Snuff Box with a Portrait Miniature, Directoire Period, c. 1795–1800
Dear collectors, Noblesse-Collection is pleased to propose you this fine and particularly
attractive late 18th-century French snuff box, the lid set with a hand-painted portrait miniature
of an elegant gentleman, signed “Dufour” lower left, dating from circa 1795–1800, during
the French Directoire period.
The sitter is portrayed bust-length against a restrained brown background. He wears a dark
blue coat with a high turned-up collar and large gilt buttons, over a striking red waistcoat,
together with an elaborate white muslin cravat.
His powdered grey hair is swept back from the forehead and arranged in loose lateral curls.
His appearance is particularly characteristic of fashionable French male portraiture during
the Revolutionary and Directoire periods, combining elements inherited from the late Ancien
Régime with the increasingly distinctive fashions of the 1790s.
The portrait is of attractive quality, particularly in the treatment of the sitter's pale blue-grey eyes,
softly modelled complexion and carefully delineated features. The vivid red waistcoat, dark blue
coat and elaborate white cravat create a particularly effective and elegant contrast.
The miniature is clearly signed “Dufour” in the lower left.
Monsieur Dufour (French, active 1793–1801) was a French portrait miniaturist working during
the turbulent years of the French Revolution, Directoire and beginning of the Consulate.
Relatively little biographical information concerning the artist has survived, and even his first name
does not appear to have been securely established. He is consequently recorded in specialist
literature simply as “Monsieur Dufour” or “Dufour, M.”
Dufour specialized in portrait miniatures and his known works belong precisely to the fashionable
portraiture of the Revolutionary and Directoire periods. His male sitters may be shown wearing the
characteristic high collars, elaborate white cravats, colourful waistcoats and distinctive hairstyles
associated with fashionable French society of the 1790s.
The artist is referenced in Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard's authoritative dictionary Les peintres en
miniature actifs en France, 1650–1850. A signed portrait by Dufour of an “Incroyable”, one of the
extravagantly fashionable young men associated with the Thermidorian Reaction and Directoire,
has also appeared on the French art market, further connecting his work with fashionable Parisian
society of this period.
The present portrait fits particularly well within this context, both through its date and through the
sitter's striking fashionable costume.
The miniature is mounted beneath glass in the lid of an elegant circular snuff box.
It is surrounded by a gilt-metal bezel, while the dark surface of the box is embellished
with a delicate continuous gilt ornamental border.
Period: Circa 1795–1800 – French Directoire Period
Style: Directoire / Neoclassical
School: French School
Subject: Portrait of an elegant gentleman in fashionable Directoire costume,
signed “Dufour” lower left
Frame: The portrait miniature is mounted beneath convex glass within the lid of the circular
snuff box, surrounded by a finely decorated gilt-metal bezel and delicate gilt ornamentation.
Dimensions:
Portrait excluding surround: 5.9 cm diameter / 2.32 inches diameter
Snuff box: 8.3 cm diameter × 1.8 cm high / 3.27 inches diameter × 0.71 inches high
Condition: Good antique condition with expected age-related wear. There is a small loss to
the material of the box on the reverse and a small split to the edge of the lid. Minor wear and
surface marks are otherwise consistent with the considerable age and use of the object.
The portrait itself presents well with a small loss of material to the portrait at the upper
right edge. Please examine the photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the
condition description.
A particularly appealing French Directoire snuff box, combining an elegant period luxury object
with a signed portrait miniature by Monsieur Dufour (active 1793–1801), a documented French
miniaturist closely associated with portraiture of the Revolutionary and Directoire years.
