A gold and enamel Imperial portrait snuff box, Victoire Boizot (veuve Blerzy), Paris, circa 1809, retailed by Henry Gibert

rectangular, the lid with an oval portrait of Empress Josephine in court dress and pearl parure, signed Isabey, on a matted gold ground chased with foliate scrolls, the sides and base chequer engine-turned, within blue enamelled borders, maker's mark, baby's head 2me titre (20 ct), Paris cock's head garantie,  the rim numbered:  N 26 (left) and 352 (right), and inscribed 'Gibert, Joaillier, Quai Voltaire, No. 17'

The Property of a Gentleman, Christie's Geneva, 14-15 November 1983, lot 642

A fine and historic piece. Signature at 3 o'clock. Tactful restoration to blue enamel. Base rim pins replaced.
"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."

Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie, born in Martinique in 1763, was first married to Alexandre, vicomte de Beuaharnais, a Revolutionary general with whom she had two children, Eugène and Hortense. He was sentenced to the guillotine during the Terror and soon after his death, Josephine became the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. At his coronation in 1804 she was crowned Empress but was divorced in 1810 in order that the Emperor could marry Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. Josephine retired to Malmaison where she cultivated her famous rose garden and died in 1814.
The celebrated miniaturist Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855) had studied under David and worked frequently for the Imperial family. Josephine employed him as drawing master to Hortense and Eugène de Beauharnais as well as one of her official miniature painters with Saint and Augustin among others. Two further examples by Isabey of the present miniature (later also engraved) are in the collections of the Department of Drawings at the Louvre (RF2358 & RF3830). Interestingly Josephine is shown wearing her coronation robes but not the same jewels (crown or diadem and sapphire and diamond necklace) she is usually seen wearing in representations of the coronation. The pearl drop necklace shown in Isabey’s portrait is thought to have passed to her daughter-in-law, Princess Augusta Amalia of Bavaria (1788-1856) and then to her grand-daughter and namesake, Josephine de Beauharnais, later Queen of Sweden (necklace sold Sotheby’s, 12 November 2014).
The retailer, Louis-Armand and his son Henry Gibert, are known to have valued jewels for Napoleon and to have supplied him with presentation snuff boxes. A payment to Gibert of 31,000 francs on 16 brumaire, an XII (8 November 1803) is recorded for ‘fournitures et façon de divers objets de joaillerie, destinés en présents’ and on the same day payment of 5,500 francs was made to M. Isabey for ‘ses petits portraits de l’empereur, pour le service des présents’. The current box must come from a later series (since it is numbered: 26) commissioned by the service des présents or the Empress since it cannot have been created before 6 April 1808 when Victoire Boizot, widow of Etienne-Lucien Blerzy first entered her maker’s mark.