Chip box or fly box in gold and...

Chip box or fly box in gold and enamel. Octagonal in shape, it has on the lid a miniature of a child crying for his bird, and on the back a bouquet of flowers. Probably work of the Toussaint Brothers, Hanau. Late 18th-early 19th century. (worn punches - census punches on the edge). 8 x 2.2 x 0.8 cm. Gross weight: 28,81 grs. The brothers Charles (1720-1790) and Pierre-Etienne Toussaint (1726-1805), of Huguenot origin, arrived in Hanau from Berlin in 1752 - the year the jewellers and the Hanau government settled the trademark issue. In 1773, they signed a contract with five other jewellers, including Etienne Flamant, for the supply of gold boxes (160 per year), but they were unable to meet the deadlines. The Toussaint brothers modelled their hallmarks on the Parisian hallmarks of 1768-1774, hence the resemblance of Julien Alaterre's hallmark. According to the designs of their boxes, the Toussaint brothers collaborated with renowned enamellers such as Ignatius Peter (or Johann Ignaz) Krafft (1745-1810), and were inspired in particular for the trompe l'oeil beadwork of Jean-Etienne Blerzy and Jean-Joseph Barrière around 1781-1782. Works for sale : Bonhams London Sale 9 June 2015 lot 97 Artcurial Paris Sale 22 April 2015 lot 134 Sotheby's Paris Sale 7 November 2013 lot 28 Bonhams London Sale, 23 November 2011, lot 18 Sotheby's London Sale 9 November 2000, lot 66 Christie's Geneva Sale 10 May 1983, lot 49 Christie's London Sale, Lord Rothschild Collection, 30 June 1982, lot 15 Christie's London Sale 5 July 1977, lot 200 Christie's Geneva Sale 15 November 1988, lot 218 Works in collections : Musée Cognacq-Jay : Leg Ernest Cognacq 1928 (two boxes) Musée du Louvre Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum New-York, Metropolitan Museum of Art Regensburg, Fürstliche Schatzkammer Thurn und Taxis Collection William II of Hesse, Eichenzell, Schloss Fasanerie Bibliographical references : GRANDJEAN Serge. Catalogue of snuffboxes, boxes and cases from the 18th and 19th century from the Louvre Museum. Paris RMN, 1981 MURDOCH Tessa, ZECH Heike. Going for Gold: Craftmanship and collecting of gold boxes. Sussex Academix Press, 2014 DE LOS LLANOS Jose, GREGOIRE Christine. Gold box and objects of virtue. Cognacq-Jay Museum Collection. Paris Musées, 2011 SEELIG Lorenz. Hanau gold boxes from the 18th century kept in the Louvre museum. La revue des musées de France, revue du Louvre 64, 2014 n°3 - A la recherche 2014.