Frederick William II (1744-1797), King of Prussia 1786-1797, in blue coat with red facings, white waistcoat and frilled cravat, black stock, wearing the orange sash of the Royal Prussian Order of the Black Eagle

Details

GUSTAV FRIEDRICH AMALIUS TAUBERT (GERMAN, 1755-1839)
Frederick William II (1744-1797), King of Prussia 1786-1797, in blue coat with red facings, white waistcoat and frilled cravat, black stock, wearing the orange sash of the Royal Prussian Order of the Black Eagle
signed and dated 'Gus: Taubert fecit: 1794' (lower right)
oval, 2 7/8 in. (74 mm.) high, gilt copper frame, the silver-gilt reverse engraved with the sitter's name and erroneous artist's name and date

Provenance

Kommerzienrat Georg Spiegelberg (1846-1913), Hanover.
His wife Caroline née Koch, in 1914 and 1918.

Literature

G. Biermann (ed.), Deutsches Barock und Rokoko, Leipzig, 1914, II, p. LXXXV, illustrated p. 714, no. 1259
L. R. Schidlof, The Miniature in Europe, Graz, 1964, II, p. 801 (signature partly mis-transcribed).

Exhibited

Darmstadt, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Jahrhundert-Ausstellung Deutscher Kunst 1650-1800, 1914 (lent by Mrs Georg Spiegelberg, Hanover).
Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Bildnisminiaturen aus niedersächsischem Privatbesitz, 1918, no. 249 (lent by Mrs Georg Spiegelberg, Hanover; signature partly mis-transcribed).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Frederick William II, a nephew of King Frederick the Great (see lots 86, 91, and 124), married his first cousin, Elizabeth Christine Ulrika of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1765 and had a daughter, the later Duchess of York and Albany. After his divorce in 1769, he was re-married to Frederika Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt and had five children. He enjoyed numerous mistresses including the notorious trumpeter's daughter 'Rieke' Enke, styled 'Countess von Lichtenau'. She and two bigamous morganatic wives, one styled 'Countess von Ingenheim' and the other 'Countess of Brandenburg', made him the father of a further nine recognized children.

More from IMPORTANT GOLD BOXES AND PORTRAIT MINIATURES

View All