' Benjamin Franklin ' (1706-1790) wearing a fur bordered cloak. Jean Baptitse Weyler (French 1747-1791) Enamel . Auctioned at Christies 27-28 November 2012 .

The fine setting for this enamel is most likely contemporary and commissioned for the purpose of housing such an important sitter.

Benjamin Franklin , the American statesman and polymath , was born in Boston , the youngest son of a soap and candle maker . After an apprenticeship in the print trade he escaped to New York , finally settling in Philadelphia . Here in set up in partnership with another printer and was able to publish his writings in pamphlets , eventually owning a newspaper and becoming the official printer of Philadelphia . His interests furthered into science , where he published theories on electricity .

When in 1776 , he was sent to Paris as a diplomat , he was welcomed into the scientific community where his high reputation allowed him an entrée into society , including the court of Louis XV1. In 1783, he signed the peace treaty, which recognised the independence of the United States of America .

Whilst in Paris , Franklin was painted and sculpted by Joseph-Sifftrein Duplessis , Houdon and the miniaturist Francois Dumont . In 1785 , Jean Baptiste Weyler  submitted a project to paint Franklin in enamel as part of a ' Panthéon Iconographique ' . This was to preserve famous men for posterity in enamel and Franklin became the most popular subject of this series.