<div class="description">
Catherine, Empress of Russia is shown in this signed enamel by Charles Boit, the leading European enamellist of the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The enamel is based on a portrait painted by Jean-Marc Nattier in 1717 (the Hermitage, St Petersburg) and must have been copied on the orders of Peter the Great during his visit to Paris in that year. Boit enjoyed a successful reputation having worked as Court Enamellist in England from 1696 until 1714 and then found favour at the French court with patrons such as Philippe, duc d'Orléans (1674-1723). The Empress is shown her wearing an embroidered gold dress, an ermine-lined crimson robe and the red sash of the Order of St Catherine.</div>
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Charles_Boit" class="extiw" title="w:en:Charles Boit"><span title="Swedish painter (1662-1727)">Charles Boit</span></a>
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