Fine Louis XVI gold tabatiere à Deux Couleurs. Yellow and pink gold. Oval shape. Base, wall and hinged lid covered with richly guilloché net structures. Cassette-like structure made of relief sculptural pearl ribbon and calyx decoration. On the lid a miniature portrait in a high oval shape behind glass, framed by a stylised leaf wreath, with a bust portrait of a rococo lady with powdered, highly topped hair and an elegant ice-grey and blue-coloured dress. Tempera painting on ivory. Decorated with Hanau prestige marks in the style of French foam marks, such as those of the Parisian tenant Julien Alaterre. Master probably Esaias Fernau (active from ca. 1762). Weight 185 g. H. 3.3 cm. 8.3 cm x 6.2 cm. CITES certificate available. Provenance: from the important collection of the Frankfurt banking family von Bethmann, which grew over generations. This tabatiere is a typical example of 18th century gold boxes made in the style of the Parisian and Swiss goldsmiths; Paris was considered the centre of European goldsmithing at this time. Hanau also developed into an important production site for gold tabatiers in the 1760s, partly due to the influence of French goldsmithing in Europe and the arrival of a large number of goldsmiths of Huguenot origin, and was able to keep up with the high quality and fine design of France. Today, works by the Hanau goldsmiths can be found in renowned museums such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Musée Cognac-Jay in Paris and the Fürstliche Schatzkammer Thurn und Taxis in Regensburg. The maker's mark "EC" under a lily and crown on this tabatiere is illustrated by Lorenz Seelig in his article "Eighteenth Century Hanau Gold Boxes" published in 2015 in the Silver Society of Canada Journal (pp. 45, 46, Fig. 50), where it is attributed to the Hanau bijoutier Esaias Fernau ("Esaias et Compagnie"). Fernau was active from around 1762 and worked with various partners such as Daniel Marchand and the enameller Friedrich Wagenfuehrer. A tabatiere attributed to Fernau can be found in the Louvre in Paris, inv. no. OA 2173. A fine German Louis XVI gold snuff box probably by Esaias Fernau (active since 1762) with miniature portrait on ivory. Hanauer prestige marks in the manner of French hallmarks. Master's mark. CITES included. German. Hanau. Around 1780.