French White Opaline Art Glass Brass Mounted Box w Exceptional Hand Painted Pansies c 1880

022816-3/RL-877

This is a large French white opaline art glass box, mounted on a brass base that has three feet. The date is circa 1880.

The box is 4 ¼” high and 6” wide.

The outside of the box is hand painted in a vivid green that is so skillfully applied that it appears to be another layer of glass. The top of the box shows hand painted pansies, not in raised enamel, but in flat paint and extremely well painted. The pansies are purple, lavender, pink and pale green, with leaves in shades of green and brown, and all with dots of raised enamel. The flowers are painted against the white opaline as a reserve, and framed in scrolls of raised enamel. Around the sides of the bottom the pansies, leaves and raised enamel scroll design continues. The box is all artist painted, and well executed; do zoom in on the photos.

There are no chips, nicks or cracks. The interior shows some air bubbles in the glass, and a few that burst during the glassmaking process, and very common for glass from this time period. The metal has age patina.

The lid snaps firmly in place.

The bottom is slightly indented and smooth.