Alphonse Tahan (French, 1830-1880) Napoleon III Scent Perfume Bottle Casket Vanity Box with Pietra Dura, Circa 1860.
Complete with three glass scent bottles and stoppers, decorated with gilt vermicelli pattern.
The shaped oval casket with a Pietra Dura panel of flowers inset into the hinged lid, the fitted interior is lined in velvet and silk.
Engraved on the lock (no key) – TAHAN PARIS.
14x9cx10cm.


Alphonse Tahan (1830-1880) was the official master cabinet maker for the French Emperor Napoleon III and his wife the Empress Eugenie. As the leading trend-setter of the day, the Empress was regarded as having impeccable taste and favoured Tahan’s workshop so greatly increasing his reputation.
The firm was based in Paris and won medals at both the The Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. He also produced other fine quality items such as fine bronze jewellery caskets and superior quality wooden boxes.
The business was carried on by his son Jean Pierre Alexandre Tahan after his father died.