IMPORTANT GOLD ENAMEL TABATIÈRE Paris, around 1770, master's mark Charles Le Bastier. Oval box with flat hinged lid. The wall with grey and white speckled enamel on all sides and with oval, green enamelled medallions, each decorated with a bas-relief in gold. On the lid, an oval medallion on a green background with a gold frame decorated with laurel and flowers and a central bas-relief of Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). Inside the lid is an oval frame with a small glass plate with a forget-me-not motif and a diamond-shaped arrangement of hair, probably belonging to Marie-Antoinette. As with most tabatières made by Le Bastier, the inner base of the box is stamped with the reference number (here no. 504). Original storage box made of green lizard leather. L: 6.6 cm, 100 g. Provenance: - Martina Erica Spica art dealership, Lugano. - Private collection, Switzerland. Charles Le Bastier was a sought-after goldsmith of his time, who particularly distinguished himself with his high-quality and magnificent tabatières. The son of a Parisian merchant, he was apprenticed to Gabriel Vougny, Marchand-orfèvre-joaillier, on 3 October 1738 at the age of 14. With the support of Jean Moynat, who was himself a well-known goldsmith, Le Bastier became a master goldsmith on 20 December 1754. He worked in the same premises in the Rue Thévenot, near the Rue St-Denis, until his last mention in 1783. In the special tax list of 1774, Le Bastier was ranked 9th in the order of importance of his business. As several of the goldsmith's boxes are preserved in various collections (most notably in the Louvre and the Thurn und Taxis Museum in Regensburg), it is possible to trace the development of his work from the first silver boxes with coloured gold decorations, through a series of richly chased but comparatively simple gold boxes, to the almost immediately recognisable gold and enamel boxes of his mature period. The box being auctioned here combines several of the master's characteristic design elements, such as the monochrome enamelled medallions, applied bas-reliefs or the grey and white speckled enamel, which can be found in a box in the Louvre in Paris (inv. no. OA 2205) or in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 1976.155.20), for example. The diamond-shaped hair inside the box, which is attributed to the French Queen Marie-Antoinette, is a special feature. In the 18th century, it was a common practice to present tobacco tins on certain occasions and as a special token of recognition and friendship. It is generally known that Marie Antoinette had such gifts decorated with strands of her hair in order to emphasise the bond that such a gift attested to. For example, a jewellery medallion and a ring in which Marie-Antoinette's hair was used can be found in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris (inv. no. OM 1677 and inv. no. OM 3274), in the British Museum and in private collections.