French Carnelian Gemstone with King Henry IV in Gold Ring

19TH CENTURY A.D.

7/8 in. (5.24 grams, 21.83 mm overall, 19.35 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P, USA 7 1/2, Europe 16.23, Japan 15)).

Finely engraved intaglio portraying a left-facing bust of Henry IV (1553–1610), King of France, in armour, with a decorated gorget and distinctive curled beard, set in a high-carat gold bezel and later fitted with a modern plain shank; supplied with a museum-quality impression.

Provenance

Acquired on the European art market.

Footnotes

The engraving is directly after a medallic portrait by Guillaume Dupré, Henry IV’s official medallist, which was widely circulated during the king’s reign and thereafter. The king’s profile is clearly drawn from a familiar medallic type, often used in the 17th and 18th centuries as a symbol of royal authority and dynastic legitimacy.

CONDITION

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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0353