Lot n° 295
Estimation :
30000 - 50000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 62 400EUR
Rare imperial gold and enamel snuffbox with portraits of the - Lot 295
Rare imperial gold and enamel snuffbox with portraits of the King and Queen of Westphalia by Etienne Nitot et fils, Paris, 1807.
Rectangular in shape, slightly rounded at the edges, the hinged lid is adorned with two oval miniatures painted on ivory, preserved under glass, depicting on the left side a portrait of Emperor Napoleon I's younger brother, Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia (1784-1860), in three-quarter bust, posing in full uniform, with the grand cordon, plaque and cross of the Legion of Honor, against a background of cloudy blue sky, signed upper right Aubry [Louis François Aubry (1676-1851)]. On the right-hand side is a portrait of his wife, Princess Catherine de Wurtemberg, Queen of Westphalia (1783-1835), in three-quarter bust, against a blue draped background, wearing the pearl ensemble presented by Emperor Napoleon I on the occasion of her marriage, celebrated in Paris on August 22, 1807, signed center left Aubry [Louis François Aubry (1676-1851)]. The gold case is finely chased with olive branches in relief on an amati background, framed by a translucent blue enamel band on a wave guilloche background, The border is decorated with a wide frieze of blue enameled foliate scrolls on an amati background, and the reverse features an antique-style coffee pot in an octagonal frame on a background of blue enameled foliate and floral arabesques, framed by a translucent blue enameled band on a wave guilloche background.
H.: 2.1 cm - W.: 8.1 cm - D.: 5.1 cm.
Very good condition.
Gross weight: 168 g
Title hallmark: Tête de Bébé 2 (used from 1798), this unofficial hallmark was used by Parisian goldsmiths on their gold productions, very often for luxury pieces. Paris circa 1807.
Goldsmith's hallmark: engraved on the inner edge: Etienne Nitot et Fils, Joailliers Bijoutiers de L.L. M.M. L'Impératrice le Roi et la Reine de Westphalie.
History: on May 12, 1806, Emperor Napoleon I decreed that no more gifts would be made of diamonds, and that only products of French manufacture would be used. However, in the same year, the sovereign changed his mind and ordered the creation of one hundred gold snuffboxes, enriched with brilliants, some of them, about a quarter of them, with portraits. The total cost was 380,688 fr. The following year, 1807, the grand marshal of the palace, Géraud Duroc (1772-1813), forwarded to the intendant general of the Emperor's household Pierre Daru (1767-1829) a similar order, executed by the jewelers Bernard-Armand Marguerite and Nitot et Fils. Marguerite, for fifty snuffboxes, received the sum of 182,375 fr. while Nitot et Fils, due to a small change, delivered forty-two snuffboxes and twelve rings, for a total of 184,391 fr. Twenty-five small portraits (at 600 fr. each) cost 15,000 fr. Total: 381,766 fr. (Arch. Nat. 0230.) On September 12, 1807, M. Desmaisons wrote to the grand marshal of the Emperor's residence, Pierre Daru. Desmaisons wrote to the Grand Marshal: "According to your orders, I have told the suppliers that they will be paid as and when their deliveries are made, in order to activate their zeal. Nitot, four with portraits at prices of 10,000 and 6,000 fr. two with circles and figures at around 6,000 fr. and five at around 3,000 fr. but I have not yet been able to obtain any portraits by M. Isabey; the boxes are waiting for them. I have many other painters, but how can I ask them for likenesses, without a séance?" The other painters in question are listed in a memorandum dated February 2, 1808, in which the following artists are mentioned: SAINT, seven portraits at 600 fr: 4,200 francs; NITOT, two portraits at 600 fr: 1,200 francs; AUBRY, two portraits at 600 fr: 1,200 francs; GAUCI, four portraits at 600 fr: 2,400 francs; MIMERET, two portraits at 600 fr: 1,200 francs; PROSPER, one portrait at 600 fr: 600 francs; QUAGLIA, one portrait at 600 fr: 600 francs (Arch. Nat. 0930.). It is therefore highly probable that our snuffbox was part of this order, along with the two miniatures supplied by Aubry.
Provenance :
Armand HEINE Collection (1818-1883), and by descent
My orders
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