Lot n° 183
Estimation :
6000 - 8000
EUR
Result without fees
Result
: 24 500EUR
PRECIOUS RELIQUARY CONTAINING MEMORIES OF THE DUKE OF BERRY. - Lot 183
PRECIOUS RELIQUARY CONTAINING MEMORIES OF THE DUKE OF BERRY.
In gilt bronze and of rectangular form, decorated with a chased frame of fleur-de-lis in relief, glazed on the four sides. The whole is supported by four sphinxes of Egyptian style, resting on a rectangular base decorated with a finely chiseled frieze of acanthus leaves and bearing the engraved inscription: "Charles-Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, born in Versailles on January 24, 1778, assassinated in Paris on Sunday, February 13, 1820 at 11 o'clock in the evening, died the next day, February 14, at 6:30 in the morning.
The upper part opens by a hinge and is surmounted by two branches of laurel enrubanné containing in the center a double-sided medallion decorated with the profiles of the Duke and Duchess of Berry in matte bronze, surrounded by the motto "Rien ne m'est plus - Plus ne m'est rien" (Nothing is more - No more is nothing to me) and on the front side is engraved the inscription: "Sons of Saint Louis ascend to heaven". The interior contains in the centre a small cup with a piece of sponge, engraved on the base: "Piece of the sponge on which the heart of the Duke of Berry was placed on 15 February 1820", a fragment of white silk fabric from the dress worn by the Duchess of Berry on the evening her husband was murdered, as the plaque with the engraved inscription states: "Piece of the dress of Madame la Duchesse de Berry covered with the blood of her unfortunate husband", a round gold medallion, partially enamelled with a black border and engraved: "Hair of Monsieur le Duc de Berry, 14 February 1820", a round gold medallion, engraved: "Hair of Madame la Duchesse de Berry, 14 February 1820". On the reverse side of the cover is preserved under glass, in a frieze of fleur-de-lis, an autograph letter signed by the Count of Gontaut-Biron and his wife, née Adélaïde de Rohan-Chabot, with two black wax seals with their arms: "14 February 1820! Madame the duchess of Berry being in the Elysée in the apartment of Mademoiselle and after was in the next room, the grieving family and Mrs. the Viscountess of Gontaut, so that they remember me and my poor husband! This piece of Madame la Duchesse de Berry's dress, this hair of the Prince, a piece of sponge on which his noble heart was laid, was given to us by my aunt, the Vicomtesse de Gontaut, Mademoiselle's governess, on the 20th of February 1820."
French work - Restoration period, made at the request of the Count and Countess of Gontaut-Biron to contain these precious relics given by their aunt the Viscountess of Gontaut-Biron, future Duchess of Gontaut, governess of the Duke of Bordeaux. Slight wear and oxidation of time.
H. : 18 cm - W. : 17 cm - D. : 12,5 cm.
History : Charles Ferdinand, prince of France, duke of Berry, son of the king Charles X and the princess Marie-Thérèse of Savoy, was born in Versailles, on January 24th, 1778. He was assassinated on February 14, 1820, after being stabbed by Louis-Pierre Louvel as he left the opera house on rue de Richelieu in Paris. This building was destroyed some time later by order of King Louis XVIII. On its site, now square Louvois, but replaced nowadays, a mausoleum was built in his memory. He had married Princess Marie-Caroline, daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Marie-Clementine of Austria. From this union were born two children, Princess Louise (future Duchess of Parma) and the child of the miracle, Henri Duke of Bordeaux.
Adélaïde de Rohan-Chabot (1793-1869), married on November 24, 1812, Aimé-Charles (1776-1840) marquis of Saint-Blancard de Gontaut-Biron, then count of Gontaut-Biron. She was lady-in-waiting to the duchess of Berry.
Marie Joséphine de Montaut-Navailles, (1773-1862). In 1792, while emigrating to London, she married Viscount Charles-Michel de Gontaut-Biron (1751-1826), the youngest son of the Saint-Blancard branch, with whom she had two daughters: Joséphine, Countess Fernand de Rohan-Chabot and Charlotte, Countess de Bourbon-Busset. She was appointed Dame d'Honneur to Madame la Duchesse de Berry, then governess to the children of France at the birth of Princess Louise de France, future Duchess of Parma (1819), and the following year of the Duke of Bordeaux, future Count of Chambord. Widowed in 1826 and to show his faithful gratitude, King Charles X sent her letters patent raising her to the rank of duchess, a just recognition and a familiar title in the Gontaut family. She died in Paris on April 6, 1862, having always remained loyal to the Bourbons. She was the daughter of the Count of Montaut-Navailles who had been the governor of Louis XVI and his two brothers Louis XVIII and Charles X.
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