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Lot description
Silver, partially gilt, worked in several pieces. Oval base of heavy construction with a rounded band of meander on a stippled background on the upper edge, the smooth walls with a raised and gilt garland and four lion's head mascarons. Four feet in the form of a pair of claws, also gilt. An assayer's mark, the hallmark "LV" (Luigi Valadier, the father of Giuseppe Valadier) and the mark of the city of Rome stamped into the base. Moreover, the engraved monogram "CB" below the archducal coronet. The two-part insert with gilt interior surface, the central partition with renewed silver hallmarks and a sturdy, conical socket for the screw-mounted silver top piece in the shape of the Napoleonic eagle, the thunderbolts also stamped. Dimensions approx. 17 x 15 x 9 cm, total weight 3078 g.Giuseppe Valadier was a goldsmith, city planner, archaeologist and, as of 1781, architect of the pontifical palace. Following the suicide of his father Luigi (1726 - 1785), one of Europe's most distinguished silversmiths, he also continued this skilled craft in the same tradition and quality. One of his projects as an architect was the Teatro Valle, created in 1819; as an archaeologist, he directed the excavations in the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum from 1827 to 1832. Camillo Borghese, Prince of Sulmano and Rossano (1775 - 1832), joined the French services in 1796, married Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's favourite sister, in 1803, was accorded the title of Prince of France in 1804, appointed Chef d'escadron of the Imperial Guard in 1805 and Governor General of Piemont from 1808. After Napoleon abdicated, he separated from Pauline and lived in Florence and Rome as of 1818. Condition: I - II