DOCUMENT COFFER WITH SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES,
Napoléon III, Paris ca. 1860. Signed Alph. Giroux & Cie. A Paris. Alphonse Gustave Giroux, 1810-1886.
Ebony, finely inlaid in star motifs. Gilt and engraved, in part pierced, brass mounts designed as bands and corner reinforcements. The bands, decorated with oval and round agates, carnelians, heliotropes, and in part tinted stones. Hinged cover. Lateral drop handles. The inside lined with jade green silk. Escutcheons with combination lock. 1 key.
45 x 32 x 24 cm.

1 gemstone on the back, missing.

In 1799, François Simon Alphonse Giroux (1775/76-1848), a pupil of the famous historical painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), established a shop "à l'enseigne au Coq Honoré" in Paris, on the Rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré, where he sold mainly artists' supplies, such as paper, paints and frames, and later also produced small furniture and luxury items in keeping with the taste of the times. During the Restoration period, the business experienced a considerable boom thanks to numerous government contracts, including for the children of Louis XVIII and Charles X. From 1838, his son Alphonse Gustave Giroux (1810-1886) joined the family business, maintaining the success of the business under the name "Alphonse Giroux et Compagnie".

Literature:
- D. Ledoux-Lebard, "Le mobilier français du XIXe siècle", Paris, 1989, pp. 223 ff.
- Danielle Kisluk-Grosheide, "Maison Giroux and its Oriental Marquetery Technique", Furniture history, Vol. 35, 1999, pp. 147-172.