Lot Essay
Frederick Augustus III King of Poland and Elector (Augustus II) of Saxony, was the son of 'Augustus the Strong' who had nominated himself for election to the Polish crown when John Sobieski, King of Poland, died in 1696. Unlike his father, he preferred hunting to his public duties, and for the majority of his reign (1733-63), the affairs of Poland were left in the hands of the Czartoryski family and Count von Brhl in Saxony. While Saxony was ravaged by various campaigns during the seven years war (1756-63), Augustus took refuge in Poland, dying there in 1763. The Polish Order of the White Eagle was worn with a pale-blue sash and according to legend it originated in 1325 during the reign of King Wladyslaw I, although it is more recently thought to date from the reign of Augustus II in 1705.
The portrait of Augustus III was probably inspired by a portrait by Louis de Silvestre, see Barbara Beaucamp-Markowsky, op. cit. (1985), p. 149, no. 111 both for the box in the Kunstindustrimuseum, Copenhagen with a similar portrait and for the engraving by Jean Daullé.
The portrait of Augustus III was probably inspired by a portrait by Louis de Silvestre, see Barbara Beaucamp-Markowsky, op. cit. (1985), p. 149, no. 111 both for the box in the Kunstindustrimuseum, Copenhagen with a similar portrait and for the engraving by Jean Daullé.