Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 16

19th Century Samson Paris Porcelain Trinket Box

About the Item

Presenting a gorgeous French 19th century Samson Paris Porcelain Trinket Box probably by Edme Samson. Marked on the base with “Made in France” and unmistakably in the style and manner of Samson. The lid features hand painted floral bouquets on an ivory porcelain background with gold edging, surrounded by a sky blue lid with gold web or crackling effect.. The lid is hinged and the lid and base are edged in floral gilt metal mounts with Fleur De Lis clasp. It sits on 4 gilt metal or ormolu feet. The sides are likewise hand decorated. This wonderful antique hand painted box is just bursting with History. Inspired by Edme Samson of Samson & Co., Paris. we believe (based upon the markings and natural aging) that it was made between 1880– 1890 in France and was meant to resemble an antique of a much earlier period. It is very similar to Sevres pieces with it’s color, decoration and design. Samson specialized in reproducing antiques from the 1600 and 1700s. One of his most interesting works was his Heraldic or Armorial pieces. With this medium sized box, he was not only copying the larger porcelain caskets or coffin boxes used by royalty in the 1700’s, but he was turning it into an item the current populous needed, an elegant box to hold their new love’s trinkets. And if it looked as if it had belonged to a Knight or Royalty, all the better. The box is old and shows some of it’s age but is in overall excellent condition. There are no cracks or chips. Quality piece of lovely size! Edmé Samson (b Paris, 1810; d Paris, 1891), founder of the porcelain firm Samson, Edmé et Cie (commonly known as Samson Ceramics), was a famous copyist (and perhaps forger) of porcelain and pottery.[1] The firm produced high-quality copies or imitations of earlier styles of porcelain, mainly 18th-century European and Chinese and Japanese porcelain, but also earlier styles such as Italian maiolica. Samson began his career by making service and set piece replacements in the late 1830s. In 1845 he opened the ceramics firm Samson, Edmé et Cie at 7, Rue Vendôme (later Rue Béranger) in Paris, with the intention of supplying reproductions of ceramics on display in museums and private collections. The factory was moved to Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis in 1864 by Samson’s son, Emile Samson (1837–1913). The firm either drew inspiration from other factories, or directly copied their pieces. 18th-century designs from the factories of Meissen, Sèvres, Chelsea, Worcester and Derby were among the reproductions Samson, Edmé et Cie produced, among designs copied from the other major European factories. During the 19th century, the collectors’ market for antique fine china was considerable, and Samson’s firm reproduced ceramics in a breadth of styles including the faience and maiolica types of Italian pottery, Persian style dishes, Hispano-Moresque pottery (a blending of Islamic and European motifs, produced during the 13th to 15th centuries), plates in the FitzHugh pattern, as well as plates in the manner associated with Bernard Palissy. Also copied by the Samson firm were the early Qing dynasty famille rose and famille verte Chinese porcelains and the so-called “Imari wares”, named for the Japanese port where a type of richly decorated porcelain made at Arita was shipped. The firm exhibited at the International Exposition (1867) and the Exposition Universelle (1889). Samson, Edmé et Cie did not set out to produce copies with the intention to deceive, and claimed all reproductions the firm produced would be distinctly marked to avoid confusion with the originals. However, many of its products have been passed off as originals. The Samson firm, in many instances, attempted to distinguish their reproductions from originals. The Samson wares were produced in hard-paste porcelain, while many of the originals would have been produced from soft-paste porcelain. The glazes utilized by the Samson firm were often glossy and somewhat glassy, the modeling stiffer, or wrong in scale, the decoration was often too heavy, and colors were often inaccurate. Leading many experts to conclude that Samson, and his firm, were merely enthusiastic, if sometimes clumsy, copyists. On the other hand, some Samson reproductions have only been detected by recognition of anachronistic details. Samson copies of Meissen pieces have passed for originals, since the blue underglaze ‘Ss’, Edmé’s mark, can be removed and substituted with false marks. Additionally, an 1880 reproduction piece by Samson, of a British East India Company armorial plate, shows evidence of scratchings, perhaps in an attempt to erase the Samson mark and pass the plate off as an original. Further complicating authenticity, numerous reproductions of Chelsea and Derby figures bear marks other than his trademark ‘Ss’, and in some instances bear no mark at all. It is impossible to determine when, by whom, and for what reason the Samson marks might have been removed. However, during the same period, other companies, such as Jacob Petit of Fontainebleau, were producing reproductions similar to those created by the Samson firm. In Hungary the Herend company produced famille rose pieces and armorial plates. However, unlike the Samson firm’s marks, Herend utilized both impressed marks and painted ones, which cannot be erased or removed. The Samson, Edmé et Cie company continued to produce porcelain and pottery until 1969. The salesroom models were sold in 1979 by Christie’s, London. Today many of the Samson’s pieces are collectors’ items. Ironically not all pieces attributed to Samson are actually Samson: there were many other Paris workshops producing similar ‘copies’ of earlier ceramics at the same time. Many Samson marks were removed from the piece, leaving just the assumed mark of the piece they had copied; often this is visible as a ground patch to the base. This was done in order to sell the item as the genuine article. Some pieces described as Samson were actually produced by Herend, Hungary.
  • Creator:
    Samson & Cie (Maker)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 4 in (10.16 cm)Width: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)Depth: 5.75 in (14.61 cm)
  • Style:
    Louis XVI (In the Style Of)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1880-1890
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. Very Good original condition with no cracks or chips. Colors still vibrant and only some minor rubbing and aging to the ormolu mounts.
  • Seller Location:
    Dallas, TX
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3978120981772
More From This SellerView All
  • 19th Century Derby Porcelain Lidded Centerpiece
    By Royal Crown Derby Porcelain
    Located in Dallas, TX
    PRESENTING a GLORIOUS Early 19C Derby Porcelain Lidded Centerpiece. Early piece of Derby porcelain, with early mark. From circa 1800-20. Entirely hand-painted and hand gilded in 24...
    Category

    Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Porcelain

    Materials

    Gold Plate

  • 19C Anglo Indian Bombay MOP Sadeli Mosaic Trinket Box
    Located in Dallas, TX
    PRESENTING a LOVELY 19C Anglo Indian Bombay MOP (Mother of Pearl) Sadeli Mosaic Trinket Box from circa 1875-85. Gorgeously detailed and hand-crafted ‘sadeli mosaic’ inlay, from the Bombay Area, with deep greens with silver, pewter, mother of pearl, bone and ebony in geometric patterns. The box case, is made of sandalwood but completely covered in MOP, bone, faux ivory, ebony and mosaic inlay. Edged with faux ivory and banded with a different pattern of sadeli mosaic. Some minor damage to the top (repair is obvious in pics) and ivorine replacements to some edging, but it still a BEAUTIFUL BOX and of real QUALITY! The mosaic work is FABULOUS! Box opens to reveal its original blue velvet lining. It sits on 4 (recently added) silvered button feet. SADELI MOSAIC: “Anglo Indian boxes were made in India for the English residents from the early part of the 18th century. They were brought back or sent back to England usually by the people who had commissioned them. From the beginning of the nineteenth century they were imported more commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the middle decades. They were very highly valued, especially the early ones, to the extent that the designs were copied on late 19th and early 20th century tins. The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials. Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra color. The mosaic pieces in a combination of patterns, often separated by ivory, ebony, horn or silver stringing were used to veneer sandalwood boxes. In the early boxes, which date from the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, there are large panels of mosaic covering tops and sides of boxes. It took incredible skill to cover such large areas without any shakes or wavering of the pattern. The corners and joins on these boxes are impeccably matched. The makers (reputed to be Persian) of Sadeli mosaic made in the first two decades of the 19th century displayed a total understanding of the qualities of the different materials they used. They combined substances, which can expand and contract according to atmospheric conditions with others, which are hard and unyielding. The result was a sharp definition of the lines and patterns, which made up the whole design. On the early boxes the designs look deceptively simple. The fact is, they emerged from a culture, which had mastered geometry and understood how to generate a pattern from a set number of points. The patterns are so harmoniously combined that their incredible complexity is not immediately apparent. The earliest Sadeli boxes...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Jewelry Boxes

