Papier mâché, black lacquer ground with polychrome oil painting after Claude Joseph Vernet (1714-1789)
Brunswick, first third of the 19th century
Lacquer ware manufactory Stockmann. (1788-1866) – Manufacturer for lacquer goods
The inside with double red signature ‘St’ and numbered ‘4602.’; the inside of the lid titled ‘Seesturm. / nach Vernet.’ and numbered ‘4602.’
Round box with a lively sea storm scene after motifs by the French painter Claude Joseph Vernet
Diameter: 9.5 cm
Very good condition
A Stockmann tobacco box with an extremely detailed motif after Vernet

This box made by the Stockmann manufactory depicts a stormy scene at sea after Claude Joseph Vernet (1714-1789). In the foreground shipwrecked figures are depicted on rocks before a background with sailing ships on a churning sea below a dramatic sky. A lighthouse towers on the right behind steep cliffs, against which the waves are breaking.

Comparable pieces are listed in Richter’s online catalog raisonné of Brunswick lacquer ware, including a square box with an identical motif.

Literature: cf. Detlev Richter, Lackdosen, München 1988, p. 101, fig. 116; 117; 118; 119 and p. 147, fig. 229; ibid., Stobwasser, Lackkunst aus Braunschweig und Berlin, München 2005, p. 70, fig. 58

The tobacco box is marked with the double red signature ‘St’ and numbered ‘4602.’ on the inside of the base as well as titled ‘Seesturm. / nach Vernet.’ and numbered ‘4602.’ on the inside of the lid. It is in very good condition with light signs of age and wear. The inside with a few tiny notches and some minor retouchings. The diameter is 9.5 cm.

Lacquer Ware Manufactory Stockmann (1788-1866)

Beside the Stobwasser factory, the lacquer ware manufactory of Johann Wilhelm Stockmann was one of the leading lacquer companies in the Biedermeier period. It is probably the factory, whose works come closest to the Stobwasser items regarding the quality of the craftsmanship. Like Stobwasser, the factory produced, besides all sorts of commodities, snuff boxes and cases with fine paintings in almost equal quality. Paintings on tinplate were the company’s second mainstay. As a historical peak, the factory received the title of the purveyor to the court in 1836. (tfa)

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