“Composed of a large flat diamond enclosing a miniature of a French Officer in blue coat, red collar and wearing Orders, in a diamond border.”
The person who wrote this entry was not a keen observer: in fact, you will easily recognise Emperor Alexander I of Russia in this “French Officer”.
(still from the Pathé video, link above)
The Tsar is wearing the blue sash and the star of the Order of Saint Andrew and the cross of the Order of St George.
More recently, the miniature, which is set with an impressive table-cut diamond, in typical Russian fashion, was featured in Diana Scarisbrick’s Bijoux à portraits (Thames & Hudson, Paris, 2011), page 335:
It is described as cat. 342: “A bracelet centrepiece presenting, under a 22 carats portrait diamond, a miniature portrait of Alexander I. Miniature by Domenico Bossi (1757–1858), c. 1800, 32 x 28 mm.”
The picture credits read as: “By courtesy of S.J. Phillips Ltd, London”. It is not mentioned on the company’s website.
See this article for more information on Russian Imperial diamond portraits:
https://highjewellerydream.com/treasures-sothebys-london/
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