from Louis XIV to Louis XVI
See also : 18th century painting Ancient French painting Ancient art by women Music in old painting Jewels Jewels II Furniture Ancient French furniture 18th century furniture European ceramics Silverware
Chronology : 1660-1679 18th century 1710-1719 1760-1769 1770-1779 1780-1789 1790-1799
Chronology : 1660-1679 18th century 1710-1719 1760-1769 1770-1779 1780-1789 1790-1799
1661 The Jewels of the French Crown
2017 SOLD for CHF 14.4M including premium
The collection of the Diamants de la Couronne de France is an estate declared inalienable by King François I in 1530. It increases over the years to constitute the elements of the royal and imperial jewels incessantly recomposed until the fall of the Second Empire in 1870 according to the variations of fashion. The collection was dismantled at the beginning of the Troisième République.
Cardinal Mazarin was an avid collector of art and jewelry. When he died in 1661 he left 18 diamonds to the Crown as a dation in payment that allowed him to pass on the rest of his huge inheritance to his family. This group includes the Sancy which was considered as the most beautiful diamond known in Europe until the discovery of the Régent.
At that time all the major diamonds had been extracted from Golconda mines. It was not until 1725 that a Brazilian source came to compete with that Indian provenance.
Note that the Beau Sancy which adorned the crown of the coronation of Marie de Médicis was a personal gift to her by King Henri IV and was not inalienable. It left France in 1641 and was sold for CHF 9M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2012.
On November 14 in Geneva, Christie's sells as lot 600 Le Grand Mazarin which had been a major piece of the cardinal's bequest. Analyzed by the GIA before the auction, this brilliant cut diamond weighing 19.07 carats is of type IIa. Its VS2 clarity is sensational for a historic diamond. Its light pink color is extremely rare.
Le Grand Mazarin was worn by Queen Marie-Thérèse wife of Louis XIV, then by King Louis XIV himself in a chain and later by Empress Marie-Louise wife of Napoléon I in a diadem made by Nitot.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's and read the instructive featured post that accompanies it.
Cardinal Mazarin was an avid collector of art and jewelry. When he died in 1661 he left 18 diamonds to the Crown as a dation in payment that allowed him to pass on the rest of his huge inheritance to his family. This group includes the Sancy which was considered as the most beautiful diamond known in Europe until the discovery of the Régent.
At that time all the major diamonds had been extracted from Golconda mines. It was not until 1725 that a Brazilian source came to compete with that Indian provenance.
Note that the Beau Sancy which adorned the crown of the coronation of Marie de Médicis was a personal gift to her by King Henri IV and was not inalienable. It left France in 1641 and was sold for CHF 9M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2012.
On November 14 in Geneva, Christie's sells as lot 600 Le Grand Mazarin which had been a major piece of the cardinal's bequest. Analyzed by the GIA before the auction, this brilliant cut diamond weighing 19.07 carats is of type IIa. Its VS2 clarity is sensational for a historic diamond. Its light pink color is extremely rare.
Le Grand Mazarin was worn by Queen Marie-Thérèse wife of Louis XIV, then by King Louis XIV himself in a chain and later by Empress Marie-Louise wife of Napoléon I in a diadem made by Nitot.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's and read the instructive featured post that accompanies it.
The historic Le Grand Mazarin #diamond is now on view in #Geneva until 14 November: https://t.co/BV5ooNMJwk pic.twitter.com/ym4zasjk1P
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) November 9, 2017
1718-1719 Christie's discovered a Watteau, what a surprise !
2008 SOLD 12.3 M£ including premium
At our time, the treasures still exist, on the condition of knowing to see them.
A little more than one month ago, Christie's had announced in a press release the reappearance of a painting of Watteau presumedly destroyed for two centuries. The press had seized this information, rightly. Let us not forget it, but it is necessary to wait two more months for the sale, which will be done in London on July 8.
Entitled "la Surprise", this painting was known through a copy, and the owner was unaware of being in possession of an original. If as it is probable Christie's manages to sell it, the pockets of this happy British countryman will then have filled from at least 3 M£.
Of small size, it is an outdoor scene, elegant and dynamic, with feverish movement, with images typified according to the so specific technique of Watteau: the player of guitar, the couple of lovers, the puppy.
