionable in France and Switzerland since the second part of the 18th century. David (II) Teniers, the Younger Antwerp, December 15, 1610 - Brussels, April 25, 1690 Flemish artist, he was the son of David (I) Teniers (1582-1649) the Elder and Dympha de Wilde. His son David (III) Teniers (1638-1685) and his grandson David (IV) Teniers (1672-1731) were also painters. His wife Anna, born Breughel, was the daughter of Jan Brueghel (1568-1625) the Elder and the granddaughter of Pieter Bruegel (1525-1569) the Elder. He remarried in 1656 with Isabelle de Fren, of whom he had four children. He is the nephew of Juliaen Teniers (1572-1615). For a biography, see: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/artist-info.1923.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Teniers_the_Younger Morel, Gabriel-Raoul (Paris, 1764 - Passy, 1832) Master goldsmith active in Paris between 1797 and 1832. In July 10, 1797 (22 Messidor, an V), he entered a first goldsmith's mark, using a flower as device (described as a bouquet). In 1806, he is subsequently recorded by Douët at place Thionville No. 5. At this date, he already entered the lozenge mark seen on this box ("G R / M" below an ear). In 1812-1813, he moved to rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré No. 3, taking over the premises of Victoire Boizot (or Boisot), widow of Etienne-Lucien Blerzy (v.1735-1808), brother of Joseph-Etienne Blerzy (?-?), another goldsmith domiciled at the same address. His son, Alexandre-Raoul Morel (1801-1886), entered a mark in 1833 for La tabatière or (the gold snuff-box), rue Neuve-des-Bons-Enfants No. 7. Like Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (1753-1839) and Jean-Baptiste Fossin (1786-1848), Morel was noted for the quality and variety of his gold boxes, at a time when most Paris goldsmiths practised a simpler, restrained, style. Morel is known to have specialised in remounting old panels (enamel, micro-mosaic, pietra-dura, mother-of-pearl, miniatures, laque-burgauté, gold relief, etc.) in new boxes, so-called à cage. It is therefore possible that the panels in this box were made some years earlier. These works are kept in prestigious museums (London, British Museum; London, Victoria & Albert Museum; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Paris, musée du Louvre; etc.) and in some private collections. For a number of snuff-boxes displaying Morel's disparate styles, see the different catalogues of the Gilbert Collection. Bibliography Douët, S. P., Tableau des symboles de l'orfèvrerie de Paris, Paris, chez l'auteur, 1806, p. 80. Nocq, Henry, & Dreyfus, Carle, Tabatières, Boîtes et étuis, Orfèvreries de Paris, XVIIIe et début du XIXe, des collections du Musée du Louvre, Paris, Editions G. van Oest, 1930, pp. 50-51, 55, pl. 82 Nos. 149 and 151. Serge Grandjean Catalogue des tabatières, boîtes et étuis des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles du musée du Louvre, Paris, Editions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1981, p. 236. Arminjon, Catherine, & Beaupuis, James, & Billmoff, Michèle, Dictionnaire des poinçons de fabricants d'ouvrages d'or et d'argent de Paris et de la Seine, 1798- 1838, Paris, Cahiers de l'inventaire, Imprimerie nationale, 1991, p. 159, No. 1360 (Morel) and p. 323, No. 3317 (Boizot). Arminjon, Catherine, & Beaupuis, James, & Billmoff, Michèle, Dictionnaire des poinçons de fabricants d'ouvrages d'or et d'argent de Paris et de la Seine, 1838- 1875, Paris, Cahiers de l'inventaire, Imprimerie nationale, 1994. Truman, Charles, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, Los Angeles, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991. Truman, Charles, The Gilbert Collection of Gold Boxes, vol. II, London, Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1999. Zech, Heike, Gold Boxes. Masterpieces from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection. London, Victoria & Albert Museum Publishing, 2015. Few magnificent snuff-boxes made by this brilliant goldsmith circa 1820-1830 with enamel or particular panels, mounted à cage, are known to exist: Six enamel panels painted with peasants feasting rustic scenes after David (II) Teniers (1610-1690) the Younger: Sotheby's, Monaco (Monte Carlo), auction, November 29, 1975, Important Gold