MORITZ MICHAEL DAFFINGER (AUSTRIAN, 1790-1849)
Lot 219THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

MORITZ MICHAEL DAFFINGER (AUSTRIAN, 1790-1849)

A magnificent miniature of a young lady called Princess Melanie Metternich (1805-1854), in white dress with voluminous sleeves, wearing a belt with gem-set gold buckle, red embroidered Cashmere shawl draped across her shoulders, pearl earrings, her dark upswept hair dress in ringlets; cloudy sky background

Closed27 November 2007

Price Realised

GBP 36,500

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MORITZ MICHAEL DAFFINGER (AUSTRIAN, 1790-1849)
A magnificent miniature of a young lady called Princess Melanie Metternich (1805-1854), in white dress with voluminous sleeves, wearing a belt with gem-set gold buckle, red embroidered Cashmere shawl draped across her shoulders, pearl earrings, her dark upswept hair dress in ringlets; cloudy sky background
signed 'Daffinger' (mid-right)
rectangular, 3 5/8 x 2 15/16 in. (93 x 75 mm.), gilt-metal easel frame with stamped border and foliate spandrels, in original hinged brown leather travelling case (2)

Galerie Hassfurther, Vienna, 15 May 2000, lot 6.

Specialist note

Princess Melanie, née Zichy-Ferraris, Countess of Zich and Vasanykeö, was the third wife of Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich-Winneburg (1773 - 1859). Prince Klemens was a diplomat and Austrian minister of foreign affairs from 1809 to 1848. He chaired the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15 and helped to restore Austria's status as a leading power in European politics. In 1846, he was created a Prince of the Austrian Empire.
Other portraits of Princess Melanie are illustrated in G. Kugler, Staatskanzler Metternich und seine Gäste, Graz, 1991, p. 10, fig. 2 (a miniature by Daffinger), p. 15, fig. 4 (a watercolour by Josef Kriehuber), p. 41, fig. 20 (a watercolour by Daffinger); see also L. Grünstein, Moritz Michael Daffinger und sein Kreis, Vienna/Leipzig, 1923, pl. XXVII.