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Lot Essay
With its exquisite marquetry of tortoiseshell, horn, pewter and brass, this delicate Royal mirror is probably one of the earliest examples of marquetry furniture in France in the 17th Century. With the use of tortoiseshell as a ground, it predates Boulle marquetry, named after the ébéniste du Roi André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732).
ANNE D'AUTRICHE
The daughter of King Philippe III of Spain, Anne d'Autriche (1601-1666) married r the French King's death in 1643, when she became Regent and entrusted the government to the Cardinal de Mazarin, she played an important role in politics and in the arts. The choice of Mazarin was of great importance, as he was one of the most important patrons of his time. She moved the Court to the Palais-Royal in Paris, near the Palais du Louvre, where she asked Simon Vouet to decorate several of the rooms. Near her bedroom was the 'chambre du mirroir où la reine se coiffe ordinairement' (Cat. exh., Un temps d'exubérance. Les arts décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d'Autriche, Paris, 2002, p.32).
ANNE D'AUTRICHE
The daughter of King Philippe III of Spain, Anne d'Autriche (1601-1666) married r the French King's death in 1643, when she became Regent and entrusted the government to the Cardinal de Mazarin, she played an important role in politics and in the arts. The choice of Mazarin was of great importance, as he was one of the most important patrons of his time. She moved the Court to the Palais-Royal in Paris, near the Palais du Louvre, where she asked Simon Vouet to decorate several of the rooms. Near her bedroom was the 'chambre du mirroir où la reine se coiffe ordinairement' (Cat. exh., Un temps d'exubérance. Les arts décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d'Autriche, Paris, 2002, p.32).