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Lot 11Ф,Y

AFTER JOSEPH BOZE (FRENCH, 1746-1826): PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF KING LOUIS XVI, CIRCA 1900-10

26 April 2023, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £280.50 inc. premium

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AFTER JOSEPH BOZE (FRENCH, 1746-1826): PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF KING LOUIS XVI, CIRCA 1900-10

Portraying Louis XVI (1754-1793), King of France (1774-1792), wearing an embroidered coat and waistcoat with a blue and red sash over his white chemise, stock and lace cravat, his coat decorated with the breast star of the Order of Saint-Esprit, the badges of The Royal French Order of Saint-Louis and The Order of The Golden Fleece, his powdered wig worn en queue and his bicorn hat supported under his arm, watercolour on ivory, bearing signature 'Montpetit', gilt-metal frame with floral motifs and garlands of green guilloché enamel laurel leaves, the suspension loop of serpent form, ivory diameter 6.7cm, fitted leather travelling case with tooled exterior, bearing the coat of arms of the Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Footnotes

Please note, the United States Government has banned the import of ivory into the USA. The item within this lot containing ivory has been registered in accordance with the Ivory Act (Section 10). Ref. 6FZ843RR.

A Private Collection of Jewels and Portrait Miniatures of Bourbon Interest

Lots 1 - 16 form part of a private collection of jewels, portrait miniatures and objects de vertu, predominantly relating to the Bourbon dynasty and dating from the 17th century onwards. Bourbon monarchs united France and part of the kingdom of Navarre in 1589, ruling both until the French Revolution of 1792. Restored briefly in 1814 and finally in 1815 after the fall of the First French Empire, the senior line of the Bourbons was overthrown again in the July Revolution of 1830. A cadet Bourbon branch, the House of Orléans, then ruled for 18 years (1830–1848), until it too was deposed.

This portrait miniature derives from a portrait of 1785, now at Versailles, by the French state painter and pastellist, Joseph Boze. It was engraved by Benoit Louis Henriquez, the court engraver, and in London by Thomas Curtis. It was used again by the court miniaturist, Pierre Violet, in a portrait showing 'The Unfortunate Louis 16th in the Dress he wore while confined in the Temple', which was engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi and published in London in February 1793, the month after King Louis was sent to the guillotine. This image of the King was therefore well-known and easily available to copyists. An earlier copy of circa 1785-1800 is held by the Royal Collection (inv.no. RCIN 420364).

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