Mellerio Paris Rare French Art Deco "Gyroscope" sterling cigarette box c.1930

MELLERIO PARIS  Italy/ France

Gyroscope cigarette box  c.1930

French silver (950 silver standard) in a structural form of a gyroscope with a lever for an interior lifting mechanism, gilding

Marks: Mellerio Paris, 3776 D, head of Minerva French guarantee mark for 950/1000

H: 5 1/4″ x Dia: 4 1/4″

The renowned Mellerio family and their jewelry can be traced back to Lombardy, Italy as early as the 16th century.  Some family members moved to Paris and became royal jewelers for Louis XIII.  The revolutions of 1789 and 1848 interrupted their business and they moved to Madrid where they became the jewelers favored by Queen Isabel II.  Later in the 19th century they returned to Paris where once again they prospered and participated in several international expositions including  London (1862), Paris (1867, 1878 and 1900), and Vienna (1873).  In the 20th century they exhibited at the renowned Paris 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and then in New York at the 1939 World’s Fair.