Live Auction 7731Centuries of Style: Silver, European Ceramics, Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes
PIERRE HUAUD II (SWISS, 1647 - C. 1698)
Lot 203 PROPERTY FROM THE LATE DR WILLIAM LINDSAY GORDON COLLECTION

PIERRE HUAUD II (SWISS, 1647 - C. 1698)

A boy, possibly Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, when Frederick Augustus Duke of Saxony, in gilt plate armour comprised of cuirass and spaulders, fine white Venetian lace cravat, scarlet satin ribbon bow, curling chestnut periwig

Closed2 June 2009

Price Realised

GBP 6,500

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PIERRE HUAUD II (SWISS, 1647 - C. 1698)
A boy, possibly Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, when Frederick Augustus Duke of Saxony, in gilt plate armour comprised of cuirass and spaulders, fine white Venetian lace cravat, scarlet satin ribbon bow, curling chestnut periwig
on vellum
oval, 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.) high, enamelled gold locket frame, the cover enamelled with a horseman crossing a bridge and a fisherman in a wooded river landscape, the reverse enamelled with the monogram 'FAHS' surmounted with a pink electoral crown bordered with trailing black and white foliage against opaque light blue ground

H.H. Princess Marie Louise, formerly Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (1872-1956).
H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester, K.G.; Christie's, London, 25 June 1968, lot 67 (as 'A Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, Continental School').

Specialist note

It has been suggested that the miniature within the locket depicts Friedrich August Herzog zu Sachsen and was executed between 1691 and 1694. It is possible that the locket was exchanged as an act of diplomacy between the two neighbouring protestant electoral courts of Brandenburg and Saxony. Pierre Huaud II was appointed court painter to the Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick III, in 1691 and may have been commissioned by him to paint the portrait of Friedrich August as an act of good will. At the time, Friedrich August would have been second in line to the Saxon throne and still called Friedrich August Herzog zu Sachsen, as indicated by the enamelled initials on the reverse of the locket. In 1694, Friedrich August succeeded his brother as Elector to the throne of Saxony, at which time his initials changed to 'FACS', the 'C' standing for Churfürst, the old spelling of Kurfürst .