PROBABLY HANAU, CIRCA 1860

Details

A GERMAN JEWELLED AND ENAMELLED GOLD PRESENTATION SNUFF-BOX
PROBABLY HANAU, CIRCA 1860
cartouche-shaped box with wavy baluster sides, the cover set with a plaque enamelled in translucent blue on a guilloché ground with applied silver-mounted table-cut diamond border and scrolling cypher 'FMJ', an anchor beneath and red enamelled European Royal crown above, flanked by six cast gold rosettes surrounded by scrolling foliage, the sides cast with strapwork and scrolling foliage between palmette borders, the base similarly engraved around a central cartouche on a sablé ground
4 in. (100 mm.) wide
The Royal cypher is possibly that of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (1832-1867).

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Maximilian I of Mexico was born Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph of Austria and was a member of the Imperial House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Maximilian took an interest in the Navy from a young age and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy in 1854. Following a distinguished career building and developing Austria's fleet, Maximilian was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico during the Second Mexican Empire on 10 April 1864. His position was established with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists though many foreign governments refused to acknowledge his authority. As a result, Liberal forces in the country led by Benito Juárez captured and executed Maximilian in 1867.

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