Here is a really interesting find - a pretty powder compact, made of turquoise celluloid & featuring a gorgeous 18th Century Romantic Period rural scene of a couple sitting on the grass next to a lake, among the trees. This is probably a section from one of the beautiful paintings by either Jean-Antoine Watteau or Jean-Honore Fragonard, both very well known & popular French artists who specialised in these romantic rural scenes… The celluloid base is a pretty greenish turquoise colour & is solid when you hold it up to the light. The portrait on the lid is a paper print, which would have been under a clear plastic cover, but that has been lost somewhere along the way. No matter, because the picture is in fantastic condition - clear bright colours & no tears, scuffs or scratches - remarkable for such a delicate paper label exposed to the elements. It’s very pretty & very vintage looking. The turquoise surround is in really good condition too, with no cuts, nicks, scuffs or scratches. I know this is French & attributed to Hermal Spingarn, because this one has a capital letter ‘S’ in the centre with ‘Made in France’ embossed in English around it in a circle, in the inside of the powder well. Therefore it was very likely made for the tourist market. The dating is probably from around the 1940s as the use of celluloid was necessated by the commandeering of base metals for the war effort, by British & French alike. This is so typically French in its use of an 18th Century Fragonard-style Romantic painting, & very charming piece of ephemeral cosmetics & beautyware from a time of great hardship for everyone, right across Europe. This powder compact measures 6.2cms in diameter x approx. 1cm thick (that’s 2 3/8 x 3/8) The inner well measures only just under 5cms in diameter, so any refill will have to be no more than 4.8cms across & very thin. This has its original little sifter which is in good condition too. Spingarn French Turquoise Celluloid Powder Compact With 18Th Century Romantic Rural Scene, Signed
