Engine turned (Guilloché) brass box with a bronze lid. The sides and the bottom were decorated with a geometric pattern and floral forms by a machine in ‘guilloché’ or engine turning technique. Engine turning machines for metal were first used in the 18th century. The lid of our box was cast in bronze and shows a pastoral scène of a gentleman trying to charm a shepherdess with a sheep at her side. A dog is pulling at the dress of the young girl and a cherub looks over her shoulder. Another cherub hovers over a doorway covered in roses. The box is in Rococo (ca 1730-1760) style perhaps copying a painting by Francois Boucher. We believe that it was made in France in the second half of the 19th century but it may be earlier. Diameter 16 cm. Height 7 cm. Weight 655 grams.