Snuffbox with miniature of the Empress Marie-Louise, the King of Rome, and Napoléon I

Maker: Gabriel-Raoul Morel (active 1798–ca. 1827)

Artist: Miniatures by School of Jean-Baptiste Isabey (French, Nancy 1767–1855 Paris)

Artist: and possibly by Madame Lizinka Aimée Zoé de Mirbel (1796–1849)

Date: ca. 1815

Culture: French, Paris

Medium: Gold, ivory

Dimensions: 3-1/8 x 2-1/2 in. (7.9 x 6.4 cm);
Empress Marie-Louise, oval, 2 1/4 x 1 5/8 in. (58 x 41 mm); King of Rome, oval, 2 1/4 x 1 5/8 in. (56 x 40 mm); Napoléon I, oval, 2 x 1 1/2 in. (49 x 38 mm)

Classifications: Metalwork-Gold and Platinum, Miniatures

Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917

Accession Number: 17.190.1114

Description

Made by Gabriel-Raoul Morel in about 1815, this snuffbox of matte and polished gold with scrolling acanthus design contains a removable medallion with a framed portrait miniature of Marie Louise (1791–1847) by Isabey. The portrait forms a cover to a secret compartment containing two other miniatures, one of Napoleon I (1769–1821), possibly by Mirbel, and the other of the King of Rome (François-Joseph-Charles, duke of Reichstadt, 1811–1832) by Isabey.

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