179 - KEYS OF LOYALTY PRESENTED BY THE COMMANDANT OF THE CHÂTEAU DE SAUMUR TO THE DUCHESS OF BERRY

KEYS OF LOYALTY PRESENTED BY THE COMMANDANT OF THE CHÂTEAU DE SAUMUR TO THE DUCHESS OF BERRY Set of two silver keys (800 parts per thousand), the heads decorated with two facing dolphins, the shanks studded with fleurs-de-lis, the bolts openworked with a Maltese cross on one and a fleur-de-lis on the other, held together by a linked chain and attached to two oval medallions engraved with the combined coat of arms of Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles, Duchess of Berry, beneath a royal crown adorned with fleurs-de-lis, the reverses of the medallions engraved “Grateful loyalty, June 20, 1828 / to Madame the Duchess of Berry de Morant, commander of the Château de Saumur.” France, circa 1828. No visible hallmark. L. 12.5 cm. Weight: 164.2 g. Provenance - A gift from Lieutenant Morant, commander of the Château de Saumur, to Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles, Duchess of Berry (1798–1870), likely on the occasion of her attendance at the first Carrousel de Saumur, a traditional cavalry spectacle, on June 20, 1828. - Passed down to her great-grandson, Prince Elie de Bourbon, 10th Duke of Parma (1880–1959). - Then to his second-youngest daughter, Princess Marie-Christine of Bourbon-Parma (1925–2009). - Sotheby’s London auction, “Noblesse Oblige,” April 14, 2011, lot 215 (part of lot 215). - Sotheby’s Paris auction, Hubert Guerrand-Hermès Collection, “Around the Duchess of Berry,” December 15, 2023 (part of lot 610).