A REGENCY GOLD-LINED TORTOISESHELL BOÎTE-À-MINIATURE
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A REGENCY GOLD-LINED TORTOISESHELL BOÎTE-À-MINIATURE

CIRCA 1820

Details
A REGENCY GOLD-LINED TORTOISESHELL BOÎTE-À-MINIATURE
CIRCA 1820
Circular gold-lined tortoiseshell box with concave sides, the hinged lid inset with a gold réverbère mount with cast foliate gold border, containing an oval enamel miniature of Ninon de l'Enclos (1616-1705) in blue dress with white underdress, pearl necklace, pearls entwined in her long dark hair dressed in ringlets, the gold-lining of the inside cover engraved Ninon de L'Enclos Petitot
3½ in. (89 mm.) diam.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Ninon de l'Enclos was a French author, courtesan and patron of the arts. She was a popular figure in the salons, and her own drawing room became a literary centre. She encouraged the young Molière and in her will she left some money for the son of her accountant, later known as François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, to buy books. She began to take a number of rich and notable courtesans including the king's cousin the Great Condé, Gaspard de Coligny, and François, Duke of La Rochefoucauld. She was imprisoned in a convent in 1656 at the behest of Anne of Austria, Queen of France but was later visited by Christina, former Queen of Sweden who wrote to Cardinal Mazarin on Ninon's behalf and arranged for her release. She retired from her life as a courtesan in the late 1660s and concentrated on her literary life hosting her salon at the Hôtel Sagonne. She befriended Jean-Baptiste Racine and became a close friend with the devout Françoise d'Aubigné, better known as Madame de Maintenon, the lady-in-waiting who would later become the second wife of Louis XIV.
The enamel is after the Petitot in the Louvre, inv. no. 35715. A copy, also on a box, is in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, inv. no. 0A 1406.

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