19th Century Grand Tour Souvenirs Palais Royale French Empire Ebonized Fragrance Necessaire with Gold Gilt Bottles & A Sèvres Style Panel


This is truly an important and stunning piece of Objet d'art. This Sèvres style porcelain necessaire/fragrance box dates back to the early 1800s Palais Royale French Empire of Napolean Bonapart I. This would most certainly adorn the highest nobility and aristocrats.

In the mid-1800s, the best souvenirs from Paris were found in the boutiques of the famed Palais Royale of Paris, the old palace of Cardinal Richelieu. The boutiques lined the promenade of the central gardens, and the area was host to Royals, dignitaries, and the posh societies of the time. The treasures from the Palais Royale remain today some of the most sought-after antiques to be found.

The production of perfumery articles became an industry in the nineteenth century when a new champion emerged, Napoleon Bonaparte, who had a standing order with his perfumer for 50 bottles of cologne a month.

In the 18th Century, porcelain was one of the most highly prized commodities in the world. In the 19th Century, the Sèvres factory was well-known for its brilliant bleu céleste ground color. Sèvres gilding is often finely worked or ‘tooled’ with subtle patterns and has a light touch that is very distinctive.

This is a superb example of the 1800s; a gorgeous Palais Royale Sèvres style porcelain ebonized wood fragrance box/necessaire, finely crafted with two original blue Opaline scent bottles inside. The painted Sèvres style porcelain depicts floral arrangements with a gold gilt trim that borders a carefully chiseled, engraved gilt bronze Cavalier King Charles Spaniel finial in intricate detail.

Each scent bottle is decorated with scrolling gilt bronze featuring swags and a scrolling foliate lattice of a yellow gold cagework design. At the end of each gilt, yellow gold-hinged chased foliate cap is an églomisé hand-painted miniature of a Paris landmark, and each bottle also includes inside stoppers.

The necessaire box is lined with smooth velvet-type material with gold trim.

The bronze gilt application runs along the side trim of the box and forms a border around the decorated Sèvres style porcelain. The box rests on four intricate doré gilt bronze feet.
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Condition Report: Good and commensurate with its age, The box is intact, and scent bottles have no chips. Wear on the bronze gilding, some fading on the ebonized box as depicted, smudging to one of the hand-painted églomisé miniature landmarks. No key. 10.16 cm (H) x 17.7 cm (W) 10.16 cm (D).
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Provenance: From a private estate in Italy.
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