Oval miniature painted on ivory, signed on the left Saint, reprezenting him in a bust, slightly three-quarters left, in Prussian staff officer's uniform around 1808, wearing the cross of the Red Eagle Order and the plaque of the Black Eagle Order (Prussia), on a brown background.
Preserved in its original oval 18k gold enamelled frame.
Handwritten inscription on the back: Joseph Bonaparte d’Espagne (sic).
Gross weight: 26.30 g. Gold frame: H. 8 x W. 6.7 cm.
Presented in a rectangular frame in lemon wood and gilt bronze.
Wooden frame: H. 18.5 x W. 14 cm.
- Collection Théodore Dablin (1781-1861).
- Then bequeathed to his godchild, Amélie Levaigneur (1824-1912).
- Her collection’s sale on 2-3-4 May 1912, Hôtel Drouot, lot 251.
- Probably bought by the family during this sale because it has since been kept in the descendants (inventory labels n°217 and 983).
A second copy of this miniature, also signed and in the same frame, is in the Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle, donated by the Duchess of Gloucester to Queen Victoria in 1857 (inv. RCIN 420597).
Ernest became the first Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1826, and was the father of Albert (1819-1861), future husband of Queen Victoria and Prince Consort of the United Kingdom. He is thus one of the ascendants of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and King Philip of Belgium.