Jim Peake
Head of Department
Lot 46
A very rare Franchini gold-mounted millefiori pill box and cover, circa 1845-47
1 December 2021, 10:30 GMT
London, Knightsbridge£3,000 - £4,000
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A very rare Franchini gold-mounted millefiori pill box and cover, circa 1845-47
Circular, the cover and base mounted with plaques set with murrines flanked by opposing pairs of leafy rose canes and star canes, the cover with a central gondola, the base with a central portrait of 'Angelina', on a scrambled ground of colourful filigree, ribbon and aventurine, 2.6cm diam
Footnotes
Provenance
Paul Gresswell-Wilkins Collection
Giovanni Battista Franchini (1804-1873) made a variety of objects incorporating his canes and those of his son, Giacomo (1827-1897). This included plaques which were sometimes set into jewellery, as well as lids for snuff boxes similar to the present lot, scent bottles, together with handles for walking sticks, parasols or cutlery. See for example the cane handle dated 1845 sold by Bonhams on 29 September 2020, lot 92 and the plaque dated 1846 in the same sale, lot 92, which includes a comparable gondola cane. The first portrait cane of a lady produced by Giacomo Franchini was started in 1841 and not completed until 1845. Several versions of the so-called 'Angelina' cane are known.