A masterpiece? Yes. One of the great biddings of the year? Probably not. The painting, whose exact dimensions are not revealed in the official statement, appears to be not larger than a paper sheet.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price obtained is also a surprise: £ 12.3 million charge included.
This painting had been announced well in advance by Christie's as one of the highlights of the season. It had the advantage of never being viewed before on the market and disadvantage of being small: 36x28 cm.
The market has thus confirmed the view of Christie's that this painting is a masterpiece of Watteau, and that Watteau is a major painter in the history of art. There is no doubt that we will not soon see a similar one reappear in a sale. A masterpiece that can be considered as single on the market has no price, but I think nobody could reasonably predict that it would be so high.
A little more than one month ago, Christie's had announced in a press release the reappearance of a painting of Watteau presumedly destroyed for two centuries. The press had seized this information, rightly. Let us not forget it, but it is necessary to wait two more months for the sale, which will be done in London on July 8.
Entitled "la Surprise", this painting was known through a copy, and the owner was unaware of being in possession of an original. If as it is probable Christie's manages to sell it, the pockets of this happy British countryman will then have filled from at least 3 M£.
Of small size, it is an outdoor scene, elegant and dynamic, with feverish movement, with images typified according to the so specific technique of Watteau: the player of guitar, the couple of lovers, the puppy.
A masterpiece? Yes. One of the great biddings of the year? Probably not. The painting, whose exact dimensions are not revealed in the official statement, appears to be not larger than a paper sheet.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price obtained is also a surprise: £ 12.3 million charge included.
This painting had been announced well in advance by Christie's as one of the highlights of the season. It had the advantage of never being viewed before on the market and disadvantage of being small: 36x28 cm.
The market has thus confirmed the view of Christie's that this painting is a masterpiece of Watteau, and that Watteau is a major painter in the history of art. There is no doubt that we will not soon see a similar one reappear in a sale. A masterpiece that can be considered as single on the market has no price, but I think nobody could reasonably predict that it would be so high.
Getty Museum Buys $100m Trove of Works https://t.co/bD86lPUUmX pic.twitter.com/lqH9vWiQf1
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) July 21, 2017
1733-1734 The Penthièvre-Orléans Tureen
1996 SOLD for $ 10.3M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
Appointed orfèvre du roi in 1723, Thomas Germain is the master of Rococo silverware. He carves on his pieces a plethora of meal elements, vegetables, artichokes, crayfish, shellfish, birds, entangled in the style of still life paintings. His realism suggests that he made casts from nature, according to a technique that he would have learned during his apprenticeship in Rome.
One of his masterpieces, made in 1733-1734, is a pair of covered soup tureens, with two handles in boar's head and six hog's feet, weighing more than 13 kg each including liner and stand.
This pair belonged to Henry Janssen, an English naturalized French in 1741 who was a courtier of the comte d'Eu, grandson of Louis XIV by Montespan. Janssen had a large collection of silverware, a symbol of opulence in his day.
In 1759 all French silverware is requisitioned to finance the Seven Years' War. Eu takes the opportunity to recover the Janssen collection which thus avoids being melted. This set constitutes the major part of the collection of the duc de Penthièvre, Eu's cousin and heir, which gathered 370 kg of silverware by the greatest silversmiths of the Louis XV period : Germain, Ballin, Balzac, Auguste, Durant.
230 kg are melted down after confiscation during the Révolution. The remainder constitutes after restitution to the future King Louis-Philippe, grandson of Penthièvre by his mother, the Penthièvre-Orléans service, restored and increased by Odiot and dispersed in the 20th century.
One of the boar-headed soup tureens is kept at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The other was sold for $ 10.3M including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 1996.
One of his masterpieces, made in 1733-1734, is a pair of covered soup tureens, with two handles in boar's head and six hog's feet, weighing more than 13 kg each including liner and stand.
This pair belonged to Henry Janssen, an English naturalized French in 1741 who was a courtier of the comte d'Eu, grandson of Louis XIV by Montespan. Janssen had a large collection of silverware, a symbol of opulence in his day.
