Travel Box, Stamped Migeon, Paris, Louis XV Period.

Rare and interesting box, both a utilitarian object and a work of decorative art, it embodies all the subtlety of Parisian taste during the reign of Louis XV. It is stamped MIGEON, a brand associated with Pierre II Migeon, one of the most famous merchant-cabinetmakers of his time. Heir to a Protestant dynasty active in Paris from the end of the 17th century, Migeon did not just produce furniture in his workshop: he orchestrated veritable decorative ensembles, calling on renowned varnishers, bronze workers, upholsterers and marquetry workers, serving an aristocratic French and foreign clientele. This box is built in solid walnut, assembled with covered dovetails, a high-quality technique typical of careful productions. Its surface is covered with a blackened varnish with gilded and polychrome decoration representing a stylized landscape: flowering trees, mountainous reliefs, bridge and foliage, in a style borrowed from Chinese and Japanese lacquers, then very fashionable. This type of decoration echoes the Martin varnish technique, developed in Paris to imitate precious oriental lacquers. The Migeon workshops readily used it, particularly for the creation of small pieces of furniture, boxes and luxury objects in the style of chinoiserie. The box opens with the lid held by compasses onto an ochre-tinted interior, equipped with a partition with a scalloped top separating a paper holder space from a removable table covered in red leather, likely serving as a writing surface. It is therefore very likely a travel mail box or a correspondence kit, combining practicality and elegance. Under the shelf we discover a small compartment with a removable oak compartment mounted with dovetails and also stained yellow ochre. The original silver-plated bronzes include a rocaille lock entry, a carrying handle mounted on the lid with gadrooned rosettes as well as four small conical feet. The lock is period, functional, and comes with its original silver-plated bronze key, with a finely chiseled head. With its decoration, its refined craftsmanship, its rare signature and its delicate function, this box is part of the Parisian luxury productions of the mid-18th century. It reflects the essential role of marchands-merciers like Migeon, true conductors of taste, who brought together the best craftsmen to create exceptional objects for the cultured elite. Complete set and in a beautiful state of conservation despite wear, losses and repairs as well as a small crack on the top, a defect inherent to an everyday object of the 18th century