Unique book of nine hand-painted devotional miniatures of outstanding quality, each signed and inscribed on the reverse by an archduchess of Austria—highlighted by Marie Antoinette—carefully mounted under mats and bound in calf of the late 19th century, with a manuscript description of the contents in the rear. The book measures 5 x 7.
The inscriptions are to countess Maria Anna von Callenberg, née countess Thurn-Valsassina (1721-86), first lady-in-waiting to Empress Elizabeth Christina, mother of Maria Theresa and since 1757 married to general Karl Kurt Reinicke, count Callenberg. Five of the nine miniatures are signed by daughters of Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I (thus uniting five out of eight princesses that survived infancy), one by a sister of Maria Theresa, another by the youngest sister of Francis I, yet another by the Imperial couple's daughter-in-law, and one by an unidentified writer. A scholarly study of the album, published in 1999 (cf. the sources below), praises the "outstanding graphic quality" of the miniatures, arguing that they must have been created by "professionally trained artists" (Feldhaus, p. 19). Presented in a slipcase and in fine condition, with the St. Expeditus miniature detached from its mount.
All inscriptions are in French or German; they include:
1) St. Cajetan (S. Cajetanus Thieneus), 3-line inscription signed by Archduchess Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (1746-1804), dated 1769.
2) Charles Borromeo (S. Carolus Borromaeus), 6-line inscription signed by Archduchess Maria Anna (1718-1744), sister of Maria Theresa, dated 1743.
3) St. Jerome (S. Hieronimus), 6-line inscription signed by Archduchess Maria Josepha (1751-67), dated 1767.
4) Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa), 4-line inscription signed by Princess Anne Charlotte of Lorraine (1714-73), youngest sister of Emperor Francis I; undated.
5) The Virgin and Child ("Du Königin des guten Raths bitt für uns"), 5-line inscription signed by Maria Theresa's eldest daughter, Archduchess Maria Anna (1738-89), dated 1757.
6) King Stephen I of Hungary (S. Stephanus Rex Hung.), 5-line inscription signed by Maria Luisa of Spain (1745-1792), Grand Duchess of Tuscany and later Empress as the spouse of Leopold II; dated 1770.
7) St. Expeditus (S. Expeditus), signed by Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1743-1808), undated.
8) St. Aloysius Gonzaga (S. Aloysius Gonzaga S. I.), 3-line inscription signed by Archduchess Marie Antoinette ("Auspice Deo. En regardant cette image souvenez vous toujours chère Callenberg de Votre très affectionee Antoine Archiduchesse"), dated 29 March 1770, but a month before her fateful departure for France.
9) Man of Sorrows (Wahre Abbildung des schmerzhaften Heilands auf dem S. Stephansfriedhof), 2-line inscription, undated and unsigned, ascribed to Charlotte von Reischach, lady-in-waiting, by the included index (4to, 4 pp.).
Provenance:
Owned by count Carl Callenberg (d. 1820), son of the recipient of these dedications; by descent to her daughter Henriette, the last countess of Callenberg (1764-1835), married in 1787 to count Johann Mittrowsky (1757-99), army surgeon to count Lássy's Infantry Regiment; by descent to the counts Mittrowsky; later in the library of the Austrian collector and Keeper of the Purse, count Franz Folliot de Crenneville-Poutet (1815-88), with his collection stamp on fol. 1; sold through the Vienna art trade to a Rhenish private collection in 1969.
References:
Irmgard Feldhaus, Gemalte Andachtsbilder aus dem Österreichischen Kaiserhaus aus den Jahren 1743-1770, in: Arbeitskreis Bild, Druck, Papier: Tagungsband Kassel 1998. Ed. by Christa Pieske et al. (Münster, Waxmann, 1999), pp. 13-28.
