tabatière en or 14ct et émail par Carl Martin Weishaupt & Söhne, Hanau, vers 1860

en forme de cartouche, le couvercle et le devant émaillés de fuchsia bordés de volutes, gravés également de fleurs et lambrequins, l'intérieur du couvercle au chiffre couronné de Maximilian Carl von Thurn und Taxis, poinçon de maître, 14k, la bordure gauche numérotée 2479

of cartouche form, the lid and front enamelled in blue and black with fuchsias within a scrolling frame, the ground, sides and base engraved with further sprays of lowers and entwined strapwork, the interior of the lid with the crowned cipher of Fürst Maximilian Carl von Thurn und Taxis, makers' mark, struck: 14k, the left rim with numeral: 2479

Fürst Maximilian Carl von Thurn und Taxis (1802-1871);
the Thurn und Taxis collection, sale, Sotheby's Geneva, 17 November 1992, lot 141

 

Minor losses to enamel at front, otherwise very good 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Maximilian Carl  prit le titre de 6^th Fürst (prince) de Thurn et Taxis, à la mort de son père, le Fürst Carl Alexander  en 1827. Il épousa en 1828  Freiin Wilhelmine Caroline von Dörnberg (1804-1835), un mariage d'amour et non de raison, contrairement à la majorité des membres de la famille. Veuf, il épousa en secondes noces au château d'Oettingen  en janvier 1839 la princesse Mathilde Sophie zu Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Spielberg.

Grâce aux efforts de Maximilian et de son beau-frère le baron Ernst Friedrich von Dörnberg qui fut pendant plus de quarante ans Chef der Gesamtverwaltung, les entreprises postales furent en partie reconquises après la perte de quelques routes et privilèges. En 1808, le chef de la famille se vit offrir le titre de Kronobersthofmeister  par le roi Maximilien I de Bavière. Malgré les pertes subies durant la révolution de 1848, les profits continuèrent d'augmenter sous l'autorité de Maximilian Carl jusqu'à la fin du système postal privé en 1866. A l'entrée des troupes prussiennes à Francfort, en juillet de cette année-là, Bismarck voulut prendre le contrôle de la poste, projet illégal auquel il parvint malgré tout. L'état de Prusse paya trois millions de Taler (cinq millions de Gulden) en compensation et offrit le privilège de l'usage gratuit des services postaux à la famille des Thurn et Taxis, privilège jusqu'alors réservé à la famille royale de Prusse. Le chef de la famille reçut le titre de Erbgeneralpostmeister  et le premier timbre Thurn und Taxis fut édité en 1852. Le Fürst Maximilian Carl compensa alors tous ces changements importants de fortune par l'achat de vastes terres dans le Würtemberg et en Bavière, source de leurs immenses possessions territoriales.

On the death of his father Fürst Carl Alexander in 1827, Maximilian Carl succeeded as the 6^th Fürst von Thurn und Taxis. In 1928 he married Freiin Wilhelmine Caroline von Dörnberg (1804-1835), a marriage made, unlike those of many other members of his family, for love rather than for dynastic reasons. After her death he married at Schloss Oettingen in January 1839 Princess Mathilde Sophie zu Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Spielberg.

Through his efforts and those of his very able brother-in-law Freiherrn Ernst Friedrich von Dörnberg, who for more than forty years acted as Chef der Gesamtverwaltung, the postal enterprises were partly regained after the loss of several routes and privileges. In 1808 the head of the family had been granted the title of Kronobersthofmeister by King Maximilian I of Bavaria. Despite the losses caused by the 1848 revolution, profits steadily increased under Fürst Maximilian Carl's leadership until the end of the private postal system in 1866. When the Prussian troops entered Frankfurt in July of that year, Bismarck wanted to achieve control of the post, in which illegal endeavour he succeeded. The Prussian State paid three million Taler (five million Gulden) in compensation as well as free use of the state postal services for the Thurn and Taxis family, as was already the privilege of the Royal Prussian House. The head of the family was granted the title Erbgeneralpostmeister and, in 1852, the first Thurn und Taxis stamp was issued. So, under Fürst Maximilian Carl, monumental changes to the family fortune occurred which he consolidated with the purchase of large estates in Wurttemberg and Bavaria, thus founding their immense territorial possessions.