Antique French Ormolu and Cloisonne Enamel Jewellery Casket, 19th C

A superb quality French Louis XIV Revival ormolu and cloisonné enamel jewellery casket, circa 1870 in date.

 

The stunning casket is of bombé rectangular form richly cast in relief with scrolls, masks and laurel branches and inset with oval cloisonné enamel panels of flowers in blue, white and green upon a red ground within beaded borders, the hinged cover with canted angles and a further panel, the interior lined in red velvet, upon four scroll feet, with a key.

 

It is a lovely piece which is functional as well as being highly decorative.

Complete with lock and original key.

 

Condition:

In excellent condition; please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 12 cm x Width 15 cm x Depth 9.5 cm

Dimensions in inches:

Height 5 inches x Width 6 inches x Depth 4 inches

Cloisonné

is a decorative enamel technique where thin metal wires (called cloisons, French for “partitions” or “cells”) are attached to a metal base to create little compartments, which are then filled with powdered glass or enamel paste and fired.

The technique goes back to the Byzantine Empire and the Near East, where it was used on religious objects and jewelry. It reached China around the 14th century, where it became famous (in Chinese, it’s called jingtailan, after the Jingtai era of the Ming dynasty, and the Chinese pieces are often blue). Japan developed its own refined tradition in the 19th century, with exquisite work by makers like Namikawa Yasuyuki. It’s still practiced today in China, Japan, Russia, and elsewhere.

Ormolu - Gilt Bronze (from French 'or moulu', signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-carat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze. The mercury is driven off in a kiln, leaving behind a gold-coloured veneer known as 'gilt bronze'.

The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object.

After around 1830, because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury, other techniques were used instead. Electroplating is the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used on silver to produce silver-gilt.

Our reference: A5475