    Materials

    Silver

  • 19th Century Italian Ruby Glass Box with Miniature of Basilica
    Located in Dallas, TX
    Lovely little 19th century ring jar or pill box made of a thick wine colored ruby glass. It has a miniature of a Basilica on top, gilt metal mounts with beautiful filigree on the si...
    Category

    Antique Early 19th Century Vatican Grand Tour Decorative Boxes

    Materials

    Metal

  • Early 19th Century French Gold Box with Enamel and Miniature Portrait
    Located in Dallas, TX
    PRESENTING A STUNNING Early 19C French Gold Box with Enamel and Miniature Portrait. Box made with brass but has been plated with 18ct Gold with beau...
    Category

    Antique Early 19th Century French Grand Tour Jewelry Boxes

    Materials

    Gold, Enamel

  • Wedgwood Jasperware Pale Blue Square Lidded Trinket Box
    By Wedgwood
    Located in Dallas, TX
    PRESENTING A LOVELY Wedgwood Jasperware Pale Blue Square Lidded Trinket Box. Made by Wedgwood in England circa 1970-80 and fully and properly marked/stamped on base. Marked: “Wedgw...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century English Neoclassical Revival Jewelry Boxes

    Materials

    Ceramic

  • Wedgwood Jasperware Pale Blue Lidded Heart Trinket Box
    By Wedgwood
    Located in Dallas, TX
    PRESENTING A LOVELY Wedgwood Jasperware Pale Blue Lidded Heart Trinket Box. Made by Wedgwood in England circa 1960 and fully and properly marked/sta...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century English Neoclassical Revival Jewelry Boxes

    Materials

    Ceramic

You May Also Like
  • Late 19th Century Porcelain Perfume Bottle by Samson, Paris
    By Samson & Cie
    Located in Paris, FR
    Late 19th century perfume bottle and opium flacon crafted of porcelain and multicolored enamels, with gilt and chiseled bronze pierced moun...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Bottles

    Materials

    Bronze, Enamel

  • 18th Century, Lowestoft English Porcelain Trinket Box
    Located in Hamilton, Ontario
    18th century, English porcelain trinket box hand decorated in polychrome glazes and inscribed: "A Trifle from Lowestoft 1795".
    Category

    Antique 18th Century English George III Decorative Boxes

    Materials

    Porcelain

  • Very Rare 19th C. Cobalt Blue Ground Sevres Porcelain Jewelry Box
    By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
    Located in New York, NY
    A very large and unusual 19th century French Louis XVI style dore bronze mounted Sevres cobalt blue ground box signed Sarat. This box is truly a masterpiece. Sevres boxes...
    Category

    Antique 1860s French Louis XVI Decorative Boxes

    Materials

    Bronze

  • Pair of 19th Century Samson Vases
    By Samson & Cie
    Located in London, GB
    A very ornate pair of Samson Paris porcelain vases, entirely hand-painted in Cantonese chinoiserie fashion, heavily gilded, circa 1880.
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Chinoiserie Porcelain

  • French 19th Century Sarreguemines Star-Shaped Porcelain Box with Floral Motifs
    By Sarreguemines
    Located in Atlanta, GA
    A French Sarreguemines star-shaped porcelain box from the late 19th century with floral motifs and ribbon design. Created in the Moselle department located in current Northeastern Fr...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Decorative Boxes

    Materials

    Porcelain

  • Nice Late 19th Century Sèvres Style Porcelain Jewelry Box and Cover
    By Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
    Located in New York, NY
    A nice late 19th century Sèvres style porcelain jewelry box and cover Of rectangular shape, the top painted in the manner of Boucher with a couple of their child, within a raised ...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Jewelry Boxes

    Materials

    Bronze

Recently Viewed

View All