Seal, ivory, gold, enamels and cornelian under a glass cover, in a shagreen case, France, ca. 1750-1760

This elaborately worked object was once a seal, though it lacks any engraved insignia, and is set with simply an uncarved carnelian, which may be a replacement for an intaglio removed at an earlier date.
The ivory element is a micro-carving of two ships at a fortified port, this little scene being set within the hinged chased and coloured gold case. The gold is worked with rococo motifs with four inset enamels depicting: a male figure seated on clouds in classical armour with a trophy of arms (perhaps Mars); a seated female figure, also in military guise and also seated on clouds, whose shield shows three fleurs-de-lys (representing perhaps France); and two smaller enamels, each depicting trophies of arms. The whole object is encased in a cylindrical shagreen case.

Bought for £8 10s. from the Bernal Collection at Christie's, London, on 23 April 1855, lot 3485.

This seal is a highly-worked luxury object of the mid-eighteenth century. The ivory micro-carving of ships in a port resembles French pieces of the eighteenth century, such as a box and a finger-ring respectively, both in the Hull Grundy collection at the British Museum. The style of the enamels and the chased gold work implies a date of the mid-eighteenth century; the martial overtones could even reflect the start of the Seven Years War in 1756. Both the style and the iconography of the enamels imply the object is French.

2401-1855