13 - Rectangular snuffbox made of black tortoiseshell with a concave rim and rounded corners

Rectangular snuffbox made of black tortoiseshell with a concave rim and rounded corners Set in 3e titre gold (750 parts per thousand) The lid, which opens along its length via a hinge, is inlaid with an oval miniature portrait believed to be of the Marquise de Montespan, née Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1640–1707), depicted in a left-facing bust adorned with precious stones (previously identified as Madame de Maintenon), in enamel painted on gold, encircled by gold on an amati background, under slightly domed glass with an oval gold border featuring a blue enamel fillet. Lined with gold on the inside. Two chips in the enamel and a chip in the border; minimal restoration to the paint. Paris, 1819–1838 (bear’s head hallmark and Pegasus fineness mark). Goldsmith: Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (active 1779–1839). Miniature by Jean I Petitot (Geneva, 1607–Vevey, 1691). H. 3.5 x W. 3 cm (miniature). H. 2.1 x W. 8.6 x D. 5.6 cm (snuffbox). Gross weight: 120.9 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, described on p. 140 under no. 80. - 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, Presumed Portrait of the Marquise de Montespan, enamel miniature, H. 3 x W. 2.4 cm, formerly in the Ennery Collection, Musée du Louvre, inv. 35682. - Jean I Petitot, Presumed Portrait of the Marquise de Montespan, enamel miniature, mounted on a snuffbox made of rock crystal and gold, formerly in the Lenoir Collection, Musée du Louvre, inv. OA 2147.