Lot 107: A rock crystal "Historismus" bonbonniere with enamelled gold mounts

Jean-Pierre Marrel, Paris restricted warranty mark for gold for 1819-1838, circa 1835 of oval cushion form, the lid carved with diaper-patterned texture within a white line and gold bead border, the acanthus leaf rim enamelled in translucent green interspersed with opaque white drops, polychrome-enamelled foliate thumbpiece

width 5.5cm, 2 1/4 in

Jean-Pierre, son of the jeweller Benoît-Roch Marrel, entered this mark for la fantaisie from 19 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs on 1 August 1833 and began working in partnership with his brother, Benoît, at some point in the 1830s, re-registering the same mark in 1852 for Marrel Frères. According to the almanac Azur (1847), their workshop was at 23 rue des Moulins and their retail premises at 27 rue Choiseul. They won a Gold Medal at their first exhibition in 1839, having submitted "une corbeille, deux vases et un bassin décorés d'arabesques émaillées" (L. Dussieux, Histoire de la peinture sur émail, Paris, 1841). By 1851, when they showed at the Great Exhibition in London, their only rivals were considered to be Froment-Meurice and Morel, although today Marrel Frères are less well-known.