Lot 27: A Nobleman, identified as Philippe, Duc d'Orleans (1674-1723), wearing white cravat drawn with pink ribbon over his suit of armour, his natural wig falling in curls over his shoulders

A Nobleman, identified as Philippe, Duc d'Orleans (1674-1723), wearing white cravat drawn with pink ribbon over his suit of armour, his natural wig falling in curls over his shoulders. Enamel, contemporary gold frame with pierced foliate border set with seed pearls, the base stamped with the hallmarks of a Swedish maker from the town of Arboga. Oval, 25mm (1in) high

Dr G. C. Williamson, Catalogue of the Collection of Miniatures: The Property of J. Pierpont Morgan, vol.III, no.415, ill.pl.CXXIX (no.1)

Philippe was the son of Philippe I, Duc d'Orléans and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. In 1692, he married his first cousin, Françoise Marie de Bourbon who was the youngest legitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. While considered ill-suited, the couple remained together and conceived eight children. Upon the coronation of his uncle's five year old great-grandson, Louis XV, in 1715, Philippe acted as Régent until the monarch came of age in 1723. Philippe died in December that year at the Palace of Versailles, aged forty-nine.