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Louis XV wig box * in red lacquered wood enhanced with gilding, decorated with arabesques and floral and vegetal volutes as well as birds, domed cover decorated with the mythological scene of the nymph Daphne transforming into a laurel in front of Apollo , hinges and bronze keyhole, from the 18th century.
This box is in good condition. We have his key.
A note: some accidents and lack of wood especially on the sides, some accidents and lack of gilding on the decorations, wear of time, look carefully at the photos (see arrows).
* The wig box is a rectangular box with a rounded or oval lid, with a handle on the lid or two sides, to facilitate its transport. the interiors are always painted and red is the most frequently encountered color. The keyholes and hinges are often in cut engraved gilt bronze but also often in a simpler metal. This elegant box is used to store dressed, combed, scrubbed, washed and powdered wigs, most often flat and its size evolves with changes in fashion. The wig box can be part of a necessary and therefore be embellished with several small boxes, assorted, which accommodate pins, powder, jewelry, solid perfumes, flies, ... They have a wide range of decorations made in bright and precious colors . Chinoiserie on a lacquered background, elegant and mutinous loves, gallant scenes, illustrations of La Fontaine's fables, Berain-style decorations, musical attributes, rural scenes, scenes from mythology or from tapestries, legends, popular fables are so many popular subjects at the time. Many boxes are decorated with the famous technique of Vernis Martin and other according to the technique of Arte Povera (paper decoration glued on the support and varnished) or lacquers from Japan. For even more wealth, the backgrounds imitate tortoiseshell or are brightly colored: yellow, red, but also deep black, flamboyant gold. Such boxes are often kept away from the lower layers of the population; it is important to note that most of the people, about 80% of the population, did not use wigs, reserved for the nobility and the upper middle class and sometimes the clergy.
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