MARK OF JEAN-FRANCOIS GARAND, PARIS, 1750

Jean-François Garand (d. 1778) was apprenticed to Leopold Artaut from 1753 and then Richard Jarry from 1740. He entered his mark in 1748 and took over the workshop of Jean-François Ravechet, whose widow Marie-Francoise Lecoq he then married. Garand was also a retailer and put his signature on boxes made by goldsmiths including Formey, Le Bastier and Robert. He was one of the suppliers of jewelry to the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, and is mentioned in the archives of the Présents du roi in 1757 for the delivery of jewelry to the Marquis de l'Hôpital, ambassador to the Russian Imperial Court, to be presented to the Empress. Garand was elected officer of his Guild in 1772 and became treasurer the following year. He died in Passy, near Paris, in 1778.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York hold in its collection Met (17.190.1232) another box by Garand dated 1751-1752 with similar flower enameling that seems to float on the box as if casually resting on the surface; this three-dimensional effect is found on this box enhanced by the finely chased gold ground. This style of enameling called en plein enamel painting appears to have been in fashion in Paris between 1747 and 1757. Sometimes attributed to Louis-François Aubert (master 1748, died 1755), who was described after his death as goldsmith and painter in enamels to the King, most enamellers have sadly remained unknown. Flowers have long been a central motif in decorative arts, from fabrics to gold boxes, combining aesthetic appeal with symbolic meaning. In the 1740s, floral decoration became especially fashionable in goldwork.