Gold and enamel bonbonniere with miniature on ivory

Bonbonnière, or candy box, in enameled gold. The removable lid is decorated with a miniature portrait of a woman on ivory. The young, upper-class woman is wearing a red dress and a headscarf in front of a landscape. The miniature is encircled with ruby red, translucent enamel drops. The body of the box features four royal blue enamel sections that are inlaid with gold points and stars. White and green floral motifs are interspaced between the enamel sections. H: 0.9 in / D: 3.1 in Weight: 5.3 oz
Master goldsmith mark: LFT
Gold marks: 2 têtes d'aigles (Eagle heads)
German work, from Hanau during the second half of the 18th century.
Recent research has revealed that the mark “LFT” was the mark of the German goldsmiths “Les Frères Toussaint.” Charles and Pierre-Etienne Toussaint were important goldsmiths and gold decorative box makers in Hanau, Germany. Hanau was an important center of production as was Berlin and Dresden. The Toussaint family relocated from France to Hanau, Germany because they were Huguenots facing religious persecution in France. As a result, their work was heavily influenced by French production methods. They worked with numerous enamel artisans, and their work is conserved in numerous Parisian museums as well as the collection of Thurn und Taxis.
Bibliography:
Murdoch, Tessa and Zech, Heike.Going for Gold: Craftsmanship and Collecting of Gold Boxes. Sussex Academic Press, 2014.
De Los Llanos, Jose and Gregoire, Christine. Boite en or et objets de vertu. Collection de Musée Cognac-Jay. Paris Musées. 2011.