Stobwasser Black Lacquer Surprise Box With Secret Compartment And Erotic Miniature, 19th

STOBWASSER LACQUERED SURPRISE BOX.
A rectangular surprise box in black lacquer with gold trim. The removable lid is adorned with a finely executed genre miniature painting depicting a lively family interior scene featuring a cat and a spinning wheel. Inside, it reveals a secret lid with a double bottom, painted with a second, exquisitely detailed erotic miniature depicting a naked couple embracing amidst a rolling landscape.
Allemagne (Brunswick). Charles X period. 
H_2.5 cm L_13 cm D_8.5 cm
Good condition.

Founded in 1763 in Brunswick by Georg Heinrich Stobwasser, the eponymous workshop gained a European reputation thanks to the technical perfection of its lacquerwork and the virtuosity of its miniature painters. In addition to traditional genre scenes inspired by the Flemish masters, the Stobwasser workshop specialised in highly sought-after ‘surprise’ boxes. Beneath a perfectly respectable and innocuous exterior, these highly refined pieces concealed amorous or licentious scenes intended for their owner’s private amusement, thereby mischievously circumventing the moral censorship of the time.

Our object will fit beautifully into this tradition of curiosities and objects of seduction from the early 19th century, perfectly illustrating the striking contrast between the propriety of its exterior decoration and the intimate sensuality of its inner secret.