In 1759 all French silverware is requisitioned to finance the Seven Years' War. Eu takes the opportunity to recover the Janssen collection which thus avoids being melted. This set constitutes the major part of the collection of the duc de Penthièvre, Eu's cousin and heir, which gathered 370 kg of silverware by the greatest silversmiths of the Louis XV period : Germain, Ballin, Balzac, Auguste, Durant.
230 kg are melted down after confiscation during the Révolution. The remainder constitutes after restitution to the future King Louis-Philippe, grandson of Penthièvre by his mother, the Penthièvre-Orléans service, restored and increased by Odiot and dispersed in the 20th century.
One of the boar-headed soup tureens is kept at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The other was sold for $ 10.3M including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 1996.
1763 Table à Ecrire with Sèvres Porcelain
2005 SOLD for € 6.9M including premium by Artcurial
narrated in 2020
Under the reign of Louis XV, the craft industry was managed by corporations whose perimeters were very strictly defined. The marchands-merciers are the only ones who may design furniture calling for several specialties. The cabinetmaker Cressent, who wanted his bronzes to be prepared in his workshop, was repudiated. The decoration of furniture with Sèvres porcelain is a specialty of the marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier.
The cabinetmaker Joseph Baumhauer, whose stamp is limited to his first name, creates furniture with simple shapes, embellished with metal, hard stones, finely chiseled bronzes and lacquer panels. He is a specialist of the top luxury and court-empowered, and his production is scarce.
The best Sèvres porcelains are marked with a code corresponding to the year, which today helps dating the furniture they adorn.
A bureau plat was assembled by Joseph using porcelain dated H for 1760. Three other examples of this model are known. One of them was sold for € 6.9M including premium by Artcurial on December 13, 2005 from lower estimate of € 800K.
This desk 76 x 114 x 58 cm is stamped by Joseph. It is in rosewood and amaranth veneer and opens with three drawers on the front. It is decorated all around with 24 plaques in Sèvres porcelain decorated with polychrome flowers. A third of the plaques bear the letter K for 1763. The decoration is completed by gilded bronzes.
The Graf von Cobenzl, diplomat and trusted man of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, was a client of Poirier. The desk sold by Artcurial is probably the "table à écrire incrustée de porcelaine de Sèvres" which is listed in his inventory after death.
The cabinetmaker Joseph Baumhauer, whose stamp is limited to his first name, creates furniture with simple shapes, embellished with metal, hard stones, finely chiseled bronzes and lacquer panels. He is a specialist of the top luxury and court-empowered, and his production is scarce.
The best Sèvres porcelains are marked with a code corresponding to the year, which today helps dating the furniture they adorn.
A bureau plat was assembled by Joseph using porcelain dated H for 1760. Three other examples of this model are known. One of them was sold for € 6.9M including premium by Artcurial on December 13, 2005 from lower estimate of € 800K.
This desk 76 x 114 x 58 cm is stamped by Joseph. It is in rosewood and amaranth veneer and opens with three drawers on the front. It is decorated all around with 24 plaques in Sèvres porcelain decorated with polychrome flowers. A third of the plaques bear the letter K for 1763. The decoration is completed by gilded bronzes.
The Graf von Cobenzl, diplomat and trusted man of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, was a client of Poirier. The desk sold by Artcurial is probably the "table à écrire incrustée de porcelaine de Sèvres" which is listed in his inventory after death.
1769 Fragonard out of his Time
2013 SOLD 17 M£ including premium
Like all painters of his time excepted Chardin, Fragonard varied his styles to find customers. Influenced by Boucher, he early found fame in the theme of very young frivolous women with their games and passions.
Fragonard made a small series of oils on canvas known under the generic title of Portraits de fantaisie. Only one of these artworks is dated : 1769, the year of his marriage. It is not by chance.
Close to the aristocracy, Fragonard endeavours at that time to demonstrate that he may revolutionize the art of portrait. These paintings are comparable to the tronies made by Rembrandt. The likeness to the sitter is not the most important.
The movement of shoulders and head brings energy and even violence. Strong colors evoke passion. Fancy costumes "à l'Espagnole" provide a theatrical dimension that also positions the work out of its time.
