Thursday, March 8, 2012

Gifts of Grandeur: The Mennecy Cat Snuffbox, c. 17526

Snuff-box in the form of a cat.
Mennecy, France, c. 1756
The Victoria & Albert Museum




Here we see a snuff-box and cover of soft-paste porcelain.  This rather small, unusual figural piece is painted with enamels and with a hinged silver mount.   It takes the form of a cat with three kittens.  The whole of the interior of the case is enameled with flowers. 

We don’t know too much about this snuff-box except that it was made in Mennecy, France between 1756 and 1762 by a staff worker at the Mennecy Porcelain Factory.



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