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Koopman Rare Art
Gabriel-Raoul Morel
Early 19th century enamel and gold scenic box
Gold and Enamel
Paris 1819-1832
description
Rectangular with rounded corners, the cover, base and sides inset with enamel plaques painted with domestic scenes after or in the manner of Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805), within bright-cut and engraved gold mounts, the rounded four side pilasters engraved with foliage enclosing rosettes, marked in cover, on base, on interior of flange: maker, 3rd standard (18 carat) and guarantee for gold Paris 1819-1838, and the unofficial Parisian post-Revolutionary standard mark for 18-carat gold; on outside of flange: 3rd standard, guarantee for gold 1819-1832 and later control marks twice
The enamels on the lid and on the base are inspired by Jean-Baptiste Greuze's paintings. The lid depicts L’Accordée de Village (now in the Louvre, INV 5037 / MR 1774), exhibited in 1761 under the title Un Mariage, et l’instant où le père de l’Accordée délivre la dot à son gendre.
The panel on the base is inspired by La lecture de la Bible, ou un père de famille expliquant la Bible à ses enfants (now in a private collection, Paris), a painting exhibited at the 1755 Salon which was so successful that Greuze was accepted as a member associé of the Académie Royale.
The one on the left side panel is a reversed copy of Greuze’s La vertu chancelante (now in Munich, Alte Pinakothek, HUW 3).
These paintings, typical of Greuze’s taste for subjects from an idealised world of innocence and obedience, were extremely popular and were often used on snuff-boxes, much like those of David Teniers the Younger (1610–90), whose paintings were especially popular among noble families who gave enamel artists access to them as sources of inspiration.
For a similar snuff-box decorated with panels based on Teniers’ paintings, see LOAN:GILBERT.1048-2008 in The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Gabriel-Raoul Morel was born in Paris in 1764 and registered his maker’s mark in 1797. He became a renowned goldsmith at the French royal court and, together with his son Alexander Raoul (1801–1886), was one of the principal suppliers of gold boxes during the First and Second Empires.
Morel also worked for jewellers such as Marguerite fils, Petit Jean, and Ouizille, and produced boxes for the courts of Louis XVIII and Charles X. He also collaborated with Gibert, a goldsmith at Quai Voltaire, and Martial Bernard, jeweller to King Louis-Philippe.
The enamels on the lid and on the base are inspired by Jean-Baptiste Greuze's paintings. The lid depicts L’Accordée de Village (now in the Louvre, INV 5037 / MR 1774), exhibited in 1761 under the title Un Mariage, et l’instant où le père de l’Accordée délivre la dot à son gendre.
The panel on the base is inspired by La lecture de la Bible, ou un père de famille expliquant la Bible à ses enfants (now in a private collection, Paris), a painting exhibited at the 1755 Salon which was so successful that Greuze was accepted as a member associé of the Académie Royale.
The one on the left side panel is a reversed copy of Greuze’s La vertu chancelante (now in Munich, Alte Pinakothek, HUW 3).
These paintings, typical of Greuze’s taste for subjects from an idealised world of innocence and obedience, were extremely popular and were often used on snuff-boxes, much like those of David Teniers the Younger (1610–90), whose paintings were especially popular among noble families who gave enamel artists access to them as sources of inspiration.
For a similar snuff-box decorated with panels based on Teniers’ paintings, see LOAN:GILBERT.1048-2008 in The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Gabriel-Raoul Morel was born in Paris in 1764 and registered his maker’s mark in 1797. He became a renowned goldsmith at the French royal court and, together with his son Alexander Raoul (1801–1886), was one of the principal suppliers of gold boxes during the First and Second Empires.
Morel also worked for jewellers such as Marguerite fils, Petit Jean, and Ouizille, and produced boxes for the courts of Louis XVIII and Charles X. He also collaborated with Gibert, a goldsmith at Quai Voltaire, and Martial Bernard, jeweller to King Louis-Philippe.
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