Lot 388. A jewelled gold and enamel presentation box, probably Hanau, circa 1880; 9.5 cm., 3 3/4 in. long. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

of cartouche form, the lid applied with a rose diamond-set cypher of Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909) on a wavy engine-turned blue enamel ground under leafy cagework, flanked by a rose-diamond crown in each corner and a star on each side, the thumbpiece with crossed branch motifs, the bombé baluster sides and base engraved with scrolls and swags, unmarked. Quantité: 2.

Note: Following the London Conference of 1830, where representatives of the five major European powers Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and Russia had agreed on Belgian secession from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands - despite vehement Dutch protests - Leopold I became the first King of Belgium. In 1835, Queen Louise bore him a son who succeeded him in 1865: King Leopold II of Belgium, who also was the longest reigning monarch of Belgium, was particularly known for the founding of the Congo Free State. Gaining great wealth from the newly-established ivory and rubber industries in the Congo, King Leopold II was responsible for investing this money into private and public buildings in Belgium, which he mainly donated to the state before his death in 1909. The present box is said to have been a gift from King Leopold II to his chamberlain.