Tea at Trianon: A French Colonial Farmhouse

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

Sunday, November 5, 2017

A French Colonial Farmhouse

From Victoria:

The living room’s tranquil color palette is grounded by an intricate antique Lavar Kerman rug made of camel hair. Beyond, soft accents ease the high formality of posh brocade seating upholstery and noble decorative accessories, such as the exquisite tapestry pictured above. The home’s classic décor scheme was born from Dick and Anita Boundses’ assemblage of blue-and-white Chinese export porcelain, pictured above right. Other distinguished finds—an oil painting titled The Battle of Mobile Bay, above left; antique rugs; and a breathtaking wall tapestry from Paris—bring Old-World character, depth, and patina to each pristine room. (Read more.)