Tomas Tagliaferro (att): Snuff Box In Blond Tortoiseshell With Gold Stitching. Naples 1730-1740 Italy

Exceptional snuff box in blond tortoiseshell with gold stitching.

The box is rectangular with wavy edges.

The hinge and the lid handle are made of 14k gold.

It features a magnificent rocaille decoration of dotted piqué and gold inlay forming rocaille motifs of dots and quatrefoils, highly jagged scrollwork, curves and counter-curves.

This snuff box with such rich decoration can be attributed to Tomaso Tagliaferro. It should be compared to the snuff box preserved in the Louvre (TH 1438), which has the same shape and handle but is made of brown tortoiseshell and has a different decoration.

These boxes are typical of Neapolitan production from the first half of the 18th century, around 1730-1740, when the technique of piqué tortoiseshell reached near perfection.

The gold parts are not hallmarked but have been tested with a touchstone.

Magnificent box, museum quality. The pitting is simply remarkable; it is a small masterpiece of 18th-century Italian decorative arts.

8.6 x 6.1 cm
4.2 cm high

116.8 grams

Good overall condition for a box of this age and construction. Some pitting and inlaid elements are missing, and small cracks on the inner rim, along with old gold repairs.

Hand-delivered in Paris or shipped by insured Colissimo.
France: €15
Europe: €20
Worldwide: €35