SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY, ON AN ASSOCIATED PARCEL-GILT GREY-PAINTED PEDESTAL

Claude de Forbin (1656-1733) was a distinguished French Naval commander who served under Louis XIV. Forbin was sent to Siam as part of a diplomatic mission and subsequently became the governor of Bangkok. After returning to France in 1688, he became a key commander in the war with Britain during which he was briefly captured and taken to Plymouth but quickly escaped. In 1708 he assisted ‘The Old Pretender’ (James Stuart, 1688-1766) in his failed attempt on the English throne before retiring from the Navy in 1715.