A Directoire bone, whale bone and ivory-inlaid mahogany ebony tric-trac table circa 1800

Chevalier Camille-Marie de Valous (1765-1840)

With scattered minor age and construction cracks; not extensive. Scattered old worm damage to underside. Ivory with hairline cracks, consistent with age. Mounts appear to be recently cleaned. Leather top of later date. In good, restored condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The inventory labels inscribed au chau. de Valous attached to the drawers of this games table indicate that this lot once belonged to the Valous family. The tag, dated 1812, shows the coat of arms of the Valous along with their family motto: Malo Mori Quam Foedari (Death rather than dishonor). As described by Vital de Valous in 1867, the family's crest is divided into two fields: the upper is decorated with three gold stars in a row, the lower shows a collared ermine. On the inventory labels of this table, this coat of arms is crowned by a count's coronet and amended by a banner on each side, a medal and an anchor. Male members of the Valous family were almost exclusively lawyers and politicians and the only known person with a military career was Camille-Marie de Valous. Camille-Marie de Valous was born to Benoît de Valous, the attorney general of the city of Lyon, and Françoise Fourgon de Maisonforte in 1765. In 1786 he became a lieutenant in the French navy. In the 1780s he was made Chevalier de l'Ordre de Saint Louis and was also awarded the Order of the Cincinnati. In 1790 he took part in an expedition to the Caribbean where he wrote a book entitled Avec les Rouges aux Iles-du-Vent in which he describes his views and experiences of the French Revolution between 1790 and 1793 as experienced from the French West Indies. Upon his return to Europe, he entered the service of King Charles IV of Spain and fought in his navy against the British starting in 1795 until he was captured and taken to London as prisoner of war. A few years later he returned to France but did not resume his military career until the Bourbon Restoration, when he was made honorary naval captain. He retired in Lyon where most of his family lived and died as an ardent royalist in 1840. Knowing that he, and only he in his family, made a career as a naval officer, it is most probable that the coat of arms incorporating the anchor and a medal, which is the Ordre de Saint Louis, found on this table was Camille-Marie de Valous'. The chateau mentioned on the label must be one of the Valous family homes near Lyon where he lived upon his return to France from his captivity in England, such as the chateau de Bel-Air in Fleurieux-sur-L'Arbresle.