Box
Alphonse Giroux & Cie., Paris
ca. 1860 · Wood veneered with parquetry of tulipwood and kingwood, gilt bronze, modern silk lining trimmed with metal thread · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Displaying star-shaped parquetry and gilt-bronze mounts, this elegant coffer harks back to eighteenth-century traditions. The firm established by Alphonse Giroux (1775/76–1848)—a tabletier, or dealer in luxury goods—was known for its high-quality objects such as glove boxes, caskets for weddings and baptisms, gifts for the New Year, and small pieces of furniture in a variety of styles. In the tradition of eighteenth-century marchands merciers, Giroux and his sons probably did not make any of the offered wares themselves but commissioned them from a variety of artists.
- Artist
- Alphonse Giroux & Cie., Paris
- Date
- ca. 1860
- Medium
- Wood veneered with parquetry of tulipwood and kingwood, gilt bronze, modern silk lining trimmed with metal thread
- Culture
- French
- Department
- European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
- Credit line
- Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass Gift, in honor of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2010
