90 Cartouche box fitting of the Gardes Suisses, 1755.

 Embossed copper shield, silver-plated. Depiction of the French royal coat of arms on trophies of arms, bursting shells at the corners. Above bandeau with the inscription: "GARDES SUISSES".

The Swiss Guard was an elite regiment of the French army and was responsible for protecting the king and the castles in Paris and Versailles, especially towards the end of the Ancien Regime.

The majority of the Swiss Guard paid for their loyalty to the Bourbons with their lives during the storming of the Tuilerie Castle in Paris on 10 August 1792 and the September Massacres. This tragedy is commemorated by the Lion Monument in Lucerne, the medal of 10 August 1792 and the name of the Federal Swiss Foundation: Fondation 1792.

In the same year, the French National Assembly disbanded the regiment.

Reference: Michel Petard: Equipements Militaires de 1600 à 1870, Tome II de 1750 à 1789, p. 67. 

Provenance: Collection Bernhard Franck, auction Hotel Drouot 1935.

Extremely rare original piece.

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