Description: IMPORTANT CASKET Possibly Giuseppe or Gennaro Sarao, Naples, mid 18th Century Piqué tortoise-shell, pink gold and mother-of-pearl, gitt-bronze mounted, inlaid on the cover and on the sides with mythological scenes between cherubs and shells. Inside eight glass bottles with gilt metal caps. The gilt bronzes, the lock and the bottles caps of a later period, some damage and some lack to the veneer. 6.3 x 10.2 x 7.5 in. The origin of the so-called piqué tortoise-shell is uncertain; it is probably originated in Naples at the end of the 16th century and was developed and perfected by the jeweler Laurentini in the middle of the seventeenth century. Its popularity spread quickly throughout northern Europe, but Naples continued to be the major center for this art throughout the 18th Century. The greatest splendor was under the reign of Charles of Bourbon and his wife Amalia of Saxony, the most famous shops were those of Giuseppe and Gennaro Sarao, Nicolas De Turris and Antonio Laurentis. The perfume casket is, for the skill and delicacy of the inlay, attributable to one of the great Neapolitan "tartarugari" masters, such as Gennaro and Giuseppe Sarao. The technique consists of heating the turtle with boiling water and olive oil to soften it and to encrust it with gold, mother-of-pearl and other precious materials. The turtle, cooling and hardening, holds the inserts without the use of glues. Provenienza/Provenance Pietro Accorsi, Torino. Collezione privata.