Influenced by Chardin, Fragonard understood the importance of color. This series of fantasy portraits is an essential link in the history of art between Rembrandt and Manet. He will be the great-granduncle of Berthe Morisot.
Few models have been identified with certainty. Brilliant intellectual, François-Henri d' Harcourt enjoyed his portrait to the point that his family kept it until 1971.
This oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm was then purchased at auction by Dr. Rau. Coming now from this prestigious collection, it is for sale to the benefit of UNICEF by Bonhams in London on December 5.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting has some exceptional qualities reinforced by the fact that it was one of the top masterpieces of the Rau collection and was sold for the benefit of UNICEF. It was sold for £ 17M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by Bonhams on YouTube. The image is shared on Wikimedia.
Fragonard made a small series of oils on canvas known under the generic title of Portraits de fantaisie. Only one of these artworks is dated : 1769, the year of his marriage. It is not by chance.
Close to the aristocracy, Fragonard endeavours at that time to demonstrate that he may revolutionize the art of portrait. These paintings are comparable to the tronies made by Rembrandt. The likeness to the sitter is not the most important.
The movement of shoulders and head brings energy and even violence. Strong colors evoke passion. Fancy costumes "à l'Espagnole" provide a theatrical dimension that also positions the work out of its time.
Influenced by Chardin, Fragonard understood the importance of color. This series of fantasy portraits is an essential link in the history of art between Rembrandt and Manet. He will be the great-granduncle of Berthe Morisot.
Few models have been identified with certainty. Brilliant intellectual, François-Henri d' Harcourt enjoyed his portrait to the point that his family kept it until 1971.
This oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm was then purchased at auction by Dr. Rau. Coming now from this prestigious collection, it is for sale to the benefit of UNICEF by Bonhams in London on December 5.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting has some exceptional qualities reinforced by the fact that it was one of the top masterpieces of the Rau collection and was sold for the benefit of UNICEF. It was sold for £ 17M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by Bonhams on YouTube. The image is shared on Wikimedia.
1770 Un Philosophe lisant by Fragonard
2021 SOLD for € 7.7M by Enchères Champagne
In the mid 1760s Fragonard makes his hand to the tronies in the manner of Rembrandt. The chiaroscuro highlights the hair and beard of the old men, a theme more recently used by Tiepolo. The brushwork is a fa presto thick impasto. Une tête de vieillard vue de face, oil on canvas 42 x 34 cm, was sold for $ 1.37M by Christie's on January 26, 2011, lot 47.
The step further is the genre scene staging such characters. The Hamburger Kunsthalle has a reading philosopher, oil on oval canvas 52 x 74 cm dated around 1764 by that museum. The old man is scrutinizing with some excitement a paper stack in front of him. He is leaning with his left arm on other papers for offsetting his poor eyesight in that task. The contrast is dramatic between the face and cloth in the shadow and the brightly lit shaggy hair, thick beard and paper.
A previously unknown autograph replica has just surfaced during an inventory near Epernay. The philosopher is featured in a similar position excepted that the head is in full profile, providing a dynamic impetus in the flamboyant style of Fragonard. The creamy white is reminding Chardin. It is dated circa 1768-1770 by Cabinet Turquin.
Forgotten after being auctioned in 1779, this oil on oval canvas 46 x 57 cm is in great condition in its original frame. It was sold for € 7.7M at the Hôtel des Ventes d'Epernay on June 26, 2021 from a lower estimate of € 1.5M. It is illustrated in the pre sale release shared by the bidding platform Interencheres. Please watch the video shared by Artcento, where the painting is narrated by Stéphane Pinta from Cabinet Turquin.
The step further is the genre scene staging such characters. The Hamburger Kunsthalle has a reading philosopher, oil on oval canvas 52 x 74 cm dated around 1764 by that museum. The old man is scrutinizing with some excitement a paper stack in front of him. He is leaning with his left arm on other papers for offsetting his poor eyesight in that task. The contrast is dramatic between the face and cloth in the shadow and the brightly lit shaggy hair, thick beard and paper.
A previously unknown autograph replica has just surfaced during an inventory near Epernay. The philosopher is featured in a similar position excepted that the head is in full profile, providing a dynamic impetus in the flamboyant style of Fragonard. The creamy white is reminding Chardin. It is dated circa 1768-1770 by Cabinet Turquin.
