Lot Essay
For a similar diamond frame with the date 3 Juillet 1768 on a Louis XVI gold and enamel snuff-box, see Sotheby's, London, 15 December 1969, lot 40.
One of the sitters of the two miniatures, represented as Diana the Huntress, has traditionally been identified as Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Charolais, 8th daughter of Henri-Jules, Prince de Condé, who married Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duc du Maine, a legitimized son of King Louis XIV and the Marquise de Montespan, in 1692. The other sitter was identified as her half-sister-in-law Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois, legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV and Mademoiselle de La Vallière, who married Louis-Armand I de Bourbon, Prince de Conti in 1688. It is possible that the latter may be another Princess de Conti, Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon (1666-1732), Mademoiselle de Bourbon, who married in 1688 François-Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, and who was the elder sister of Mademoiselle de Blois. The pair of miniatures would thus depict the 5th and 8th child of Henri-Jules, Prince de Condé. In any case, both miniatures are certainly inspired by paintings by Mignard and the resemblance of the Diana the Huntress to the portrait of Charlotte-Isabelle-Elisabeth-Angélique de Montmorency-Boutteville (1626-1695) from the studio of Mignard (Musée de Versailles, inventory no. MV6728) is compelling.
One of the sitters of the two miniatures, represented as Diana the Huntress, has traditionally been identified as Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Charolais, 8th daughter of Henri-Jules, Prince de Condé, who married Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duc du Maine, a legitimized son of King Louis XIV and the Marquise de Montespan, in 1692. The other sitter was identified as her half-sister-in-law Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois, legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV and Mademoiselle de La Vallière, who married Louis-Armand I de Bourbon, Prince de Conti in 1688. It is possible that the latter may be another Princess de Conti, Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon (1666-1732), Mademoiselle de Bourbon, who married in 1688 François-Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, and who was the elder sister of Mademoiselle de Blois. The pair of miniatures would thus depict the 5th and 8th child of Henri-Jules, Prince de Condé. In any case, both miniatures are certainly inspired by paintings by Mignard and the resemblance of the Diana the Huntress to the portrait of Charlotte-Isabelle-Elisabeth-Angélique de Montmorency-Boutteville (1626-1695) from the studio of Mignard (Musée de Versailles, inventory no. MV6728) is compelling.