CHARLES GUILLAUME ALEXANDRE BOURGEOIS (1759-1832)

Portrait miniature of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France (1755-1793), profile to the left, wearing white gown, pearl necklace and earrings and pearl and ostrich feather bandeau over the powdered hair

Watercolour on ivory (licence YG4716ND)
Gold frame, glazed opalescent glass reverse, decorated with six locks of hair around central crown
Oval, 73mm (2.9 in) high

SOLD

"En grisalle profile portraits of Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI and their children were produced by various court artists during their lifetimes, as well as after their deaths by guillotine. A form of ‘trompe-l'œil’, these painted portraits resembled cameos or sculpture were extremely fashionable from the last quarter of the eighteenth century."
En grisalle profile portraits of Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI and their children were produced by various court artists during their lifetimes, as well as after their deaths by guillotine. A form of ‘trompe-l'œil’, these painted portraits resembled cameos or sculpture were extremely fashionable from the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Their lack of colour elevated the subject matter to the status of antique marble sculpture, imbuing an enduring and timeless quality to the sitter. The locks of hair surrounding the crown in the glazed reverse of this frame are from, or allude to, the royal family of six (Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and their four children).

These miniatures were often given as gifts of thanks to favoured courtiers – for example, one such miniature by Piat Joseph Sauvage (1744-1818) was said to have been given by the king to Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine, Chevalier de Lamarck, a botanist of the Academie des Sciences who became a professor of zoology in 1794 and was awarded the Order of the Légion d'Honneur.

This type of ‘cameo’ miniature was also painted by the artist Louis-Bertin Parant (1768-1851). He worked in the porcelain manufactory of Sèvres and specialised in this fashion for paintings which resembled cameos or sculptures. 

Marie-Antoinette was a daughter of Maria Theresa and the Emperor Francis I. She married the future Louis XVI of France in 1770, becoming queen four years later. She became a focus for opposition to reform and won widespread unpopularity through her extravagant lifestyle. The royal family was forcibly brought from Versailles to Paris in October 1789 and their attempt to flee the country in 1791 ended when they reached Varennes. Like her husband Louis XVI, she was imprisoned during the French Revolution and eventually executed the year after her husband was guillotined, in October 1793.

This is a variation of a miniature signed by Louis-Bertin Parant (1768-1851) in the National Museum, Stockholm, where the profiles face to the right. Parant specialised in miniatures imitating cameos. He worked in the porcelain manufactory of Sèvres and also produced lithographs. Napoleon I, his wife Josephine and Louis XVIII were among his patrons. Parant exhibited at the Paris Salon between 1800 and 1834.[1]

[1] Versions of his miniatures can be found in the Nationalmuseum Stockholm and the Royal Collection, London.
Private Collection, UK.

shipping notice

Worldwide shipping is included in all prices.

The Limner Company does not accept any responsibility for import duty, this is to be paid by the buyer.

Some stock items contain materials from endangered species which are governed by CITES regulations and will require a permit to export outside of Great Britain. If a certificate of export is required then this will be the responsibility of and paid for by the buyer .

HeaderLogo
Portrait miniature of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France (1755-1793), profile to the left, wearing white gown, pearl necklace and earrings and pearl and ostrich feather bandeau over the powdered hair

CHARLES GUILLAUME ALEXANDRE BOURGEOIS

(1759-1832)

Portrait miniature of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France (1755-1793), profile to the left, wearing white gown, pearl necklace and earrings and pearl and ostrich feather bandeau over the powdered hair

This field is mandatory

 

shipping notice

The item added to cart contains materials from endangered or protected species. The Limner Company cannot arrange for the delivery of artworks containing ivory, tortoiseshell, or mother of pearl outside of the UK due to import restrictions. The buyer or designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale.

You are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of any items made from or containing certain endangered or protected species (such as ivory, tortoiseshell, or mother of pearl), while other countries will require a permit (e.g. a CITES licence). Such permits must be obtained from the relevant regulatory body in both the country of importation and exportation. If you intend to import such items into another country you should familiarise yourself with the relevant customs regulations and laws before purchase. Delays or refusal of import or export of such works shall not permit cancellation of a sale. It is your responsibility to satisfy any laws or regulations applying to the import or export of any work containing such protected species. For further information on the protected species listed please visit the CITES website:http://www.cites.org/. For further information about import and export regulations please visit:http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/imports-exports/cites/. On request, the Company can assist with or apply for a license on your behalf.

Please contact us to discuss shipping options..

checkout details

Your basket exceeds the allowed online transaction limit of £10,000. Please remove an item from your basket to continue to checkout. Successive online sales totalling £10,000 are also prohibited. Please get in touch if you would like to move forward with the purchase in accordance with anti-money laundering regulation.


Under the terms of the anti-money laundering regulation we are required to conduct customer due diligence (CDD) on all sales of works of art over £10,000 before the transaction is carried out. While therefore we may agree to such a sale in principle, we will not be able to conclude (i.e. receive funds, give up possession or transfer title) it until we have received all the necessary CDD information from you and have been able to verify it as required by the regulation.

shipping TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Worldwide shipping is included in all prices.

The Limner Company does not accept any responsibility for import duty, this is to be paid by the buyer.

See Section 7.5 in Terms & Conditions for information on export/import regulations. Please contact us to discuss shipping options. Some stock items contain materials from endangered species which are governed by CITES regulations and will require a permit to export outside of Great Britain. If a certificate of export is required then this will be the responsibility of and paid for by the buyer.

See Section 7.5 in Terms & Conditions for information on export/import regulations.

Please contact us to discuss shipping options.

you may also like