20 - 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) Presumed oval miniature portrait of Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé (1628–1694) The lid, which opens along its length via a gold push button, is inlaid in the center with an oval miniature portrait believed to be of Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé (1628–1694), wife of the Grand Condé (previously identified as Anne de Gonzague (1616–1684), Princess of Mantua and Nevers), depicted in a left-facing bust adorned with pearls, in enamel painted on gold; she is flanked by two oval medallions decorated with identical intertwined monograms painted in white on green guilloché enamel, likely formed by the letters HNDF beneath a stylized crown composed of three flames and two scrolls, probably reused miniature backs; the three miniatures, encircled in gold, are set within a rectangular frame covering the entire surface of the gold lid with an amati background, chased with foliage scrolls, beneath slightly domed glass with a gold border and a blue enamel line. Lined with gold on the inside. Cracks in the tortoiseshell and the miniature; one restoration; small chips. Paris, 1798–1809. Silversmith’s mark illegible. The miniature is attributed to Jean I Petitot (Geneva, 1607–Vevey, 1691). H. 2.3 x W. 2.1 cm (miniature). H. 2.3 x W. 8.9 x D. 4.9 cm (snuffbox). Gross weight: 138.4 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 Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé (1628–1694), wife of the Grand Condé (1621–1686), enamel miniature, 2.7 x 2.5 cm, Royal Collection, inv. RCIN 421392. - Jean I Petitot, Presumed Portrait of Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé (1628–1694), wife of the Grand Condé (1621–1686), enamel miniature, 2.4 x 2 cm, Louvre Museum, inv. 35690. - Jean I Petitot, Presumed Portrait of Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé (1628–1694), wife of the Grand Condé (1621–1686), enamel miniature, 2.5 x 2.2 cm, Louvre Museum, inv. 35689. - Jean I Petitot, Portrait of a Woman, enamel miniature, 3.6 x 3 cm, Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. 62.122.71.