PAIR OF GLOVES ONCE OWNED BY EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE... Lot 323

PAIR OF GLOVES ONCE OWNED BY EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE (1791-1847). In cream-colored chevre with lapel adorned with Blonde de Caen silk bobbin lace blending with delicate mimosa and orange blossom silk passementerie, four small buttons on cuffs. Damage to lace. French work by Maison Mayer, 26 rue de la Paix, Paris, circa 1810-1815. Provenance: This pair of gloves once belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, second wife of Emperor Napoleon I, and was given by the sovereign to one of the ladies in her service, Madame Bassais. The latter then gave them to Hector Masel, as the handwritten note accompanying the pair of gloves states: "To Mr. Hector Masel, with a request to accept from an old friend a small souvenir of friendship, the same and not limp (...)". This pair was subsequently sold by Hector Masel's grandson on December 8, 1925: "Received from Monsieur Sueur, residing in Paris, 6 rue Mélingue, the sum of four hundred francs representing the price of a gilt bronze box dating from the Louis-Philippe period, commissioned by my grandfather and containing various objects (shoes and gloves) which belonged to Empress Marie-Louise and which were addressed to my grandfather by Madame Bassais, lady of the court. Also included in this price is a gilded wooden pedestal, acquired from Th. Potier".