Pomponne Powder Box, Louis XVI Period, 16th Century, 18th Century

Louis XVI period pomponne powder box with a lid decorated with a scene depicting the myth of Hercules' choice or Hercules at the crossroads. In the fable by the Greek poet Prodicus, two women appear to the adolescent Hercules as he wonders whether to devote his life to virtue or pleasure. The first woman presents herself as Virtue and the other as Happiness. Each woman explains to Hercules the advantages of the life choice she personifies: Virtue calls him to follow the harder path, the one that leads to glory through difficulties, while the second woman presents him with the pleasures of life, the easier path, inciting him to vice. The pomponne box is made from gold-plated copper. This technique was developed by two goldsmiths, Turgot and Daumy, who settled in the Hôtel de Pomponne on Rue de la Verrerie in Paris at the end of the 18th century. King Louis XVI granted goldsmiths the privilege of making pomponne objects in 1785, whereas until that date, all imitation of gold objects was prohibited.