Tea at Trianon: A Lavish Collection

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, November 1, 2023

A Lavish Collection

From Observer:

The eclectic collection of Guerrand-Hermès, who died in 2016 at age 75, reflects his wide-ranging spectrum of passions. In addition to joining the management team of Hermès after studying at the Ecole Superieure de Commerce, he was a foreign trade advisor to the French government and president of the World Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the restoration of artistic monuments. He was also an avid hunter and wrote a 1995 book on the sport that is still considered a reference for the field, according to Sotheby’s.

A member of a fashion dynasty himself, Guerrand-Hermès was interested in the historical collections of aristocrats from France and beyond. He was particularly fascinated by Marie-Caroline de Bourbon, Duchess of Berry and the daughter-in-law of French king Charles X. A rebellious arts patron who died in the late 19th Century, her possessions could be found in every room of Guerrand-Hermès’ Parisian home and will make up around 500 lots at the Sotheby’s sales. In addition to a porcelain set, portraits and even her handkerchiefs, Guerrand-Hermès collected 200 books of fiction, travel, history and science previously owned by the Duchess. In 2007, he loaned numerous works to an exhibition dedicated to her and organized by the Musee de L’Ile-de-France. (Read more.)