97th Auction

2018/5/12

Lot 207

"GGB" under coronet (Guidon, Gide & Blondet fils à Genève) / attributed to Jean-Abraham Lissignol, 89 x 60 x 20 mm, 154 g, circa 1804
A remarkable gold and enamel snuff box set with split pearls: "The Joy of Motherhood"
Case: 18K gold, stamped with crowned "GGB" mark (Guidon, Gide & Blondet fils à Genève).
Rectangular case with canted corners, lid with polychrome enamel miniature in an engraved gold frame and a row of split pearls: a mother with her three children under a tree, on the right a bowl of fruit in the foreground and the outline of a temple suggested in the background. Sides and base are decorated with medallions of cobalt blue enamel in fine, white enamel frames on engine-turned ground with geometric pattern. The canted corners and the borders are embellished with black and white Champlevé enamel with palmetto leaves and geometric ornaments.
Even though the enamel painting is not signed, it is fairly obviously Lissignol’s work. The extremely fine strokes of the brush - made by a single hair - in combination with the pointillistic technique are typical for his work.
Jean-Abraham Lissignol was born in Geneva in 1749. He was the pupil and partner of Jean-Marc Roux and later was apprenticed in Paris. He was one of the most important enamel miniature painters and was specialised on snuffboxes and watch cases. He worked for Jaquet-Droz, Leschot, Rochat, John Rich and Jean-Georges Rémond & Company He died in Plainpalais in 1819.
The box bears the stamp of the firm Guidon, Gide & Blondet fils of Geneva. They conducted business from 1801 until 1804; the company was founded when the company Guidon, Rémond, Gide & Co. closed down on 1 January 1801 and the two partners henceforth traded as Rémond, Lamy & Co. and Guidon Gide & Blondet, respectively. A great number of the finest gold and enamel snuff boxes that were produced in Geneva at the time are signed with marks from either of the three companies.

Sold

estimated
65.00080.000 €
Price realized
100.800 €