Tea at Trianon: Gown from the 'Rainbow Portrait'

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, September 7, 2019

Gown from the 'Rainbow Portrait'

From The Daily Mail:

An image on the internet showed the material at the 13th-century church of St Faith, Bacton, in 2015. A tweaked version of the dress panel resided on the alter until 1909 when it was framed and hung in the church. Rev Charles Brothers noted at the time that it may once have been 'worn by Queen Elizabeth'. It was sent on loan to Hampton Court Palace for analysis and its provenance was confirmed. A high-quality photographic replica now hangs in its place in the church.

Extensive analysis found traces of Mexico-sourced red and indigo dyes which helped manufacture the material. These would have been obscenely expensive in the 17th century and would only have been available to the wealthy and the noble. What took the material to Bacton remains somewhat of a mystery but the most prominent theory is that it was given to the church either by Elizabeth herself or one of her ladies-in-waiting. It is speculated it was a gift in memory of Blanche Parry, a Bacton native, who was a close friend of Elizabeth for 57 years. Her funeral was financed by the queen and she was a regular recipient of her clothing gifts.

Ms Lynn writes in the the journal Costume: 'There is no documentary evidence or definitive link to prove that this was one of Elizabeth's own garments, or that it belonged to Blanche. 'However, the very strong inference to be drawn is that this late 16th-century, elite, professionally embroidered court gown entered the small church of Bacton by gift of the queen in memory of Blanche Parry for use as a ceremonial textile.

'It is a rare example of royal Tudor dress that has survived for centuries.' (Read more.)