Antique French Hand-Painted Porcelain Casket with Bronze Mounts

An oval porcelain casket in the Sèvres manner, with a hand-painted scene on the lid and enough bronze and gilt to make its intentions perfectly clear.

The lid shows two women in flowing classical dress, one in sky blue and one in violet, seated on garden steps while a small child in coral tugs at their skirts. Roses bloom at their feet and a soft sky opens behind them. The scene is framed in a raised gilt cartouche of Rococo scrolls, and gilt garlands and trophies continue around the sides against a pale cream-yellow ground.

The porcelain is set in bronze mounts: a finely chased band along the rim, a shell-shaped clasp at the front, and a pierced, scalloped base that lifts the whole thing just slightly off the table, as it should.

It's large enough for real use. Put jewelry, letters, or keepsakes in it on a dressing table or a desk, where it will quietly outclass everything around it.

Details

• Origin: France
• Materials: Hand-painted porcelain with bronze mounts
• Dimensions: 7" × 5.5"
• Hinged lid with shell clasp
• Condition: Antique, with gentle wear to the gilt consistent with age