Cleveland Museum of Art

Watchcase (Boîtier de montre)

Date

c. 1640

Medium

gold and enamel

Culture

France, 17th century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In the 1630s, the practice of painting with enamel on metal became a means for French miniature painters to achieve a more richly colored, durable product. Previously miniatures were painted with watercolor on vellum, a material made from animal skin. This case would have originally held a watch, but was later transformed into a simple box through the removal of the watch mechanism and ring. This watch case is richly painted inside and out with miniatures modeled after well-known religiously allegorical works. Inspiration for the box’s miniatures was drawn from works by Peter Paul Rubens’ The Holy Family with Saints John the Baptist and Elizabeth (1615) (back panel) and Nicolas Cochin (interior base).

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