Bonbonnière in the form of a bird

Bird-shaped bonbonnière / box. White enamel on copper with gilt-metal mounts. The stylized bird is shown seated on a green base; it has a green head, a white breast, wings painted in shades of green, blue and purple, and a tail decorated with red stripes. A series of comparable bird-shaped bonbonnières is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; one such example is catalogued as British, possibly South Staffordshire, ca. 1770–80, enamel on copper. The Esztergom piece may also belong to this group.

Provenance

San Marco gyűjtemény (765)