Antique 18th Century French Snuff Box, Incroyables et Merveilleuses, 18k Gold Mat, Tortoise Shell
A fashion icon of her era, kept beautifully in her tortoise shell patch or snuff box with its 18k gold facing to the mount - the more I study the Incroyables et Marveilleuses, the more I realize this pose is typical of the women in that movement, and follow the neoclassical example of a leader in the fashion style, Thérésa Tallien. Hairstyle, confrontational pose and neoclassical gown all indicate this woman was part of the movement. While it seemed I hardly ever found the women of the movement, it occurs to me I've found many over time, and just didn't match the nude neoclassical pose as typical of the Merveilleuses. The Incroyables (incredible men) and their female counterparts, the Merveilleuses "marvelous women"), were members of a fashionable aristocratic subculture in Paris during the French Directory period (1795–1799). Whether as catharsis or in a need to reconnect with other survivors of the Reign of Terror (guillotines) they greeted the new regime with an outbreak of luxury,