French Ormolu Glass Vitrine Casket, Porcelain Infant Figure

A devotional Enfant Jésus under glass, laid on antique lace — a small, quiet treasure in gilt and glass for a shelf, altar, or curio.

A French ormolu and glass vitrine casket housing a reclining infant figure in painted porcelain, the Christ Child of a Nativity or a devotional "Enfant Jésus," laid on a bed of antique lace. The gilt-metal case is glazed on all sides to display the figure, the child finely modeled with blue eyes, blond curls, and a gilded halo, dressed in delicate net lace bound with a silk ribbon. A decorative ecclesiastical or domestic-altar object in the French taste, late nineteenth to early twentieth century.

The porcelain figure is intact with crisp original paint and gilding; the lace is age-toned and fragile. The ormolu case and glass present well, with wear consistent with age.