Artist: Gennaro Sarao (Naples, 1730 – 72) – attributed to –
Date: Naples, around 1740 – 1750
Serpentine outline, finely inlaid with mother of pearl and gold piqué pose, point and cloute, the hinged lid decorated with a classical scene with a lady being abducted, with a gold chariot accompanied by cupids and with attendant figures, framed by Rococo shell scrolls and cartouches, on a diaper ground, with a gold thumbpiece and a push button handle revealing a divided interior, probably for scent bottles
Measurement: 8.7 cm (high), 15 cm (wide)
Provenance: Antigone Clarke & Joseph O’Kelly, Antique Boxes, Tea Caddies & Society, 1700-1880, 2nd Edition, p.133, fig. 182.