An important Meissen porcelain snuff box with water landscapes and a genre scene
Vermeil-mounted snuff box painted with water landscapes reserved on celadon green ground and a landscape covering the entire base. The inside of the lid decorated with a scene of courtly company playing poque, the interior with purple scale-pattern designs and "indianische blumen". Unmarked. The base restored, minor retouches to the gilding. H 5.8, W 13.6, D 7.5 cm.
1740s, decor attributed to Philipp Ernst Schindler sen. and Christian Friedrich Herold.
There were almost certainly several painters involved in the decoration of this unusual snuff box. The genre scene on the inside of the lid can be attributed to Philipp Ernst Schindler senior (1694 - 1765). He was regarded as a specialist for miniatures and fancy goods in the Meissen manufactory. The finely stippled brushstrokes are typical of his works. He painted numerous portraits of the royal family for personal gifts. It can be assumed that this magnificent tabatière was also such a gift. Schindler was officially retired in 1751 for "stupidity of face", but married for the second time in 1753 and presumably continued to work as a freelance miniature painter for the manufactory until his death.
Provenance
German private collection.
Literature
Cf. cat. Meissener Tabatieren des 18. Jahrhunderts, Munich 2013, no. 52.
For more on Schindler see Rückert, Biographische Daten der Meißener Manufakturisten des 18. Jahrhunderts, Munich 1990, p. 189 f.