16 - 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 the young marquise known as Madame de Maintenon The lid, which opens along its length via a hinge, is inlaid with an oval miniature portrait of the young marquise known as Madame de Maintenon, née Françoise d’Aubigné (1635–1719), shown in a right-facing bust adorned with pearls against a brown background, painted in enamel on gold, encircled by gold within a rectangular frame covering the entire surface of the gold lid, which features an amati background chased with branches and a laurel wreath in slight relief, and a silver border with a wide band of blue enamel. Lined with gold on the inside. Small crack and minute chips in the enamel. Paris, 1798–1838 (hallmark featuring a baby’s head). Goldsmith: Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (active 1779–1839), with signature engraved on the inner rim: “Vachette, Bijoutier à Paris.” The miniature is based on a work by Jean I Petitot (Geneva, 1607–Vevey, 1691). H. 4 x W. 3.3 cm (miniature). H. 2.3 x W. 5.4 x D. 7.8 cm (snuffbox). Gross weight: 136.7 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, Portrait of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, enamel miniature, 3.4 x 3 cm, Louvre Museum, inv. 35667. - Jean I Petitot, Portrait of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, enamel miniature, mounted on a tortoiseshell and gold snuffbox by Leferre, Paris, 1819–1838, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, inv. ОРм-1217.