Elegant Louis XVI enamelled gold tabatiere with fine pearl decoration Red gold. Cylindrical body. Lid, wall and base with linear guilloché, black enamelled ground, surrounded by gold, flamed and white opaque decorative lines with leaf frieze. The lid framed by two concentrically arranged bands set with delicate pink iridescent pearls. Central round medallion with scenic, antique-style depiction in front of a wooded landscape in delicate enamel grisaille painting over an iridescent beige background. Partly indistinctly marked, hallmark in the style of the Parisian tenant Julien Alaterre. Weight approx. 190 g. H. 2,1 cm. D. 8 cm. Provenance: from the important collection of the Frankfurt banking family von Bethmann, which grew over generations. This tabatiere is a typical example of the exquisite tabatiers produced in the style of the Parisian goldsmiths, particularly in Switzerland in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many of these gold boxes bear marks modelled on and inspired by those of the Parisian guild, presumably for reasons of prestige. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a comparable Swiss tabatiere with enamel and pearl trimming, inv. no. 499-1890. Cf. cat. James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Gold Boxes, cat. no. 59 (mark). An elegant probably Swiss Louis XVI rose gold and enamelled snuff box set with pearls. Partly indistinctly marked. Assay mark imitating those used by the Paris guild. Probably Switzerland. 2nd half 18th cent.