Tea at Trianon: Thomas Boog's French Country House

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, May 14, 2023

Thomas Boog's French Country House

From Veranda:

Thomas Boog marvels at a little 19th-century porcelain mustard pot he bought the previous day from a shop near his weekend home in France’s Touraine region. “It is so cute,” he gushes. “The monogram with a B! And just 10 euros! It’s as if nobody wants this sort of thing nowadays; they want to put everything in the dishwasher.”
Lucky for the antiques dealer, he has a regular client in Boog, who in a previous life was a shoe designer for Bally and Charles Jourdan. “I have always admired the craftsmanship of antique finds such as monogrammed crockery, carved cabinets, and embroidered linen. I see the beauty of every piece, but through the eyes of a craftsman. My own work is very much the same,” says the Swiss-born designer, who channels his artistry into joyful, intricate coquillage—or shellwork—that ranges from graphic arrangements for mirrors and lighting to original portraiture, drawing inspiration from pieces found in 18th-century follies. (Read more.)