7 - Rectangular snuffbox made of black tortoiseshell, set in 2nd-title gold (840 parts per thousand)

Rectangular snuffbox made of black tortoiseshell, set in 2nd-title gold (840 parts per thousand) Oval miniature portrait of King Louis XIV The lid, which opens widthwise via a hinge operated by a push button and features a fixed upper section, is inlaid with an oval miniature portrait of King Louis XIV, shown in a right-facing bust wearing an antique-style cuirass adorned with lion heads and a blue toga, rendered in enamel painted on gold, framed in gold against an amati background, beneath slightly domed glass with an oval gold border accented with a blue enamel fillet. Lined with gold on the inside. The tortoiseshell on the lid needs to be reattached. Paris, 1809–1819. Goldsmith: Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (active 1779–1839). Signature engraved on the inner rim with hallmark indication: “Vachette, Jeweler in Paris. 20 K 5/32.” The miniature is attributed to Jean I Petitot (Geneva, 1607–Vevey, 1691) or to Henri Toutin (Châteaudun, 1614–Paris, after 1683). H. 2.2 x W. 1.9 cm (miniature). H. 2.1 x W. 5.2 x D. 7.3 cm (snuff box). Gross weight: 110.5 g. Provenance - Martial Lapeyre Collection (1904–1984). - Fondation Napoléon (Paris) following the bequest by Martial Lapeyre in 1984. Exhibitions - Philippe Hoch (ed.), Splendors of the Empire. Around Napoleon and the Imperial Court, exhibition catalog, Manderen, Château de Malbrouck (March 15, 2009–August 31, 2009), Éditions Serpenoise, 2009, p. 85. - Bernard Chevallier (ed.), *Napoleone: Imperial Splendor—The Treasures of the Fondation Napoléon*, exhibition catalog, Rome, Museo Napoleonico (February 15, 2008–May 25, 2008) & Portoferraio, Museo nazionale delle residenze napoleoniche (June 12, 2008–September 12, 2008), Éditions Sillabe, 2008, p. 191. Related Works - Jean I Petitot (workshop of), Portrait of King Louis XIV, enamel miniature, gold and blue enamel frame, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, inv. F58-60/104. - Jean I Petitot, Portrait of King Louis XIV, enamel miniature, on a gold and tortoiseshell snuffbox by Vachette, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, inv. 57.243.