AN UNUSUAL THREE-COLOUR GOLD AND ENAMEL SNUFF BOX, GUIDON GIDE & BLONDET FILS, GENEVA, CIRCA 1801-1804 | An unusual three-colour gold and enamel snuff box, Guidon Gide & Blondet Fils, Geneva, circa 1801-1804

rectangular with cut corners, the lid inset with an enamel plaque painted in the manner of J.F.V. Dupont with The Landlord's Family, framed by coloured gold rosettes and scrolls, the sides enamelled in translucent blue over wavy engine-turning below taille d'épargne gothick arches, the corners with pharaoh busts, the base decorated in layers of translucent enamel over engine-turning to form a central scarlet rectangle containing a spray of flowers within a light blue frame, flanked by dark blue enamel matching that on the sides, the interior of the lid engraved probably contemporaneously with a faithful hound lying beside a sun dial below the motto: Time passes Friendship remains, interior of base with maker's mark

The Landlord's Family was engraved by Charles Knight in 1792, after the painting by Thomas Stothard. The rendering in enamel is slightly different as it has been altered to accommodate a 'landscape' view rather than the original 'portrait' view. The present box is unusual in several ways. Firstly it combines different styles fashionable at the time, combining gothick ornament with the Egyptian decoration made popular after Napoleon's Egyptian expedition in 1799. The layered enamelling on the base, which must have been extraordinarily difficult to produce, is also rare to find. It is also interesting that the box was engraved in English with a charming dedication of friendship which matches the cosy domestic subject.