FRANCE, derniers tiers du XVIIIème siècle

Rectangular snuffbox with cut corners in braces, mounted with a gilt silver cage (950), moulded, decorated in full and all sides with ten miniatures on gouache paper, under glass, representing gallant scenes in a park, a dog drinking from a fountain, or flowering vases on a sheath with trophies symbolizing the seasons. The miniatures of the lid and the bottom signed E. CHEREAU; the one on the lid dated 176?. Hinged lid, with lip. Gilded interior. Traces of goldsmith's hallmark. PARIS, discharge marks of small works [helmeted head] for 1768-1774 and of Jurande [I] for 1772. 39 x 76 x 61 mm - Gross weight: 144 g. Retraction of the cover sheet, warped and small missing near the date. Wear to the gilding, some scratches and small shocks. Provenance: Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Beaussant-Lefèvre, 26 November 2009, n° 426. Bibliography: Lemoine-Bouchard, Les peintres en miniatures actifs en France, 2008. The Chereau family counted several miniaturists in the second half of the XVIIIth century.