Bidspirit auction | French Restoration Royalist Snuff Box

French Restoration Royalist Snuff Box Commemorating Henry IV, Ca. 1820 - French Restoration Royalist Snuff Box Commemorating Henry IV, Ca.1814-1830. A rare and historically evocative French Restoration carved wood snuff box commemorating ”The memorial of Henry IV by his son Louis XIII — 25 August 1610 — the Regent” (”Memoire de Henri IV par son Fils Louis XIII le 25 Aout 1610”) Beneath the horse appears the motto: ”SEUL ROI DE QUI LE PEUPLE VRAIMENT CONSERVE LA MÉMOIRE” (”The only king whom the people truly keep in memory.”) This patriotic inscription reflects the Royalist sentiment of the Bourbon Restoration, when imagery of the popular king Henry IV (1553-1610) was widely revived as part of political nostalgia and legitimacy propaganda following the fall of Napoleon. Henry IV was frequently invoked as ”le bon roi Henri” (”the good King Henry”) making objects such as this snuff box desirable souvenirs for Royalist sympathizers and collectors of political memorabilia. Snuff boxes with Royalist themes were produced and circulated during the French Restoration period (1814-1830), a time when the Bourbon monarchy sought to reinforce its legitimacy by celebrating earlier Bourbon rulers. The present example, belongs to this tradition and would have been collected both as a functional personal object and as a symbol of political allegiance. Approximately 3.17W x 0.80H in. Provenance: From the private collection of Joel Rothschild.