A jewelled gold, hardstone, burgau shell, enamel and ivory souvenir, Louis Charonnat, Paris, 1776

A jewelled gold, hardstone, burgau shell, enamel and ivory souvenir, Louis Charonnat, Paris, 1776

upright rectangular, the front applied with a gouache portrait miniature of Gustavus III, King of Sweden 1771-1792, in the manner of Pierre Adolphe Hall, painted on ivory, within a diamond frame and chased gold border, on malachite ground framed by basse-taille enamel borders of blue tulips, violets and leaves, the front of the hinged lid applied with an oval burgau shell plaque applied with rose-cut diamond letters reading ‘souvenir’, the reverse with cupid’s quiver on a burgau ground, the lower part set with a chased plaque representing Virtue, after Joseph Marie Vien, the sides set with burgau panels alternating with chased flowers, diamond push-piece, maker’s mark, charge and discharge mark of Jean-Bertin Fouache, Paris date letter N, the interior fitted with ivory writing slips, with a text reading: 'Celui qui vous ces traits a vos yeux vient l’offrir / Madame, a vos Vertus rend un ? homage, / Il veut vous admirer, vous aimer, vous cherir / dans son Coeur a jamais conserver / le votre image; mais vous, voudrez vous garder son souvenir‘

8.6 cm., 3⅜in. high