Lot 166
166
SAMUEL BLESENDORF (GERMAN, 1633-1706)
Items which contain rubies or jadeite originating … Read more THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
SAMUEL BLESENDORF (GERMAN, 1633-1706)

Details
SAMUEL BLESENDORF (GERMAN, 1633-1706)
Frederick I (1657-1713), King in Prussia 1701-1713, wearing a lace jabot and a red ermine-trimmed cloak, wearing the blue sash of the Order of the Garter, long curling wig
signed on the counter-enamel 'S. blesendorf. f.’
enamel on gold
oval, 1 in. (25 mm.) high, silver locket frame, with alternating rose-cut diamond and ruby surround and surmount, the reverse glazed to reveal the signed counter-enamel
Provenance
Christie's, London, 18 December 1990, lot 32.
Special notice
Items which contain rubies or jadeite originating in Burma (Myanmar) may not be imported into the U.S. Please be advised that a purchasers inability to import any such item into the U.S. or any other country shall not constitute grounds for non-payment or cancellation of the sale. With respect to items that contain any other types of gemstones originating in Burma (e.g., sapphires), such items may be imported into the U.S., provided that the gemstones have been mounted or incorporated into jewellery outside of Burma and provided that the setting is not of a temporary nature (e.g., a string).
Sale room notice
Items which contain rubies or jadeite originating in Burma (Myanmar) may not be imported into the U.S. Please be advised that a purchasers inability to import any such item into the U.S. or any other country shall not constitute grounds for non-payment or cancellation of the sale. With respect to items that contain any other types of gemstones originating in Burma (e.g., sapphires), such items may be imported into the U.S., provided that the gemstones have been mounted or incorporated into jewellery outside of Burma and provided that the setting is not of a temporary nature (e.g., a string).

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Lot Essay

The sitter was Frederick I of the Hohenzollern dynasty, Elector of Brandenburg as Frederick III and Duke of Prussia in Brandenburg-Prussia. He upgraded the latter function to royal status, becoming the first King 'in' Prussia. This subtlety indicated that his royalty was limited to Prussia and did not limit the rights of the Emperor in the portions of his domains that were still part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the paternal grandfather of Frederick the Great (see lot 168).
An enamel of the same sitter, also by Blesendorf but signed with initials, is illustrated in A. Le Harivel, National Gallery of Ireland, Illustrated Summary Catalogue of Drawings, Watercolours and Miniatures, Dublin, 1983, p. 11, no. 3634.

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