18 - Rectangular snuffbox made of black tortoiseshell, set in 3e titre gold (750 parts per thousand)

Rectangular snuffbox made of black tortoiseshell, set in 3e titre gold (750 parts per thousand) Oval miniature portrait of Jean Antoine I de Mesme (1598–1673) The lid opens widthwise via a hinge activated by a push button; its fixed upper section, adorned with a diamond motif and gold fleurons, is inlaid with an oval miniature portrait of Jean Antoine I de Mesme (1598–1673), shown in a left-facing bust wearing a magistrate’s robe, based on the portrait painted by Philippe de Champaigne (previously identified as Cardinal de Retz), in enamel painted on gold, framed in gold, set within a rectangular gold frame with an amati background chased with foliage scrolls and palmettes, under slightly domed glass with a gold border accented by a blue enamel fillet. Lined with gold on the inside. Chips in the enamel, small chip in the blue enamel. Paris, 1809–1819. Goldsmith: Pierre-André Montauban (active c. 1795–c. 1820). Signed on an inner lower border: “Montauban Quai des Orfèvre No. 54.” The miniature is attributed to Jean I Petitot (Geneva, 1607–Vevey, 1691) or to his collaborator Pierre Bordier. H. 3.7 x W. 3 cm (miniature). H. 2 x W. 5.5 x D. 8.5 cm (snuff box). Gross weight: 150.0 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, 85 pp. - 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 - Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674), attributed to. Portrait of Jean-Antoine I de Mesme (1598–1673), oil on canvas, 54.5 x 42.3 cm, Biarritz Auctions, August 9, 2025, expert Turquin. - Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674), Portrait of Jean-Antoine de Mesme (1598–1673), president wearing a judge’s cap at the Parliament of Paris, 1653, oil on canvas, Louvre Museum, inv. MI 912.