Extremely rare and important for the history of France portrait miniature of Henri of Artois, Count of Chambord, Duke of Bordeaux (1820 Palais de Tuileries, Paris - 1883 castle Frohsdorf, Austria). He was disputedly King of France from 2. to 9. August 1830 as Henry V, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. Afterwards, he was the legitimist pretender to the throne of France from 1844 to 1883. Henri was the posthumous son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, younger son of Charles X of France, by his wife, Princess Carolina of Naples and Sicily, daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies. As the grandson of the king, Henri was a petit-fils de France.On 2 August 1830, in response to the July Revolution, Henri´s grandfather, Charles X, abdicated, and twenty minutes later Charles´ elder son Louis Antoine, duc d´Angoulême, thus abdicated in favor of the young duc de Bordeaux. Louis Philippe of Orléans, as Lieutenant général du royaume was supposed to proclaim Henri as Henri V , King of France and of Navarre, but deliberately did not do so. As a consequence, after seven days, during which legitimist monarchists considered that Henri had been the rightful monarch of France, the National Assembly decreed that the throne should pass to Louis Philippe, who was proclaimed King of the French on 9 August. Full biography of the sitter see in wikipedia under following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri,_Count_of_Chambord

Literature: Brown, Marvin Luther. The Comte de Chambord :The Third Republic´s Uncompromising King. Durham, N.C.:, Duke University Press, 1967; Delorme Philippe, "Henri, comte de Chambord, Journal (1846-1883)", Carnets inédits. Paris: Guibert, 2009; in on-line: wikipedi.org.

Inscription: unsigned, on the reverse old inscribed in German. " G.(Graf) v. Chambord, Herzog v(von) Bordeaux, Henry" (see add.photo).

Technique: gouache on ivory,original period bronze frame.

Measurements: image w.1 3/8" x h.1 3/4 " (3,4 x 4.5 cm); framed w.1 1/2 " x h.2 " (3,8 x 5 cm)

Condition: in good condition.