Antique c.1770-80 French Snuff Box, Vernis Martin w/ Portrait Miniature Naughty

Description

Antique c.1770 to 1780 French Snuff Box, Vernis Martin with Portrait Miniature "Naughty" Beauty
All items and photos are the express property of Antiques & Uncommon Treasure. No reproduction without prior written consent.
If you like what you see, be sure to click here to add us to your Favorite Ebay Seller's List. We'll be sending out sale notices and special deals to our 'Favorites' customers.
Another from my collections, this old beauty dates to the era of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, and was decorated in her favorite style, Vernis Martin. A process created by the brothers Martin, it consisted of a layering of paint and varnish, and sometimes a backing of foil, patterning. The finishes were and remain very beautiful. You can see from the bottom of this one, which has less darkening, that it was once a bright colorful and shimmering green. Brass mounted, the snuff box is beautifully lined and without loss to that tortoise shell liner - not even a nip to the inner lip. And up top, a young beauty in a bodice-open 'naughty' for her lover's pleasure. This was rather typical, at a gentleman's request, to have his mistress pose 'indiscreetly' for a small portrait, often mounted on his favorite snuff box. This poor darling seems a reluctant player, her face and stance not the least flirty, though indeed, her cheeks are blushed. Measurements are noted on the photos. Her face, however, is just 1/2" from chin to hairline - imagine!  Quite incredible artist, unsigned.  The interesting thing, as I've had this for a long time, it had a tiny painting showing which was of an old house. The cover glass has always been pretty filthy inside, so it was very difficult to see the old house well. I finally pulled it out and took the mount off to open and clean that cover glass only to learn that the old home was not the only painting. The mount is slightly out of shape, and now I can see why. His mistress' portrait was out of view beneath the rather innocuous little painting on paper.  I've reversed them now. She has the little landscape on paper as her backing.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. Her elongated lace cap is, I believe, called a 'mull' and hints that she came from southern France, fashion-wise. You can see she might well have been his servant, her button-apron undone to reveal her breasts - yet still modest for the era and genre. The Vernis Martin work is brightest on the bottom of the box, but was the same all over initially. Interesting to see the original brightness. The other fittings are brass. Original convex cover glass is now clean as can be and is in fine order.  Again, her face is only 1/2" from chin to hairline. Amazing! Portrait has no flaws notable, and inner box is gorgeous, just one imperfection on inner lid  - probably from the Master removing her painting frame to see her. Visible in our photos for your review.
Return Policy:
We always honor a 3-day return on our items, and guarantee them to be as described. Money back, less shipping costs, which are not refundable, so ask questions if necessary. We're easy to deal with.
Shipping and Handling Policy:
You are very important! Our fine inventory is very important. And your ranking of our performance is also very important! We wish to keep our 4.9 - 5 star ratings in all categories. Customer satisfaction is paramount with us, so if you're thinking we have not deserved your highest marks, please contact us and allow us to be sure your concerns are completely satisfied before you rank us. We aim for 5-star transactions every day, and depend upon you to tell us directly if we have not yet met that standard for your transaction. Thank you! We most often use USPS for our shipping needs but will be happy to ship by another carrier if you prefer.
We charge only actual postage & insurance, never a handling fee and never for packaging materials. Ebay is now requiring that our clients rank us on "shipping". The shipping price, speed and handling are actually under the sole control of the delivering postal agency, not Antiques & Uncommon Treasure so please remember that and leave us high DSR rankings. As always, please also feel free to contact us if you have any problems or concerns, we'll do what we can to ensure a happy and mutually enjoyable transaction.
Insurance has been eliminated as an option by ebay, forcing us sellers to either ship your items without insurance or assume that expense also. We always insure our items BUT, more importantly, pack them extremely well knowing that most are not replaceable. Again, damage in transit, while rare in our experience, is due to the postal agency handling and not caused by Antiques & Uncommon Treasure. Please remember that when leaving DSR ratings. Thanks!
Our shipping days are Tuesday and Friday, paid items will be shipped on the first shipping day after payment is received (except when special circumstances exist). We prefer to use USPS whenever possible, and require all packages to be insured. If you prefer another method of shipment, please mention it. We charge only actual expense of shipment/insurance, except in the case of larger items which must have special wood crates built. Wood crate charge, when applicable, is a flat .00 in addition to actual postage & insurance charges.
Other Information:
8.75% sales tax applicable as of April 1st, 2009 for shipments & sales within the state of California, no exceptions. If you are within CA and are a dealer buying for resale, you must provide us your active resale certificate # and acknowledgment of intent to resell or we will have to collect sales tax. No exceptions.
Auction Payment Methods:
Paypal: E-Check, Visa, Mastercard, etc.. Credit card payment by online service only, no direct processing.
***
BE SURE to also click our our "
" icon here or above to see more of our inventory, offerings and venues. We have a HUGE assortment of the finest antiques to be found online, all at your fingertips with Antiques & Uncommon Treasure. Thanks!
***
_gsrx_vers_631 (GS 6.9.8b6 (631))