19th Century Continental Porcelain Snuff Box with Courting Figures
A 19th century Continental porcelain table snuff box, four lobed lozenge form, the lid and sides finely painted with courting figures, elaborate gilt enrichments, cerise ground, ormolu mounts, underglaze blue mark to the base. 4.13 in. x 2.76 in. x 2.17 in.
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- Ormolu - Ormolu was popular with French craftsmen in the 18th and 19th century for ornamental fittings for furniture, clocks and other decorative items. True ormolu is gilt bronze, that is bronze that has been coated with gold using a mercury amalgam. Due to the health risks associated with using mercury, this method of creating ormolu was discontinued in France in the 1830s. A substitute was developed consisting of about 75% copper and 25% zinc, however it was inferior to the bronze version. It was often lacquered to prevent it tarnishing.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- snuff boxes, material
- snuff boxes, type - table snuff boxes 60