Forgotten after being auctioned in 1779, this oil on oval canvas 46 x 57 cm is in great condition in its original frame. It was sold for € 7.7M at the Hôtel des Ventes d'Epernay on June 26, 2021 from a lower estimate of € 1.5M. It is illustrated in the pre sale release shared by the bidding platform Interencheres. Please watch the video shared by Artcento, where the painting is narrated by Stéphane Pinta from Cabinet Turquin.
1778 Commode Royale by Riesener
1999 SOLD for £ 7M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2019 before the sale of another commode by Christie's (see below)
The luxury of the furniture is a major element for the prestige of the kings of France. King Henri IV creates a charge of Intendant général des meubles de la Couronne. This administration manages new commissions of furniture and objects for the royal residences and is responsible for inventories and maintenance.
Premises are dedicated to these operations. In 1757 King Louis XV decides to build a hotel specially conceived for storing the furniture. Operational in 1772 and completed in 1774, this masterpiece by Ange-Jacques Gabriel is today the Hôtel de la Marine, on Place Louis XV completed by the same architect in 1772 and later Place de la Concorde.
Successor to Oeben whose widow he married, Jean-Henri Riesener specializes in luxury furniture. In 1774 he is appointed Ebéniste ordinaire du mobilier de la couronne.
The top luxury is obviously reserved for the king. Two commodes are made respectively in 1776 and 1778 by Riesener for the cabinet of King Louis XVI in Fontainebleau. The price paid by the king for the earlier commode had been 6,870 livres. The total amount of sales by Riesener for the court from 1774 to 1784 exceeded one million livres.
The 1778 Fontainebleau commode was sold for £ 7M including premium by Christie's on July 8, 1999 over a lower estimate of £ 1.5M, lot 201. This à ressaut shaped piece 95 cm high, 165 cm wide, 63 cm deep is in ormolu-mounted amaranth, sycamore, mahogany, parquetry and marquetry.
On April 30, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 1.16M including premium a commode of similar size, shape and materials made in 1774 by Riesener for the chief officer of the Garde-Meuble. This piece had possibly been a prototype for the commodes royales.
Premises are dedicated to these operations. In 1757 King Louis XV decides to build a hotel specially conceived for storing the furniture. Operational in 1772 and completed in 1774, this masterpiece by Ange-Jacques Gabriel is today the Hôtel de la Marine, on Place Louis XV completed by the same architect in 1772 and later Place de la Concorde.
Successor to Oeben whose widow he married, Jean-Henri Riesener specializes in luxury furniture. In 1774 he is appointed Ebéniste ordinaire du mobilier de la couronne.
The top luxury is obviously reserved for the king. Two commodes are made respectively in 1776 and 1778 by Riesener for the cabinet of King Louis XVI in Fontainebleau. The price paid by the king for the earlier commode had been 6,870 livres. The total amount of sales by Riesener for the court from 1774 to 1784 exceeded one million livres.
The 1778 Fontainebleau commode was sold for £ 7M including premium by Christie's on July 8, 1999 over a lower estimate of £ 1.5M, lot 201. This à ressaut shaped piece 95 cm high, 165 cm wide, 63 cm deep is in ormolu-mounted amaranth, sycamore, mahogany, parquetry and marquetry.
On April 30, 2019, Christie's sold for $ 1.16M including premium a commode of similar size, shape and materials made in 1774 by Riesener for the chief officer of the Garde-Meuble. This piece had possibly been a prototype for the commodes royales.
1786 Commode by Carlin and Weisweiler
1999 SOLD for FF 46M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
On December 11, 1999, Christie's sold for FF 46M including premium, which would later correspond to € 7M, a Louis XVI commode à encoignures stamped by both Carlin and Weisweiler, from a lower estimate of FF 15M.
This 91 x 135 x 51 cm piece of furniture responds to the fashion for inlays of luxurious materials launched under Louis XV by the marchand-mercier Poirier. It is in ebony veneer, blackened wood, copper and pewter marquetry, relief inlays of pietra dura from the Gobelins, Florentine pictures in pietra dura marquetry, and adorned with gilded bronzes.