Boxes and Objects of Vertu from the collections of Mrs. Charles E. Dunlap, the late Baron Maximilien de Goldschmidt- Rothschild, the Baronne de Becker Comtesse d'Aubigny of Monaco, and others, lot 146 (unusually small size snuff-box with six enamel panels); Baron Max von Goldschmidt-Rothschild ; Charles E. Dunlap (1889-1966), Philadelphia (his collection sold by his widow). Six enamel panels painted with peasants feasting rustic scenes after David (II) Teniers (1610-1690) the Younger (81 mm. wide): The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Great Britain) (Inv. 1048-2008); Christie's, Geneva (Switzerland), auction, November 14, 1995, lot 37, for the amount of CHF 43 700.- (including buyer's premium, or USD 38 383.-); The Wertheimer Collection. Bibliography: Truman, 1999, No. 12, pp. 29-30. Six enamel panels painted with scenes after Jean-Baptiste Greuse (1725-1805) (85 mm. wide): Christie's, London (Great Britain), auction, December 3, 2003, lot 223, for the amount of GB£ 27 485.- (including buyer's premium; or USD 47 686.-). Six enamel panels painted with Chinese scenes (84 mm. wide): Christie's, London (Great Britain), auction, January 22, 2009, lot 525, for the amount of GB£ 49 250.- (including buyer's premium; or USD 68 211). Six miniatures, under glass, of figures and cattle in rural landscapes painted with scenes probably after Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683) (78 mm. wide): The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Great Britain) (Inv. 451-2008). Bibliography: Truman, 1991, No. 46, pp. 142-144. Six mother-of-pearl panels carved and engraved with shimmering exotic landscapes and elaborate architectural settings within reeded mother-of-pearl frames depicting Chinese scenes (78 mm. wide): Christie's, London (Great Britain), auction, December 10, 2002, lot 226, for the amount of GB£ 33 460.- (including buyer's premium; or USD 52 867.-). Six laque-burgauté panels depicting cockerel and flowers (the laque-burgauté- technique is made of burgau shell, coral, ivory, mother of pearl and gold, and comes from the green sea snail (turbo marmoreus); it became very popular in the 1800s and 1900s in Europe for jewellery, fans, buttons and instrument inlay due to its clear, creamy colour and iridescence; however, the main fishing grounds became depleted and it is now little used; the technique originated in China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), where it was also used to cover unglazed porcelain and was also widely used in the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) in Japan) (80 mm. wide): The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Great Britain) (Inv. 452-2008); Jeremy Harris, London (Great Britain); S. J. Phillips, London (Great Britain). Bibliography: Truman, 1991, No. 47, pp. 145-147; Zech, 2015, No. 16, pp. 62-63. Six gold relief panels, under convex glass, finely cast, chased and engraved with Roman subjects after Trajan's Column (90 mm. wide): The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Great Britain) (Inv. 465-2008); Maurice Asprey, London (Great Britain); Sotheby's, London (Great Britain), auction, November 25, 1968, lot 141; Sotheby's Cairo, Koubbeh Palace, auction, March 13, 1954 (third day's sale), lot 720; Farouk Ist (1920-1965), King of Egypt (1936-1952) Collection, Cairo (Egypt). - Six gold relief panels, under convex glass, finely cast, chased, pierced and engraved with wooded hunting scenes, from the Kirstein workshops - Jacques- Frédéric Kirstenstein (1765-1838), referenced as Kirstein IV, or Joachim-Frédéric Kirstenstein (1805-1860), referenced as Kirstein V -, Strasbourg (90 mm. wide): Christie's, London (Great Britain), auction, June 12, 2006, lot 33, for the amount of GB£ 48 000.- (including buyer's premium; or USD 88 464.-). - Six colourful pietre-dure panels depicting, on the lid, a gentleman with his horse standing in a landscape and holding a whip, on the front wall a hunting dog sniffing near a bush, on the three other sides puppies in landscapes, and, on the base, a cat playing with a mouse, from a Italian workshop, probably Roma (88 mm. wide): Christie's, Geneva (Switzerland), auction, November 15, 1994, lot 25, for the amount of CHF 100 300.- (including buyer's premium, or USD 77 184.-).