A GOLD, ENAMEL AND PEARL BONBONNIÈRE, JEAN-AUGUSTE LORENTZ, PARIS, 1784 |

circular with domed lid and base, decorated overall with a trellis of gilt paillons, pellets and stars picked out in green and white on a foiled translucent blue ground, half pearl borders, maker's mark, charge and discharge marks of Henri Clavel, Paris date letter for 1784

scratching to base and cracks on sides but generally good impression, partially darker appearance to the enamel on the sides in a few places due to water/moisture having come through the cracks
"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."

Jean-Auguste Lorentz became master of the Goldsmiths' Guild on 22 August 1781. He was one of 49 admitted on that day by letters-patent following the amalgamation of the lapidaires (of whom Lorentz had become master in 1773) with the orfèvres-joailliers. He was sponsored by Jean-Claude Bourcevet, himself admitted from the lapidaires under the same rules a few weeks earlier but cautioned by the gold box maker Jean-Marie Tiron, then in retirement. For the design of a box of very similar shape, form and date, but enclosing hairwork rather than enamel, se Heike Zech, ‘Designs of the workshop of Jean Ducrollay and his successors’, Going for Gold, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2012, p. 51.