286 - A white marble tondo carved in high relief depicting a wedding scene in a garden. Beneath a cauldron with handles shaped like vulture heads, surrounded by two laurel branches, a male bust, dressed in a doublet, a shirt with puffed sleeves, and a lace ruff, takes the hand of a female bust, dressed in a dress with brandebourgs and wearing a veil. In the lower register, a cut-out leather cartouche bears two intertwined monograms in which the letters M, B, D, and F are discernible.

A white marble tondo carved in high relief depicting a wedding scene in a garden. Beneath a cauldron with handles shaped like vulture heads, surrounded by two laurel branches, a male bust, dressed in a doublet, a shirt with puffed sleeves, and a lace ruff, takes the hand of a female bust, dressed in a dress with brandebourgs and wearing a veil. In the lower register, a cut-out leather cartouche bears two intertwined monograms in which the letters M, B, D, and F are discernible. Late 17th century Diameter: 41 cm (Restorations, notably on the nose) In this tondo, the figures’ costumes and poses resemble those in portraits of King Louis XIV and Queen Maria Theresa of Austria, but the initials on the cartouche suggest that this prestigious model may have been adapted to commemorate the wedding of a wealthy couple. The origin of the composition may lie in a cartoon created by Henri Testelin for a series titled *L’Histoire du Roi* (*The History of the King*), commissioned by Louis XIV from the Gobelins Manufactory: this design is known from a copy executed by Jacques Laumosnier in the late 17th century, now in the collection of the Musée de Tessé in Le Mans (inv. LM. 10.100).