Tea at Trianon: At Sotheby's

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

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

At Sotheby's

French art treasures are on display. Share

2 comments:

lara77 said...: The beauty of the art furnishings made in France during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI are simply breathtaking. I noted how that incredible fireplace mantle made for Madame DuBarry was sold off by the revolutionary barbarians. That is all the republic could do was destroy;never create. The irreplaceable art treasures of France were sold off to the highest bidders ; that is the legacy of republican France.; January 26, 2012 at 8:13:00 AM EST
May said...: It's amazing what you can find at Sotheby's and other auction houses. Even those of us who are in no position to purchase get a chance to see many rare historical treasures online. There was a marvelous display of Belgian royal family treasures sold as part of Princess Lilian's estate, a while back. I'll see if I can post the link on the forum.; January 27, 2012 at 2:20:00 PM EST