Collection of Applied Arts

Envelope-shaped box imitating a sealed letter. White enamel on copper with gilt-metal mounts. The exterior bears a French address to Madame de Tillau, femme de chambre to Madame la Duchesse d’Aubépine, in Padua; the reverse is painted with an imitation red wax seal and the number “No. 21”. The interior bears the playful French inscription: “À quoi songez-vous ? Marions, marions-nous.” Continental, probably German or Austrian, in the tradition of Meissen sealed-letter boxes, second half of the 18th century.