Daguerre succeeded Poirier in 1777. The cabinetmaker Carlin, who was one of the major suppliers of Poirier and Daguerre, died in 1785. Weisweiler took over de facto from Carlin for supplies to Daguerre.
The Florentine plaques constitute the major element of the decoration of that commode. They had been recovered from some cabinet made around 1700 in the Grand Ducal workshops. Out of fashion, the monumental Florentine cabinets in the French royal collections had been sold by the Garde Meuble from 1741.
The commode is not listed in the inventory after Carlin's death and its mark is undoubtedly posthumous, before his widow remarried with another cabinetmaker in 1786.
Daguerre settles permanently in 1789 in London where the Prince of Wales, future George IV, is furnishing in the greatest luxury his new residence of Carlton House.
The inventory of the Carlton House Council Salon, carried out in 1793, lists two pietra dura commodes, similar to each other. One of them, still in the British Royal Collection and stamped by Weisweiler, is probably the commode sold by James Christie in March 1791 directly from the stock transferred to London by Daguerre. The other, which no longer appears in 1806 in the collection of the Prince of Wales, is probably the Carlin-Weisweiler commode.
This 91 x 135 x 51 cm piece of furniture responds to the fashion for inlays of luxurious materials launched under Louis XV by the marchand-mercier Poirier. It is in ebony veneer, blackened wood, copper and pewter marquetry, relief inlays of pietra dura from the Gobelins, Florentine pictures in pietra dura marquetry, and adorned with gilded bronzes.
Daguerre succeeded Poirier in 1777. The cabinetmaker Carlin, who was one of the major suppliers of Poirier and Daguerre, died in 1785. Weisweiler took over de facto from Carlin for supplies to Daguerre.
The Florentine plaques constitute the major element of the decoration of that commode. They had been recovered from some cabinet made around 1700 in the Grand Ducal workshops. Out of fashion, the monumental Florentine cabinets in the French royal collections had been sold by the Garde Meuble from 1741.
The commode is not listed in the inventory after Carlin's death and its mark is undoubtedly posthumous, before his widow remarried with another cabinetmaker in 1786.
Daguerre settles permanently in 1789 in London where the Prince of Wales, future George IV, is furnishing in the greatest luxury his new residence of Carlton House.
The inventory of the Carlton House Council Salon, carried out in 1793, lists two pietra dura commodes, similar to each other. One of them, still in the British Royal Collection and stamped by Weisweiler, is probably the commode sold by James Christie in March 1791 directly from the stock transferred to London by Daguerre. The other, which no longer appears in 1806 in the collection of the Prince of Wales, is probably the Carlin-Weisweiler commode.
1788 The Ambassador from Mysore
2019 SOLD for $ 7.2M including premium
Louise-Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun becomes in 1778 an official painter of Queen Marie-Antoinette. The court highly appreciates her charming and exquisite portraits. Her pictures of the queen, born like her in 1755, are of a young woman dressed simply and audaciously altogether. She will have this comment on that carefree period : "Women were reigning then, the Revolution has dethroned them."
The arrival in Paris in July 1788 of three ambassadors from Mysore with a suite of about thirty people is a sensational and picturesque event. Great enemy of the English, the Sultan of Mysore was preparing a new war and hoped to be helped by France. The sumptuous Muslim clothes of his diplomats ensure their credibility.
Elisabeth remembers opportunely that one of her earliest ambitions had been to be a history painter. With the indispensable support of King Louis XVI, she obtains the authorization to paint the portraits of these exotic lords.
On January 30 in New York, Sotheby's sells the full length portrait of the leader of the delegation, lot 48 estimated $ 4M.
This oil on canvas 226 x 136 cm shows the white bearded man holding an oriental sword with curved blade. This composition is reminiscent of the portrait of the young Polynesian prince Omai by Reynolds in 1776. The exotic traveler is shown life-size, standing in front of a landscape in a counter-dive view that increases his dignity.
The image shared by Wikimedia is trimmed on the left and lower edges.
The arrival in Paris in July 1788 of three ambassadors from Mysore with a suite of about thirty people is a sensational and picturesque event. Great enemy of the English, the Sultan of Mysore was preparing a new war and hoped to be helped by France. The sumptuous Muslim clothes of his diplomats ensure their credibility.
