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| Bonbonnière with enamel lid and gilt copper basket, c. 1748-1756. Wolverhampton Museum (EM131). |
This enamel bonbonnière (sweet box) is considered to be made in Birmingham in the very early stages of transfer-printing being developed in the town (more on transfer printing here). The transfer-print is in red and it has been over-painted in orange and purple, suggesting the transfer-print was of a poorer quality due to it still being in a period of development.
The engraving is considered to be by Robert Hancock, who was apprenticed in Birmingham, but later made a name for himself producing transfer prints for the Worcestershire potteries. It has similarities to other designs by him. The image itself was taken from a well-known 1719 painting, Les Fêtes Vénetiennes, by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), itself copied in print by Laurent Cars (1699-1771) (see both below). The makers of the box certainly took their design from the print rather than the painting.
Les Fêtes Vénetiennes (The Venetian Festivities), was a French opera-ballet by André Campa, first performed in 1710, and was a comic opera set during the Venice Carnival. To begin, folly triumphs over reason, before the opulent ball, serenades and gambling commence. There is, of course, a love story included, before the carnival ends and the world returns to normal.* A modern performance can be seen here.
The Fêtes Vénetiennes enamel box provided a small reminder of the pleasures of the carnival in the pocket.
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| Les Fêtes Vénetiennes, by Jean-Antoine Watteau. 1718-1719. Held by the Scottish National Gallery. |
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| Les Fêtes Vénetiennes by Laurent Cars, 1732. Held by Petit Palais, musée des Beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris. |
The gilt base has been engine turned, a relatively new process, in order to mimic the weave of a basket, and the base formed in the same way with a decorative swirl pattern. This engine turned base also suggests that the box was made in the Birmingham area.
NOTES
Height: 3cm, Diameter: 5.9cm
* Les Fêtes Vénetiennes (Paris: V. Delormel et Fils, 1759). Here.