Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
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Lot 514
Possibly a Royal Spanish silver-gilt box with letters of provenance unmarked, possibly Navarre circa 16th century
18 – 19 April 2023, 10:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £1,020 inc. premium
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Possibly a Royal Spanish silver-gilt box with letters of provenance
unmarked, possibly Navarre circa 16th century
Octagonal form, the whole in silver gilt, a hinged cover with a pierced repoussé and chased panel featuring a vase and floral sprays in high relief, the border chased in low relief with scrolling foliage, the sides having similarly embossed panels with plain polished borders, all pinned to the wooden box beneath , length 13.5cm.
Octagonal form, the whole in silver gilt, a hinged cover with a pierced repoussé and chased panel featuring a vase and floral sprays in high relief, the border chased in low relief with scrolling foliage, the sides having similarly embossed panels with plain polished borders, all pinned to the wooden box beneath , length 13.5cm.
Footnotes
This pretty box comes with three old letters of provenance and a lot label dated 1st February 1978, Lot 154.
By repute and according to the letters of provenance supplied, this box was given by Jeanne d'Albret (1528-1572) to the Marquis de Nérac (her son, who later became King Henry IV of France) while taking refuge with him at his Chateau, the Chateau de Nérac. Jeanne d'Albret (Joan III of Navarre) was Queen of Navarre, daughter of Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549) and niece of King Francois I (Francis I of France, r. 1515-1547). She is best known for leading the Huguenots (French Protestants) in the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) and as mother of King Henry IV of France.
Nérac is a town in South West France, once the capital of the Duke's of Albret. Jeanne's son, Henri of Navarre (King Henry IV of France and King of Navarre) spent much of his youth in the Castle, where his mother, Jeanne D'Albret, and later his wife, the second Marguerite de Valois, held a brilliant court.
The story of the box cannot be verified, however the letters of provenance have some age.
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