Precious enameled gold box with portrait of Abdulmejid (r.18 - Lot 350

Precious enameled gold box with portrait of Abdulmejid (r.1839-1861) Pink gold, polychrome enamel, silver, pearls, ruby prime Switzerland, probably Geneva, 19th century 2.4 x 8.7 x 5.4 cm Weight: 113.9g This rose gold box, rectangular in shape with cut sides, is almost entirely enameled, partly engraved and richly decorated. The lid features an oval portrait of Abdulmejid (1823 - 1861), thirty-first sultan of the Ottoman Empire, in a silver frame embellished with mother-of-pearl and ruby pearls, adding to the preciousness of the object. Around it, on a blue enamel background, acanthus leaf scrolls are chased and sometimes colored green or white, with two silver ornaments mounted with pearls and rubies in applique. The edges of the lid are finely engraved with a frieze and central flower. The sides of the box are decorated with engraved and enameled friezes in green, yellow, red, white and pink. At each corner, the gold is lightly engraved and frames an upside-down heart enameled in light blue. Beneath the box, a fine enamel panel centers a medallion featuring a large bouquet on a pink background. The taste for European enamel objects for the Turkish market, such as enameled boxes and pocket watches, seems to have been initiated by Sultan Abdulmejid. The taste for high-quality enamels produced in Geneva and Europe subsequently spread to the Iranian world with the travels of rulers such as Naser al-Din Shah. The Sadberk Hanim Museum in Istanbul holds three enamelled boxes from the same group (SHM 18391-Z.642), (SHM 15104-Z.576), (SHM 15106-Z.578), published in: Cevher Sadberk Hanim Müzesi Koleksiyonundan Mineli ve Murassa Eserler / Enamelled and Jewelled Objects from the Sadberk Hanim Museum Collection, (by Hülya Bilgi and Idil Zanbak), Sadberk Hanim Museum, Istanbul, 2015, pp. 224-229.