BY FRANÇOIS-NICOLAS GÉNARD (FL. 1754-1790), MARKED, PARIS, 1770/1771, WITH THE CHARGE AND DECHARGE MARKS OF JULIEN ALATERRE 1768-1775, STRUCK WITH THE PARISIAN SMALL GUARANTEE MARK FOR GOLD 1838-PRESENT

François-Nicolas Génard was apprenticed to Louis Mailly in 1737 at the age of fourteen but at Mailly's death, less than two years later, he moved to Simon Desormeaux. Génard became a master goldsmith in 1754 and was sponsored by Noel Hardivilliers. An enamelled gold box by Génard, dated 1764, reputed to have belonged to Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV of France, is now in the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum.