Not, perhaps, the face modern eyes would immediately think of captivating an emperor, but this porcelain plaque portrait of Napoleon’s first wife, Josephine, was one of a number of major attractions at Canterbury Auction Galleries’ (24% buyer’s premium) Spring Sale.
Based on a c.1809-14 miniature by Ferdinand Paul Louis Quajila, the 8½ x 5½in (21.5 x 14cm) plaque, left, was signed M. fre de Dihl a Paris – one of the high-quality hard-paste pieces created by the factory set up in Paris in 1781 by Christophe Dihl (1752-1830).