A LOUIS XIV GILT-BRONZE MOUNTED TORTOISESHELL, MOTHER-OF-PEARL, STAINED HORN, BRASS AND PEWTER MARQUETRY CASKET, CIRCA 1700-1710 |

decorated with winged cupids, doves and landscapes, with a domed lid; the inside in rosewood

Illustration is quite accurate. Good condition overall. Some loose to bronze elements. Scattered scratches throughout the surface and slight abrasions to the tortoiseshell (a few hairline cracks). Expected wear to the engraving on the brass and tin surfaces. With one key.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Like the lady's toiletry accessory that can be observed in Nattier's painting, Madame Marsollier et sa fille housed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, this casket belongs to a group comprising around a dozen items. Of two different sizes, although similar in shapes and decorations, their materials' richness and their gilt bronze ornamentation, it is probable that they were realized in the same Parisian workshop around 1700-1710. The preciousness of such artifacts, as well as the technical mastery involved to produce them, suggest a workshop located within the circle of Bernard I Van Riesen Burgh or Noël Gérard. They present a similar decor of children in landscapes, while the center of the lid ogee has a central medallion adorned with Venus' doves within a frieze of lozenges. These caskets were part of the largest private collections such as those of the Dukes of Hamilton, Lopez Willshaw, David-Weill, Keck, Wildenstein, and more recently Safra which included four, auctioned at Sotheby's in New York, 19 October 2011, lots 708 at 711, and the Hamilton collection, then Dillée, Sotheby's auction in Paris, 18 March 2015, lot 4. Some examples are housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Jones collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.