Tea at Trianon: Furniture Belonging to Marie-Antoinette

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

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Furniture Belonging to Marie-Antoinette

From Tatler:

Two pieces of furniture once belonging to the Queen of France will be available to purchase, including an ornate chest of drawers and a detailed armchair. Estimated between €800,000 to €1,200,000, the chest of draws is a fine example of the ‘Chinese-style’ lacquer technique, known as Vernis Martin. The piece was delivered to Marie Antoinette at the Château de Compiègne in 1770 together with its twin, now at Versailles. Described as ‘extremely rare’ by the auction house, it is decorated with gold and vermilion lacquered detail and stands on curved feet. The chair is also a fine example of the period, with its intricate carvings in the Etruscan style. In 1788, Marie Antoinette moved to different apartments in the palaces in order to be closer to her children, asking for the space to be modernised to suit her tastes. The chair, ordered by Georges Jacob, was purchased for her restyled bedchamber. The new accommodation was enjoyed by the queen for only four short years before her execution in 1793. (Read more.)