Lot Essay
Gabriel-Aristide Passot became a knight of the Legion of Honour in 1862. He was appointed court miniaturist to Emperor Napoleon III of France. A Swiss gold boîte-à-miniature set with a portrait miniature of Empress Eugénie also signed by Passot, circa 1860, formerly in the Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann Collection, was sold Christie's, London, 11 April 2002, lot 804. Another miniature of Emperor Napoleon III by Passot is in the Dutch Royal Collection, for more information see K. Schaffers-Bodenhausen and M. Tiethoff-Spliethoff, The Portrait Miniatures in the Collections of the House of Orange-Nassau, Zwolle, 1993, illustrated in colour p. 246, no. 263.