Fragment of marble from the Hôtel d'Honoré de Balzac. White marble with an engraved gilt bronze cartouche, decorated with a gilt bronze motif depicting two theatre masks, a feather and a parchment marked "La comédie humaine; H de Balzac" 6 x 13 x 8 cmB . E. History : The Baroness de Rothschild had Balzac's property (rue Balzac today) razed in 1890 to enlarge the garden of the vast mansion she had built in 1874 .