A mid-19th century French silver cased and enamel scent bottle, Paris circa 1845 by Morel and Cie

A mid-19^th century French silver cased and enamel scent bottle, Paris circa 1845 by Morel and Cie

Of tapering faceted form upon scroll feet, the hinged lid surmounted by a finial of a squirrel. The body with openwork of foliate scrolls and arabesques, with roundels of bouquets of flowers above masks, the sides with applied flowers. Enamelled throughout with three different blues, the flowers, and feet with yellow-green enamels. The underside signed Morel & Cie, Paris. Stopper present.

Height – 12.4 cm / 4.85 inches

Jean-Valentin Morel (1794-1860) was trained from his father and through an apprenticeship with goldsmith Adrien-Maximillian Vachette. In 1818, Morel established his own business and registered his first mark on 2nd August 1827, specialising in high-quality inlay work and in the production of hard stone cups in aa sixteenth-century revival style. In 1842, he went into partnership with silversmith Henri Duponchel with their shop Morel & Cie in Paris. The firm was awarded a gold medal at the French Industrial Exposition of 1844. He established a new partnership with Jules Foussin in London in 1850, however by the end of 1852, Morel had returned to France.