Miniature Portrait of Louis XVI
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This pendant with a miniature portrait of the king (boîte à portrait) was given to Benjamin Franklin in 1785 after he left the French court. Only the likeness of Louis XVI survives; originally the picture was framed and crowned by 408 diamonds. Franklin left the pendant to his daughter, Sarah Bache, stipulating that she should never wear the diamonds, most of which were later sold.
Artwork Details
- Title: Miniature Portrait of Louis XVI
- Artist: Louis Marie Sicardi (French, Avignon 1743–1825 Paris)
- Date: 1784
- Medium: Watercolor on ivory, gold, glass; silver frame
- Dimensions: Without frame: 2 1/2 × 2 in. (6.4 × 5.1 cm)
Framed: 8 × 8 × 3 in. (20.3 × 20.3 × 7.6 cm) - Classification: Miniatures
- Credit Line: American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. Gift of the Richard Bache Duane Family of New York, 2014 (2014.9)
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts