This gorgeous little box was made in 1930s by the renowned French ceramic artist Gabriel Fourmaintraux. It has exquisite hand-painted floral panels on each side on a striking sky blue ground – pretty much in the classic Sevres bleu celeste style. Excellent condition without any repairs, chips, cracks or other damage. The hinges and the lock work well. It is signed at the back as shown on photo. Measures approximately 9.5 cm x 9.5 cm and stands 7 cm tall. This is a rare find as the artist didnt make many pieces in this colourway and it really stands out from the usual Desvres items. Gabriel Fourmaintraux was born May 27 1886 in Desvres in the Pas de Calais region of Northern France to a family with a long history in the ceramics industry. He studied at the Sèvres school of ceramics and then joined his father Émile at Desvres in 1905, taking over operation in 1930. The artist was trained at Sevres in Art Nouveau Japoniste techniques in gres flamme’ (stoneware with variegated flame-like glazes) which influenced Desvres to produce ceramics outside of the firm’s usual production. The item “Rare antique French faience hinged box by Gabriel Fourmaintraux, bleu celeste” is in sale since Sunday, August 23, 2020. This item is in the category “Pottery, Porcelain & Glass\Porcelain/China\Continental”. The seller is “inspired-choice” and is located in Chichester, West Sussex. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Antigua and barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Montserrat, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Reunion, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.