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THBLetter Handwritten and Signed by Louis XIV 1699
About Seller
522 South Pineapple Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
United States
Sarasota Estate Auction specializes in a wide variety of furniture, antiques, fine art, lighting, sculptures, and collectibles. Andrew Ford, owner and operator of the company, has a passion for finding the best pieces of art and antiques and sharing those finds with the Gulf Coast of Florida.
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About Auction
LiveJan 19, 2025
Over 800 lots will be offered in day 2 of our 2 day weekend. There are multiple lots of important fine art from landscapes and etchings to old masters and portraits. We have a collection of sterling silver, African artifacts, oriental rugs, Asian antiquities, a collection from the Ex Managing Director of the NYC Waldorf Astoria, and more! Sarasota Estate Auction sarasotaestateauction@gmail.com
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- Lot Description
This letter was handwritten by Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King - Le Roi Soleil. Louis (1638 - 1715) was the longest reigning monarch in Europe - he became king at five years old, after the death of his father, Louis XIII, and ruled for 72 years - and he believed in the divine right of kings. By 1699 he had the largest army in Europe, and under his rule, he reorganized and standardized the military system, which became known as the French Royal Army. This system featured a centralized command structure, standardized uniforms, consistent training, and a system of ranks, effectively creating one of the first modern armies in Europe and setting a model for other nations to follow.
Louis was in charge of the army himself - central control of the army was in his own hands, which meant he directly controlled the army - and he relied on professional soldiers to maintain a standing army, instead of relying on feudal militias, and he expected strict discipline and demanded high levels of order within the military, which can be seen in the letter here.
Translated, the letter reads "8 October 1699 From the King, His Majesty gives the order to Sir Darroa, lieutenant in the company of Olistana attached to the regiment of Savoie, to go incessantly [without stopping] to the lieutenancy of Savoie in the said regiment, left vacant because of the abandoning of Sir Faurre and to serve there from now on in the same quality as he was doing in the company of Olistana. Done at Fontainebleau the 8th of Octobre 1699, Louis XIV", and there's a pencil note in the bottom left corner of the letter that says "Louis Quatorze”, or "Louis the Fourteenth". We don't know what the flourish below the letter is about, but it makes the letter look great.
The king spent a significant amount of time at Fontainebleau. It had been the royal residence from the 12th century on, and Louis lived there from 1661 and used it as his seat of power until 1682, when the royal court moved to Versailles. He stayed at Fontainebleau in the autumn and used it as his hunting castle, and he wrote some of the most important papers of his reign at Fontainebleau.
Savoie (Savoy in English) is in southeastern France, near the French Alps, but it has been part of France just since 1860. In fact, Savoie was once a very powerful state, whose reach stretched from one side of the Alps to the other from the Middle Ages up to the 1800's, and Louis XIV had an army in Savoie during the Nine Years' War to gain a foothold in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, and in this letter, the king is promoting someone to the rank of lieutenant to replace someone who has left his lieutenancy, and all this goes along with Louis' tight control of the military.
The letter is housed under glass in a frame that measures 16 3/4 x 12 1/4 inches wide and the letter measures 14 x 9 1/2 inches wide and is in very good condition. It is folded horizontally below Louis XIV's signature and has some light browning at the edges, probably from age, and we haven't examined the letter out of the frame, but it doesn't seem to have any tears or significant condition issues, and it is already wired on the back and ready to hang.
Kudos to Eva Courbon. She works at the Sarasota Art Museum, part of the Ringling College Of Art and Design campus in Sarasota, and translated the letter for us.
Overall Size: 16 3/4 x 12 3/4 in.
Sight Size: 14 x 9 1/2 in.
#4656 - Shipping Info
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SHIPPING INFORMATION·
Sarasota Estate Auction IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING! BUYER MUST ARRANGE SHIPPING. All shipping will be handled by the winning bidder. Sarasota Estate Auction recommends obtaining shipping quotes before bidding on any items in our auctions. To obtain a quote, please email info@premiershipment.com. Be sure to include the lot you are interested in and address you would like the quote for. Refunds are not offered under any circumstances base on shipping issues, this is up to the buyer to arrange this beforehand.
BIDDER MUST ARRANGE THEIR OWN SHIPPING. Although SEA will NOT arrange shipping for you, we do recommend our preferred shipper Premier Shipping & Crating at info@premiershipment.com You MUST email them, please DO NOT CALLl. If you'd like to compare shipping quotes or need more options, feel free to contact any local Sarasota shippers. You can email any one of the shippers below as well. Be sure to include the lot(s) you won and address you would like it shipped to. Brennan with The UPS Store #0089 - 941-413-5998 - Store0089@theupsstore.com AK with The UPS Store #2689 - 941-954-4575 - Store2689@theupsstore.com Steve with The UPS Store #4074 - 941-358-7022 - Store4074@theupsstore.com Everett with PakMail - 941-751-2070 - paktara266@gmail.com
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We accept all major credit cards, wire transfers, money orders, checks and PayPal. Please give us a call at (941) 359-8700 or email us at SarasotaEstateAuction@gmail.com to take care of your payments.
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- Size
16 3/4 x 12 3/4 in.
