OVAL ENAMELED SNUFF BOX IN GOLD PARIS LOUIS XV
TABACCHIERA OVALE PARIGI LUIGI XV
in oro giallo, di forma ellittica, con corpo e coperchio decorati in smalti policromi raffiguranti un motivo guilloche incorniciato da parti in oro con fasci di ghirlande smaltate lavorate a rilievo. La miniatura che compare sul coperchio è a sua volta incorniciata dallo stesso registro decorativo, e rappresenta con estrema maestria un'incantevole giovane donna dell'epoca indossare delle perle naturali talmente vivide da sembrare tangibili, punzoni francesi del fabbricante, marchi charge e décharge del verificatore Jean-Jacques Prévost(1762-1768), lettera della data, dim. cm 7,5x6x4 circa, gr. 188
Louis XV (Versailles, 1710 - 1774), son of Louis Duke of Burgundy, second dauphin, and Maria Adelaide of Savoy. He ascended the throne on the death of Louis XIV in 1715. He was first placed under guardianship and in 1723, after 8 years of regency, he assumed full powers at the age of 13 (age of majority for the kings of France). Dominated by ministers and "favorites" (including the well-known Madame de Pompadour), his reign was marked by participation in numerous wars (of the Polish succession, the Seven Years' War) which aggravated the country's heavy financial instability.
Louis XV was an absolute monarch, largely responsible for the great event that Louis XVI could not prevent, the Revolution. He died in 1774.