PARIS.- On December 19, auction house Gros & Delettrez will host a prestigious sale at Hôtel Drouot in Paris, entitled «Cabinet des Merveilles.» Featuring a selection of around thirty lots, this sale spotlights rare paintings and artworks spanning from ancient Egypt to the 18th century. Among the highlight pieces are two large enamel portraits by Léonard Limosin, a master enameller of the Renaissance, studied by Thierry Bernard-Tambour. Created circa 1564, and very likely commissioned by Catherine de’ Medici before becoming part of the Ro- thschild collection, these pieces belong to a series of 32 plaques, only 17 of which have survived—15 of them now in public collections. These two plaques are the last known pieces of the series still held in private hands.

This exceptional sale confirms Gros & Delettrez’s commitment to offering works of art that bear witness to their era and are of major historical interest. The works also reveal the sensibilities of the greatest collectors.

Two enameled plaques by Leonardo LIMOSIN rediscovered

These two large rectangular portraits, set against a blue background, depict figures inspired by Ovid’s Heroides, a literary work that profoundly influenced the Renaissance across Europe.

Created around 1564 by Léonard Limosin, the most talented enameller of the 16th century and a court artist, these plaques may have been gifted to Catherine de’ Medici by Louise de Clermont, a close confidante, or commissioned by the queen herself, an ardent admirer of Limoges enamels. Upon Catherine’s death, her inventory recorded 259 enamel pieces, underscoring her passion for this refined art. This series of plaques explores themes of abandonment and romantic solitude, resonating with Catherine’s own experience as the inconsolable widow of Henry II. These Heroides plaques certainly once adorned the paneling of the «cabinet of enamels» in her Paris residence, designed starting in 1570 by architect Jean Bullant (the site now occupied by the Bourse de Commerce, with only the «Medici Column» remaining intact).

Ovid’s Héroïdes: Achilles and Leander

In the Heroides, Ovid takes a novel epistolary approach for his time, presenting a series of fictional letters written by mythological or historical women, often longing for absent or indifferent lovers. This innovative poetic work gained popularity, influencing European literature and art at the end of the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. With the rise of Humanism, the text enjoyed extraordinary circulation, even surpassing Ovid’s famous Metamorphoses in the number of editions published.

The series of plaques crafted by Limosin around 1564 reflects the fascination for Ovid’s text among Renaissance intellectuals and the humanist spirit of the age, which valued the universal nature of human emotions. These plaques, of similar dimensions and all on blue backgrounds, portray bust-length portraits, with attire and hairstyles blending ancient and contemporary styles.

Our plaques feature Achilles and Leander, each embodying ideals of courage, passion, and tragedy. Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, is enamored of Briseis, a Trojan captive. Their relationship becomes central to the Iliad’s opening conflict, as Agamemnon, the Greek leader, forces Achilles to yield Briseis, prompting Achilles to withdraw from battl —a decision that weakens the Achaeans and sets off a series of tragic events in Homer’s epic. Leander, for his part, swam across the Hellespont every night to be with Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, until he perished in a storm.

A Notable Collecting Journey

After decorating the paneling of Catherine de Medici’s enamel cabinet, these plaques began a journey through remarkable collections. They can be traced to the 1977 sale of the collections at Mentmore Towers, owned by the Rothschild family.

Organized as part of the succession of Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery, the sale included numerous Limoges enamels passionately collected by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild and later passed on to his daughter Hanna. Then, in 1981, they reappeared in a Sotheby’s sale in New York. Since then, they have been kept in a European private collection.

Today, 17 out of 32 plaques have survived: 13 are in French public collections (notably at the Musée National de la Renaissance in Écouen, which acquired the plaque depicting Paris during the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé sale at Christie’s in 2009, and purchased the one depicting Ulysses from a collector in 2012), 2 plaques are held by the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, and our two plaques are the last known to remain in private hands.

Le Cabinet des Merveilles

Alongside these plaques, the Cabinet des Merveilles sale includes other exceptional items, offering a journey through various eras and cultures. A marbled Calcedonio glass ewer crafted in Venice circa 1500 is among the most valuable lots. This complex technique imitates agate patterns with remarkable finesse; only eight such Calcedonio ewers are known, mostly preserved in museums in Italy, Germany, England, Russia, and the United States. The shape of these ewers was inspired by Ottoman metalwork.

Other treasures include a unique shell-shaped bowl, crafted from a fragment of a Byzantine sar- donyx bowl from the 9th–10th centuries, with a mounting created in Paris around 1665. Topped by a gilded and enameled figure of young Neptune and decorated with floral enamel ele- ments, this piece is attributed to the Blanc et Rose atelier due to its distinctive technique and orna- mentation. Similar pieces from Louis XIV’s collec- tion are preserved at the Louvre.

With this sale, Gros & Delettrez offers art enthusiasts a rare opportunity to acquire remarkable and emblematic works from the history of decorative arts.