Two silver-gilt, gold and enamel commemorative royal photograph frames, Froment-Meurice, Paris

the first inset with an enamel photograph of Louise Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Parma, gold beaded border, the three-colour parcel-gilt frame applied with lilies below the royal crown and above the Duchess's enamelled coat of arms, easel support and pendent ring, makers' mark of  Charles Neves & Henri Dubois, the base rim engraved: Froment Meurice C^{ie 1864,} height 10.8cm, 4 1/4 in; the second of two-coloured silver-gilt, silver and enamel, inset with an image of Maria Pia, Duchess of Parma, the reverse inscribed: Tolich / Paris / Procédé / Mathieu Deroche / Méd. d'Or 1878, the frame also applied with chased lilies between the enamelled royal crown and arms, and below a banner with birth and death dates: 2 Août 1849 - 29 Septembre 1882, pendent ring, inscribed: Froment-Meurice, height  11cm, 4 3/8 in, in purple plush case stamped for: Froment-Meurice / 372, rue St. Honoré / Paris

Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois (1819-1864), was the daughter of the assassinated Charles Ferdinand, Duc de Berry (1778-1820) and his wife the famous Maria Carolina of Naples and Sicily, Duchesse de Berry (1798-1870). In 1845 she was married to the future Charles III, Duke of Parma. A subscription was raised by the legitimist ladies of France to give the princess a wedding present which took the form of a sumptuous silver-gilt and enamel toilette (now in the musée d'Orsay) commissioned from the fashionable firm of Froment-Meurice. The vast toilette took six years to create and was on show to the public in Paris in 1851 before being displayed with much acclaim at the Great Exhibition in London. It was then finally delivered to the Duchess who had by then given birth to her four children, the youngest of whom was born in 1851.

Her eldest child, Robert, later Duke of Parma, was married in 1869 to Maria Pia (1849-1882), third daughter of of Ferdinand II, King of The Two-Sicilies. She gave birth to twelve children of whom six were mentally retarded and died giving birth to the twelfth who was stillborn.

Both would benefit from professional cleaning. The first has two haircracks near the rim of the image at 2-3 o'clock. The blue enamel of the Bourbon arms is chipped. The second in excellent condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

It is fitting that the Ducal family of Parma chose Froment-Meurice, producers of the much-publicised wedding present and frequently patronised by the French royal family, to design and make the commemorative frames for the two Duchesses of Parma.

Mathieu Deroche of Paris (later Milan) was probably the best-known licensee of Alphonse Poitevin's process of enamel photography first patented in 1855.