246 - RARE VERMEIL CUTLERY SET FROM THE "L'AIGLON" SERVICE OF THE KING OF ROME

RARE VERMEIL CUTLERY SET FROM THE "L'AIGLON" SERVICE OF THE KING OF ROME A complete set of chiseled vermeil cutlery (950 parts per thousand), consisting of a dessert fork, a dessert spoon, and a knife with a vermeil blade, featuring a neoclassical design of scrolls, palmettes, small flowers, laurel leaves, lyres, and cornucopias on a sandblasted background, all three pieces engraved with the intertwined initials “FN” of François Napoléon (1811–1832), King of Rome, the only son of Napoleon I and Marie-Louise, at the center of a shield. Paris, 1819–1838. Silversmiths: Léonard Chatenet for the cutlery set; Antoine Vital-Cardeilhac for the knife. Hallmarks featuring the head of Michelangelo and the head of a hare. The blade was remade after 1838 (hallmark featuring the head of Minerva). Length: 18.5 and 21 cm. Total weight: 174.1 g. Provenance From the service of Napoleon II, known as “l’Aiglon,” Duke of Reichstadt, born Napoleon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte (1811–1832), in exile after 1819. History Featuring high-quality engraving, this complete set of cutlery—likely made exclusively for the service of “l’Aiglon”—is modeled after the Emperor’s cutlery designed by Biennais and Lorillon.