Lot 809
Lot 809
COLLECTION ANDRÉ DUBONNET
BOÎTE À CURE-DENTS ALLEMANDE EN OR ET ÉMAIL

PAR LES FRÈRES TOUSSAINT, HANAU, VERS 1785

Price Realised EUR 5,292
Estimate
EUR 4,000 - EUR 6,000
Closed: 15 Apr 2025
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BOÎTE À CURE-DENTS ALLEMANDE EN OR ET ÉMAIL

PAR LES FRÈRES TOUSSAINT, HANAU, VERS 1785

Price Realised EUR 5,292
Closed: 15 Apr 2025
Price Realised EUR 5,292
Closed: 15 Apr 2025
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Details
Oblongue, guilloché de filets et perles, dans une bande en émail blanc, le bord extérieur ciselé d'une guirlande de perles de feuilles et baies en émail blanc et vert, poinçons sur le fond et le couvercle ressemblant aux poinçons parisiens: charge, lettre-date (K) et maître-orfèvre; sur la gorge: poinçon de contrôle de Hanau pour l'or 18 carats (tête d’oiseau)
L. 9,3 cm. (358 in.)
Poids brut: 71 gr. (2 oz. 2 dwt.)
Provenance
André Dubonnet, puis par descendance.
FURTHER DETAILS
A GERMAN ENAMELLED GOLD TOOTHPICK CASE
BY LES FRERES TOUSSAINT, HANAU, CIRCA 1785
Oblong engine turned with reeding scattered with pellets, the rims enamelled in white and green with laurel leaves and berries, marked in cover and base with marks resembling those of Paris: charge, date-letter K and maker; on flange: Hanau bird's head control mark for 18 ct gold, later French import marks


Les Frères Toussaint, Charles (1720-1790) and Pierre-Étienne Toussaint (1726-1803/1806) are today recognized as among the most important jewellers and gold box makers from Hanau, thanks to the research of Lorenz Seelig published in Golddosen des 18. Jahrhunderts aus dem Besitz der Fürsten von Thurn und Taxis, Munich: Hirmer, 2007.

Originally from Berlin and of Huguenot descent, the Toussaint brothers settled in Hanau in 1752. They made snuff-boxes and objects of vertu in the style of those made in Paris, which were then the most important sought after boxes, even going so far as to copy Parisian hallmarks. Thus, the marks stamped on this toothpick box — the crowned letter K (for the year 1773), the mark shaped like a "bassinet flower flanked by six ornamental fleurons" resembling the Paris charge for Julien Alaterre (1768-1774), the small shell resembling the discharge mark, and their maker’s mark composed of the initials LFT — copy Paris hallmarks and are those they used after 1775 and are commonly found on much of their production.


André Dubonnet (1897–1980) was a French flying ace, athlete, race car driver, and inventor. Grandson of Joseph Dubonnet, founder of the Dubonnet apéritif firm, he inherited substantial wealth. During World War I, he served as a pilot, earning six aerial victories. After the war, he competed in Olympic bobsledding and raced for Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza. Passionate about innovation, he developed and sold an automobile suspension system, the système Dubonnet, to General Motors and pursued aerodynamic studies, commissioning unique cars like the 1938 Hispano-Suiza Dubonnet Xenia. He spent much of his fortune developing new inventions but nearly went bankrupt investing in solar energy. He was married three times and became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1936.
Brought to you by
Elisa OberHead of Sale, Associate Specialist
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Collections : Entre Orient et Occident au XVIIIe siècle, regard d'un amateur éclairé & Souvenirs des princes Murat