Watch for Joséphine de BEAUHARNAIS, (1763-1814), Empress. - Lot 266

Lot n° 266
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Estimation :
8000 - 10000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 110 500EUR
Watch for Joséphine de BEAUHARNAIS, (1763-1814), Empress. - Lot 266
Watch for Joséphine de BEAUHARNAIS, (1763-1814), Empress. WIKELMAN London. Important pocket watch with repoussé decoration in high relief. Round case in 750/1000 yellow gold. Finely chased double case and bezel with repoussé background decorated with a scene depicting the meeting of Diana and Actaeon, surrounded by foliate foliage (important and deep repoussé, rarely seen). White enameled dial, painted Arabic and Roman numerals, stylized railway track. Roskopf hands. Mineral glass. Mechanical movement with key winding, cock movement, verge escapement, plate signed "WIKELMAN". Size: 47 x 40 mm. Gross weight: 100.08g. N°9926 Circa 1780. Watch in good condition. Mechanism escapes. Bears an aluminum pastille from the collections of Prince Victor NAPOLEON stamped "4307". Provenance : -Empress JOSEPHINE -Collection prince Victor NAPOLEON n°4307 -Collection prince Louis NAPOLEON -Charles BONAPARTE, Princess Catherine NAPOLEON and Princess Laure NAPOLEON -Acquired by Countess Viviane de WITT. In Greek mythology, Actaeon, grandson of Apollo, is a proud hunter transformed into a stag by Artemis (Diana), after catching her bathing entirely naked and reveling in the scene. He is eaten alive by his own dogs, who fail to recognize him. According to the typed inventory book of the Prince Victor Napoleon collection, n°4307 is described as follows: Gold watch by Wikelman London N°9926 - embossed case: Diana and Actaeon with a dog Belonged to Empress JOSEPHINE Biography : EMPRESS JOSEPHINE DE BEAUHARNAIS (1763-1814) Marie Joseph Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie, (1763-1814). Married Alexandre de Beauharnais in 1779, from whom she soon separated after the birth of her two children, Eugène and Hortense. Her husband was guillotined in 1794. Met the young General Bonaparte in autumn 1795, who fell passionately in love with her and married her on March 9, 1796. Renamed Joséphine by Napoleon, she accompanied him on his prodigious ascent. A well-informed patron of the arts, she played a major role in the development of the arts under the First Empire. Very attentive to her appearance, she spent lavishly on toiletries and sumptuous finery. After her divorce in 1809, she retained ownership of the Malmaison estate and received the title of Duchess of Navarre. Temporary import The buyer will be required to pay import duties, i.e. 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the item is immediately re-exported outside the European Union. Work in temporary import The buyer will have to pay import fees of 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the buyer immediately re-exports the lot outside the European Union.
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