Elisabeth remembers opportunely that one of her earliest ambitions had been to be a history painter. With the indispensable support of King Louis XVI, she obtains the authorization to paint the portraits of these exotic lords.
On January 30 in New York, Sotheby's sells the full length portrait of the leader of the delegation, lot 48 estimated $ 4M.
This oil on canvas 226 x 136 cm shows the white bearded man holding an oriental sword with curved blade. This composition is reminiscent of the portrait of the young Polynesian prince Omai by Reynolds in 1776. The exotic traveler is shown life-size, standing in front of a landscape in a counter-dive view that increases his dignity.
The image shared by Wikimedia is trimmed on the left and lower edges.
1791 The Pearls of Queen Marie-Antoinette
2018 SOLD for CHF 36.4M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
For her marriage to the future King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette received an impressive quantity of diamonds, rubies and pearls from her mother, the Empress Marie Therese, and from her husband's grandfather, King Louis XV. She loved jewelry and kept improving her collection.
During early phase of the Revolution, Marie-Antoinette who is still the Queen plans to flee to Austria. In January 1791, helped by her chambermaid, she prepares a cassette with her favorite jewelry. The jewels reach Vienna but the king and queen are arrested in Varennes in June 1791.
In 1795 Madame Royale, the only survivor of the children of the royal couple, is freed from the revolutionary prisons and goes into exile in Vienna. The emperor Franz II returns the jewels to her while keeping the rubies in compensation for a pension granted to the princess. In Madame Royale's legacy in 1851, one third of the jewelry is attributed to her niece Louise, Duchess of Parma.
Around 1930 Marie-Anne of Austria, wife of the acting Duke of Parma, describes in an inventory four jewels in pearls and diamonds of which she attests that they come from Marie-Antoinette. These pieces, which had never been published or exhibited, were included in the auction of the royal jewelry from the Bourbon-Parma collection by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018.
Lot 97, a three-row pearl necklace with a diamond clasp, was sold for CHF 2.3M including premium over a lower estimate of CHF 200K. The next two lots, a necklace and a pair of earrings, were sold for CHF 450K each including premium.
Lot 100 was a 15.90 x 18.35 x 25.85mm drop shaped pearl assembled in a pendant with a large diamond clasp and a bow of small diamonds. This interesting souvenir of a queen who had desired to live in the utmost luxury was sold for CHF 36.4M including premium over an estimate of CHF 1M to 2M.
During early phase of the Revolution, Marie-Antoinette who is still the Queen plans to flee to Austria. In January 1791, helped by her chambermaid, she prepares a cassette with her favorite jewelry. The jewels reach Vienna but the king and queen are arrested in Varennes in June 1791.
In 1795 Madame Royale, the only survivor of the children of the royal couple, is freed from the revolutionary prisons and goes into exile in Vienna. The emperor Franz II returns the jewels to her while keeping the rubies in compensation for a pension granted to the princess. In Madame Royale's legacy in 1851, one third of the jewelry is attributed to her niece Louise, Duchess of Parma.
Around 1930 Marie-Anne of Austria, wife of the acting Duke of Parma, describes in an inventory four jewels in pearls and diamonds of which she attests that they come from Marie-Antoinette. These pieces, which had never been published or exhibited, were included in the auction of the royal jewelry from the Bourbon-Parma collection by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018.
Lot 97, a three-row pearl necklace with a diamond clasp, was sold for CHF 2.3M including premium over a lower estimate of CHF 200K. The next two lots, a necklace and a pair of earrings, were sold for CHF 450K each including premium.
Lot 100 was a 15.90 x 18.35 x 25.85mm drop shaped pearl assembled in a pendant with a large diamond clasp and a bow of small diamonds. This interesting souvenir of a queen who had desired to live in the utmost luxury was sold for CHF 36.4M including premium over an estimate of CHF 1M to 2M.
Marie Antoinette’s pendant sets auction record for a natural pearl at @Sothebys in Geneva:https://t.co/1glDvfpi3w pic.twitter.com/5z2iNTmd8a
— AntiquesTradeGazette (@ATG_Editorial) November 15, 2018
