VERY IMPORTANT TWO-COLOUR GOLD SNUFF BOX WITH... Lot 2000

VERY IMPORTANT TWO-COLOUR GOLD SNUFF BOX WITH DIAMONDS AND A CARVED HARDSTONE CAMEO WITH A BUST OF MARIE ANTOINETTE Paris c. 1780-1783 Charles Quizille H. 3,5cm, Dm 7.5 cm 18kt yellow and red gold (hallmarks) and silver. Round shape with openwork walls and base with ornamental bands and finely cut agate slices. The lid is set with a wreath of 24 old European cut brilliant-cut diamonds totaling approx. 3.00ct H-J/VS-SI, central cameo with Marie-Antoinette in profile made of layered agate, inscribed Michel on the edge. Approx. 180.80g. Master's mark Charles Ouizille, Discharge mark Henri Clavel, Paris 1780-83. The lid probably changed, the diamonds possibly later, two agates with hairline cracks, the cameo slightly chipped at the edge, the gold slightly oxidized and minimally rubbed Sotheby's London, auction November 9, 2000, lot 48. Literature: Clare Le Corbeiller: European and American Snuff Boxes, New York 1966. For the type compare Fig. 195 and for the combination with diamonds Fig. 226, 233 and 242. According to the catalog description at the time, the can has an interesting history, which is based on the information provided by the previous owner. The stone is said to have originally been in the possession of a sultan in Constantinople. He made it a gift to a French king. Louis XVI supposedly had the stone decorated with the portrait of his wife Marie Antoinette. The court goldsmith Vachet put the stone in a gold box. Marie Antoinette gave this to her lady-in-waiting, the Marquise de Blondel. When she entered the service of the commander of Barcelona, ​​she sold the can for 40,000 francs to the Brocca family, in whose possession it remained until the early 20th century. Apparently the lid has been changed over time.