Unusual 19th Century Vienna-style Reticulated Porcelain Box

Unusual 19th Century Vienna-style porcelain box with a reticulated (pierced) lid, richly gilded on a deep blue ground framed in light blue, with pink reticulation, and columns at each corner. Perhaps intended as a potpourri holder or perfume burner. The stepped lid has a gilded griffon finial. Gilded horned smiling masks decorate either end. At the front, an oval panel, painted with “Love’s Dream” after a painting by Martens Willem Johannes (Dutch 1838-1895). The painting is signed. This title is in gold on the base, which is, unusually, otherwise unmarked apart from the numbers 28 and 17. Most Vienna-style porcelain items come with spurious factory marks. The back has a circular panel decorated in gold with a bird in a landscape. We have seen many Vienna-style wares but never a slab-built porcelain box of this kind before. Most boxes are wheel-thrown for the good reason that they are so much easier to make circular or oval. The lack of spurious factory markings is also unusual.