The Royal Collection contains a large group of similar works of art to this one: small-scale portraits in enamel of key members of the court circle of Louis XIV painted by the leading seventeenth-century enamellist, Jean Petitot. These enamels were acquired in large numbers by George IV between the years 1799 and 1827, many of them inset into snuff-boxes. After George IV's death, the rich settings and boxes containing many of these enamels were sold off, with the residue of enamels remaining in the Royal Collection. The decorative qualities of these enamels which would have appealed to George IV - the high finish, and rich, glossy tones - are evident in the present example which depicts Claire Clémence de Maillé, princesse de Condé. Claire Clémence was the daughter of Urbain de Maillé, marquis de Maillé-Brézé, maréchal de France, and niece of Cardinal Richelieu. She married Louis de Bourbon, prince de Condé et d'Enghien, the Grand Condé, in 1642.