Two french Cigar Cases Featuring handpainted Portraits of Opera Singer Marie Persiani. 1800’s. Size: 14 x 7 cms. Very Good Condition.

Two Cigar cases of German origin featuring portraits of a woman thought to be the opera singer Marie Persiani.

Known as Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani the Italiano soprano enjoyed a golden period in London and Paris was between 1837 and 1848, which, if the portrait is indeed of the singer, would date the cases at being of that period. She was associated with the bel canto (beautiful singing) composers Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and early Verdi. Her portrait shows her as looking very like the woman on at least one of the cigar cases.

These kinds case are often made from papier-mâché but these two cases are constructed of tin that is sized and shaped to fit into a pocket, backed on to leather and supplied with leather inserts. One of the inserts is blind stamped with a romantic pattern of foilage, a parrot, a dog holding a love letter in its mouth, a squirrel, and an exotic bird. The other insert is embossed with a pattern of lines.

An original pastoral scene is painted in oils on the back cover of one cases and a transfer on the other says ‘Cigares’.

Size: They are of slightly different sizes.
That marked Marie Persiani measures 14 x 7 x 1 cms or 5 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 1/2 inches.
That of a woman writing a love letter measures is a half centimeter wider.

Condition: Very Good. The covers of both cases are in good condition. There are small chips of loss to all three of the paintings, this not affecting the main body of the images. The paintings have darkened; their colour being, I hope, correctly represented by the accompanying photographs. The gilding is still bright. The cases are both intact though there are slight tears at the opening of each; one having longer tears (1 cm and 1.5 cms) than the other. One of the inserts is intact though missing the tag that would have been used to pull it out. The other is incomplete and torn. A rather crude stitched historical repair has been made to one side of this insert. Professional repair would be necessary to properly restore it.