Antique French Guilloché Enamel Ormolu Vanity Set – 10 Pieces, Cobalt Blue, L'Amour Désarmé Cupid & Venus Medallions, Belle Époque 1890s

L'Amour Désarmé — Love Disarmed.

The words are handwritten in French on a small paper tag tied with red thread to the original brass key of the jewellery casket. They name the scene repeated across every piece in this set: Venus, goddess of love, with her winged son Cupid gathered in her arms — the moment the French called Love Disarmed, passion tamed by tenderness, his bow and arrows set aside. It is one of the most celebrated subjects in French decorative art, painted by Boucher and Watteau, with versions held in the Louvre and the British Museum. Here it appears not once but on every surface, rendered in translucent enamel over engine-turned metal, glowing from within like a jewel held to the light.

This is a complete ten-piece French guilloché enamel and ormolu vanity set in deep cobalt blue — an exceptional survival from the Belle Époque. Each piece shares the same architecture: a gilt bronze body cast with neoclassical palmettes, fluted columns and beaded mouldings, its surface covered in transparent cobalt enamel over a finely engine-turned guilloché ground that shimmers with a moiré effect as it catches the light. At the centre of each sits a medallion of L'Amour Désarmé worked en grisaille — white and pale-blue enamel layered into a cameo-like relief against a sunburst ground.

The guilloché technique — the same Fabergé used for the Imperial Easter eggs — cuts precise geometric patterns into metal on a rose-engine lathe before transparent enamel is applied and fired at high heat. The result is an optical depth impossible to fake: the blue seems to ripple and shift as if lit from behind. Look closely and the engine-turning is unmistakable — a fine wavy moiré across the fields and a radiating sunburst behind each medallion — the true lathe work, not a printed imitation.

The casket base carries an impressed FRANCE banner mark with the production number 409-941-630. That plain country stamp is itself a quiet date-mark: French pieces were struck this way for the English-speaking export market from the early 1890s, which sits exactly with the rest of the set.

The jewellery casket keeps its original working lock, its original brass key with the handwritten L'Amour Désarmé tag, and its original floral brocade silk lining. The powder jar opens to an interior mirror and glass liner. Every brush keeps its natural bristles. These are the details that separate a surviving set from a remarkable one — key, lining, glass, bristles, all still here.

Specs

- Theme: L'Amour Désarmé (Venus Disarming Cupid) - Origin: France — impressed FRANCE banner mark, production no. 409-941-630, on the casket base - Era: c. 1890s, Belle Époque (a genuine antique, over 100 years old; plain "FRANCE" export mark from the early 1890s) - Material: Gilt bronze (ormolu), guilloché enamel, steel, natural bristle, glass, silk brocade - Enamel colour: Cobalt / royal blue - Technique: Engine-turned guilloché under transparent enamel, en grisaille medallions - Style: Neoclassical with Art Nouveau elements

The complete set (10 pieces):

- Hand mirror — bevelled glass, Art Nouveau gilt bronze handle, 11" L × 4.25" W - Hair brush — oval, natural bristle, 9" L × 2.75" W - Two clothes brushes — natural bristle, 7.5" L and 7" L - Powder jar — hinged lid with interior mirror, glass liner, fluted body, 3.75" dia × 3" H - Jewellery casket — working lock with original key and tag, brocade lining, 6" L × 4.75" W × 2.5" H - Shoe horn — steel with guilloché enamel handle, 8.25" L - Nail file — steel blade, guilloché enamel handle, 7.5" L - Button hook — steel, guilloché enamel handle, 7.75" L - Powder box lid / trinket — 6.25" L

Condition: Exceptional for a set of this age. The cobalt guilloché enamel is vivid and well-preserved across all pieces, the engine-turned pattern clear beneath the glaze, and the en grisaille medallions intact and crisp. The gilt bronze keeps a warm lustre with light age patina. The casket lock works with its original key, the brocade lining and mirror glass are sound, and every brush keeps its natural bristles with only gentle wear. The steel pieces — shoe horn, nail file, button hook — show light surface oxidation consistent with age. No losses to the enamel medallions, no repairs. Please review all photos as part of the condition record. Ships well padded and boxed from Canada; combined shipping available. US orders ship duty-paid — nothing extra to pay on delivery, and questions are always welcome.