BY HEBERT ET SALIN, CIRCA 1830

This set of glass medallions is to be appreciated for artistic and historic reasons as they are not beautifully rendered and executed, but they also serve as mementos to a time when a new dynasty had just ascended to the French throne and had to popularize and legitimize itself. After the short-lived Bourbon restoration of 1814, that was ended by the July Revolution of 1830, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans became King of the French. The present medallions were most likely made to commemorate his coronation or during the earlier years of his reign. Similar to the large colored and etched glass panels from the Dalva Brothers collection that celebrated the House of Bourbon sold in these rooms 22 October 2020, lot 136 ($187,000) and now in the Musée du Louvre, this work served as a tool of royalist propaganda. However, unlike the aforementioned panel, these etched glass roundels were to be attainable for the middle classes and more fitting for a smaller domestic interior, which is understandable considering the fact that Louis-Philippe was known as the 'Citizen King'.