Exceptional horologic works of art

Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Oct 11, 2003

LOT 81

Papal Gift. Jean-Georges Rémond et Compagnie, Geneva, circa 1810. Very fine and rare gold, enamel and pearl-set oval snuff box with painted on ivory portrait miniature of Pope Pius VII, in original fitted leather box tooled with "EX DONO PII PPVII PAULO VANDERVRECKEN 1814"

CHF 20,000 - 25,000

EUR 13,000 - 16,000

Sold: CHF 26,450

C. Two-body, pronounced hinge, the lid centered with painted on ivory oval miniature portrait of Pope Pius VII in engraved gold, white enamel and split pearl frame, unusual background of very fine blue stripes painted on wavy engine-turning and glazed, border with gold paillons, white enamel and split pearls, edge of the lid with green, gold and white paillons over translucent imperial blue enamel, side panels and the back with en suite blue stripes over wavy engine turning, four blue enamel urns over white enamel background dividing the side panels. Punched with the maker's mark inside front lid.Dim. 90 x 65 x 33 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3 - 51
Movement: -
Dial: -

Notes

Pius VII (1740-1823), Pope (1800-1823). Born Barnaba Chiaramonti in Cesena; successor of Pius VI, who had created him cardinal in 1785. He conducted himself ably during the French Revolution, showing sympathy for the social aims of the Revolution. A conclave in 1799-1800 ended with his election. His secretary, Ercole Consalvi, was a guiding force throughout his pontificate. An early event was the Concordat of 1801 with Napoleon, to reestablish the church in France and set up a new hierarchy ; much of it was vitiated by Napoleon's Organic Articles, which Pius would not accept. In 1804, Napoleon forced Pius to consecrate him as emperor, only to demean him at the last minute by taking the crown from the pope's hands and crowning himself. Napoleon found Pius intractable when not directly under his influence, and the French eventually took Rome (1808) and the Papal States (1809). Pius excommunicated the assailants of the Holy See, and Napoleon had him taken prisoner and removed to Fontainebleau. The pope was browbeaten into signing a new Concordat, which he disavowed after the battle of Leipzig. In 1814, after Napoleon's downfall, Pius returned to Rome in triumph. One of his first acts was to restore the Society of Jesus. The rest of Pius's pontificate was devoted to reestablishing the church in Europe. The Papal States were restored at the Congress of Vienna, and a series of concordats were signed with European powers. At the same time Pius VII's stolidity in the face of humiliation led to a growth in the pope's popularity that has lasted. Napoleon had treated Pius VII with sneering brutality, yet the pope was benevolent with the fallen emperor's family: he gave them haven at Rome and interceded with the British to lighten Napoleon's treatment. He was on better terms with Great Britain than any pope since the Reformation, and he was keenly interested in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. A great patron of the arts, he was succeeded by Leo XII. Paul van der Vrecken (1777 -1868). A Roman count, accomplished a secret mission for the Saint-Siège. This box was perhaps given him by the Pope in gratitude for his help. For a biography of Jean-Georges Rémond et Compagnie, see lot 67.