A LOUIS XIV ORMOLU-MOUNTED BRASS AND TORTOISESHELL-INLAID SEWING CASKET circa 1700

Tortoiseshell with fin age cracks and minor losses. Ormolu with some rubbing, some oxidation and surface dirt; not extensive. Some construction cracks at corners; now secured with glue visible only in areas of interior. Interior refinished. Exterior, with the exception of mounts, with thin clear varnish. In good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Having an overall matching shape, construction, and identical leaf-cast feet and acanthus-cast corner mounts of the lower section and the lid, this lot is certainly the creation of the same workshop that produced four similar caskets formerly in the Collections of Lily and Edmond J. Safra, sold Sotheby's New York, October 19, 2011, lots 708-711. Certain design elements, such as the almost identical arabesques in the manner of Jean II Bérain, the female masks and the crouching squirrel figures on the sides make this lot almost identical to lot 711 in that sale. The shape of these boxes probably derives from earlier carved cherrywood, or bois de Saint-Lucie, boxes from Lorraine, which in turn originate from smaller silver toilet boxes. Just like their silver prototypes, these Boulle boxes were intended for the toilette table. In fact, in eighteenth-century inventories, these caskets were referred to as carrés de toilette. Jean-Marc Nattier's portrait of Mme. Marsolier and her daughter in The Metropolitan Museum of Art shows two such boxes remarkably similar to the present lot both in form and Boulle decoration and suggests that these caskets were intended for the storage of small items of adornment. With its padded lid, the casket offered here might have been used to store hair or sewing pins; essentials for a lady's toilette in the 18th century.