Music Box handpainted miniature with Swiss Mechanism by Maison Reuge Salimbeni

Octagonal box in 925/1000 sterling silver, gold plated with translucent fired enamels and featuring a handpainted monochrome miniature on guilloche of a sailing ship on the lid, depi...

Shaped table box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fine fire-enameled engraving on the lid and hand-painted floral miniature in 18th century French Empire style. Dimension...

Large oval table box with mechanical musical movement by the Swiss company Reuge S.A. in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamels on guilloché and on fine ...

Rectangular box with inward corners in sterling silver 925/1000 gold plated with beautiful miniature fire enameled and hand painted by the painter Beatrice Mellana depicting the painting "The Turkish slave" by Francesco Mazzola known as "il Parmigianino" (National Gallery of Parma). Dimensions cm. 8.5 x 11.5 x 3. Weight gr. 345. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1965 and manufactured in Florence in numerous specimens with various different subjects, in the headquarters of the Salimbeni company with completely manual execution by artisan artists with thick slab and large reinforcements suitable for withstanding numerous high-fire enameled firings at about 800° C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors. With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color. It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times. Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene. Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors. The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real ivory...

Elegant vintage footed wooden music box with top finely hand painted and inlaid with foliages floral decor. Vintage Italian wooden music box with marquetry inlay featuring a lute and flowers. Marquetry is the art of creating decorative designs using different materials, commonly thin pieces of wood. Handcrafted Jewelry music box, made in Italy with lacquered finish, wood Inlay, red felt lined with hinged lid. The music box has a Swiss Reuge music box...

A musical movement distinguishes this wonderful early 19th-century gold vinaigrette box. The vessel is covered in delicate engraving highlighted by bl...

Silver 800 and enamel music box signed Fallaci Firenze. Italy, circa 1930. Marked silver 800. Machine signed "Thorens Switzerland".   

A beautiful 19th-century French Sèvres porcelain box, showcasing the elegance and artistry for which Sèvres is renowned. This finely crafted box features hand-painted couple, floral ...