Portrait of Maria Theresa, ex. Bernard Franck's famous collection, catalogued in 1935
Characteristics: Miniature portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria with the iconic Bernard-Franck label and numbered stickers 96 and 1340. Inventory number 96 is found p. 10 of the third sale of 21-22 March 1935 at Hôtel Drouot, listed as “96 – MINIATURE ovale. Portrait de Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche. 74 mm. x 53 mm. Cadre doré”. The full reference (NOT part of this Ad) is: Hotel Drouot (1935), Collections Bernard-Franck, Objects Historiques et Militaires (1re vente, 22-23 Fev., 38 pp.), Bibliothèque (2ème vente, 8-9 Mar., 89 pp.), XVIIe et XVIIIe Siècles (3ème vente, 21-22 Mar., 38 pp.), Révolution (4ème vente, 3-4 Avr., 54 pp.), Armes, Objets et Souvenirs Historiques, Tableaux et Miniatures (5ème vente, 6-7 Jun., 47 pp.). An annotated copy of the sales catalogue (shown in background of the second photo, NOT included) indicates that this lot sold for 100 Fr back in 1935.
Provenance: Bernard Franck
References: Hotel Drouot (1935, 3rd sale, lot. 96, p.10)
Bernard Franck (1848-1924) is a renowned collector of militaria and other historic artefacts, especially related to royalty and nobility. Grandson and grand-nephew of soldiers of the Empire, son of a collector, he naturally became a collector himself, starting with objects relating to military life, mainly from the Revolution and the Empire. His interest progressively expanded to decorative objects from the same eras and previous ones. The Bernard Franck collection was located 21, rue du Château d’Eau, in Paris. Photographs of the collection were published in an 1898 family album now part of the Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art archives. They show walls covered of portraits, and glass cabinets full of decorative objects in the rooms of the exiguous apartment. Bernard Franck later moved to a more spacious apartment at 22, avenue du Bois de Boulogne. Part of the collection that Bernard Franck had assembled in fifty years of effort was dispersed after his death in about fifteen public sales, most of them anonymous, except for the notable ones at Galeries Georges Petit (1931) and at Hôtel Drouot (1935).
Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Romain Empress (source: Wikipedia)
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