Lot 50
  • 50

AN IVORY MINIATURE, DANIEL SAINT, SIGNED: SAINT, CIRCA 1809 | An ivory miniature, Daniel Saint, signed: Saint, circa 1809

Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
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Description

  • Signé Saint à gauche.
  • ivory, gold
  • 5 x 3.5 cm
oval, wearing the white and red uniform of the Life Guards on Foot with the sash and star of the Royal Order of the Union of Holland and the badge of the Legion of Honour, later gilt-metal mount and rectangular ebonised wood easel frame MN 4207

Provenance

Napoléon III, Emperor of the French (1808-1873);
Eugénie, Empress of the French (1826-1920);
Prince Victor Napoléon (1862-1926);
Prince Louis Napoléon (1914-1997)

Literature

Related literature Melbourne 2012, Napoléon: Revolution to Empire, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2006

Condition

The ivory has bowed (could be professionally flattened). the paint surface has light dust covering.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Louis (1778–1846), fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino, Prince français in 1804, was created King of Holland (as Lodewijk I) in June 1806 by his brother, Emperor Napoléon. His care and concern for the people of his new kingdom soon set him at odds with the Emperor, who had envisioned Louis as figure head of a puppet state, and in 1810 Holland was re-annexed into the French Empire. Thereafter Louis lived a life of exile, mainly in Austria. Daniel Saint (1778–1847), a pupil of Jean Baptiste Isabey, Jean Baptiste Regnault and Louis François Aubry, participated at most of the Salons from 1804 until 1839. He received extensive patronage from the imperial family, in particular from Empress Joséphine. Saint’s image of the empress wearing a pearl-set parure was incorporated in several presentation boxes, among them one by Pierre André Montauban in the collection of the Fondation Napoléon, Paris (inv. no. 635, see Melbourne 2012, p. 18)

A slightly larger version of the present miniature (6.5 x 4.4 cm) is in the Wallace Collection, London (inv. no. M294); a smaller version, inset in a gold and enamel presentation box, is in the collection of the Foundation Napoléon, Paris (inv. no. 1098). All three may be compared with the full-length portrait of Louis Napoléon painted in 1809 by Charles Howard Hodges (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-A-653). The king wears the sash and star of the Royal Order of the Union of Holland, so named in a decree of February 1808, an evolution of the Order of the Union that Louis had established in December 1806. In October 1811, after Napoléon had removed Louis from the throne of Holland, the order was abolished.