French Boulle-style tortoiseshell box with perfume holder, 19th Century
Height x width x depth: 10 x 13 x 8 cm
signed Jean-Pierre-Alexandre Tahan and in the Boulle style, inlaid with brass and tortoiseshell.
Jean-Pierre-Alexandre Tahan (1813-1892) took over his father's company, which was already famous for caskets, perfume boxes, jewellery boxes and luxury canes, making it one of the most famous companies in Paris. He was the supplier to Emperor Napoleon III and his wife and participated in several Universal Exhibitions, being awarded a silver medal in 1849, a silver medal in London in 1852 and a gold medal in Paris in 1867.