Tea at Trianon: The "Marie-Antoinette" Barbie

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, July 30, 2011

The "Marie-Antoinette" Barbie

I would have loved this doll as a child.

Too bad they have her wearing that necklace, which she never owned and did not even like. More HERE and HERE. Share

10 comments:

Violet said...: The Barbie if my dreams :); July 30, 2011 at 4:56:00 AM EDT
Violet said...: Prett good job too.; July 30, 2011 at 4:57:00 AM EDT
The North Coast said...: Why didn't someone think of a doll like this when I was a kid?

Will there be a dollhouse and furniture to accompany this doll, I wonder?; July 30, 2011 at 1:05:00 PM EDT
May said...: A miniature Versailles? That would be fun...; July 30, 2011 at 3:34:00 PM EDT
Alexandra said...: Neat!; July 31, 2011 at 9:36:00 AM EDT
Juliet Grey said...: As a child? I'd love ths Barbie now! :) Of course she is exponentially beyond my price range, and I did research her all over the internet thinking she might make a fun muse as I worked on my trilogy (though I also immediately spotted that the doll desigers were too clever by half in giving her the notorious necklace she never owned!)

And oh -- yes -- I love the North Coast's comment about the dollhouse to accompany this Barbie. Dream House = a mini-Versailles, or a Petit Petit Trianon, complete with Hameau, Laiterie, milkable cows, and monogrammed Sevres jugs!; July 31, 2011 at 12:09:00 PM EDT
Julygirl said...: Great marketing ideas ladies!; July 31, 2011 at 1:28:00 PM EDT
The North Coast said...: Just a couple of niggling little criticisms:

The doll doesn't resemble Antoinette closely enough. It doesn't begin to capture her expression. No excuse for it, for there are hundreds of portraits to work from, including the fantastic wax dolls of her in Mme Taussaud's.

And two,as Maria pointed out, that ugly necklace,which she would never have bought because it was SO not her style, a big, clunky, overwrought thing.; July 31, 2011 at 4:08:00 PM EDT
lara77 said...: Elena Maria, I received the doll as a Christmas present the first year it came out; she is glorious in her costume but the face is wrong. As for the infamous diamond necklace which she is wearing(WRONG!); I wish the King had given it to her and she accepted! What a horrible trial would have been avoided. I also have the Barbie Madame DuBarbie(glitzy like the real Madame DuBarry and Queen Elizabeth I. They are all beautiful but the Queen of France will always hold a special place in my heart.; July 31, 2011 at 7:13:00 PM EDT
Mara said...: I really want this doll. Or at least one like it (like the madame dubarbie). Does anyone know where to get it cheapest? I can only find prices like £1,000 and I cant afford that.
And I'm excited at just concept of a mini Versailles or petit Trianon!Itd be so cute! And beautiful! And a mini version of Marie Antoinette's hamlet. I recently visited Versailles and I must say, its a amazing!; April 8, 2012 at 12:26:00 PM EDT