Oval box, the cover, sides and base set with translucent green enamel on engine-turned waved reeded ground within chased and sablé scrolling border interspersed with small panels similarly enamelled on a floral ground, the cover set with a portrait miniature of a lady framed by a chased two colour gold floral border with a further band of enamel on a sunburst ground, the sides interspersed with four pilasters flanked by scrolls centered on four male busts on a sablé ground
3¹⁄₈ in. (80 mm.) wide

Albert Marber (1900-1960), then by descent.

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Lot Essay

The present miniature is after a portrait of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné (1626-1696) after a miniature by Jean Petitot (1607-1691) now in the Royal Collection Trust (RCIN 421390). The enduring appeal of Madame de Sévigné rested not only her status as a mistress of King Louis XIV but also her famed letters which were widely read throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed in Marcel Proust's celebrated novel À la recherche du temps perdu, published in 1913, she is mentioned no less than 50 times, a testament to her ingrained place in the French public's conscience.