The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 17, 2025

Perfume Case (Etui flaconnier)

Perfume Case (Etui flaconnier)

c. 1780
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Perfume was an important part of the French toilette, a lengthy ritual of washing and dressing practiced by members of the French social elite.

Description

Resting inside this case is a small octagonal crystal flask that would have held perfume. The painted miniatures are decorated with vernis martin, a popular varnish that imitated East Asian true lacquer. These scenes of rural merriment were often miniature reproductions of well-respected artists of the period. The depiction of three children and a dog on the lower portion of the case was drawn from Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s The Happy Family (L’heureuse fécondité) (1777).
  • {{cite web|title=Perfume Case (Etui flaconnier)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1780|access-date=17 February 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.324