Museum Sunday: A Sèvres plate from a service commissioned by Marie Antoinette

Museum Sunday: a day for highlighting objects, books, and other items from the collections and lives of Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries.

 [credit: Pescheteau-Badin, via Auction.fr]

A Sèvres porcelain plate from a 'riche en couleurs et riche en or' service commissioned by Marie Antoinette in 1784. In February of 1784, the director of the Sèvres factory wrote that: "The Queen ... ordered a full service with the dishes. Her Majesty is in a hurry, there are 22 workers working."

During a visit from Gustav III of Sweden, Louis XVI gifted the service to the Swedish king as a diplomatic gift; Sèvres then quickly produced a second service, which was delivered to Marie Antoinette on August 26th, 1784. Pieces from this service are kept in museums and private collections around the world.

Film Friday: A set photo from Marie Antoinette (1938)

Film Friday: a day for sharing movie stills, production art, film analysis and anything film related!

  [credit: IMDB]

A production-made set photo taken on the set of MGM's Marie Antoinette (1938).  This was the bedroom set used for the "wedding night" scene following the wedding of Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste.

Book Thursday: Coming this February: Marie-Antoinette et ses soeurs, Tome 4: Adieu Vienne!

Book Thursday: a day for anything and everything books; reviews, highlights, and more.

 [credit: Amazon.fr]

The fourth book in the 'Marie-Antoinette et ses soeurs' series is due to be released next month. A translation of the Amazon.fr synopsis:

A page turns at the court of Vienna. Marie-Antoinette is twelve years old and is preparing to become queen of France. The young archduchess must learn French and good manners. In the center of everyone's attention, Marie-Antoinette knows that she has no room for error. An incredible destiny awaits!

I have the first two books in this series, but I've yet to tackle them. Based on the title and synopsis, I wonder if this fourth book will be the last in the series!

Portrait Wednesday: A miniature of a woman in a brown chemise gown

Portrait Wednesday: a day for sharing portraits of Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries.

This miniature portrait of a young woman by an unknown artist was last auctioned in 2004 by Bonhams. The woman is wearing a fashionable chemise gown in a color that isn't seen very often--a warm chestnut brown, complimented with a lace fichu and matching blue hair and waist ribbons.

Museum Sunday: A pair of pots from Marie Antoinette's perles et barbeaux service

Museum Sunday: a day for highlighting objects, books, and other items from the collections and lives of Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries.

 [image credit: (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot]

These small pots are part of the most recognizable and popular of all the Marie Antoinette Sèvres services: the perles et barbeaux ("pearls and cornflowers") service, which was commissioned from Sèvres in 1781 and exhibited at Versailles on January 2nd, 1782. The art design is believed to have been done by Michel-Gabriel Commelin and according to RMN, these particular pieces were painted by Jean-Pierre Fumez.

While the exact destination of the original service is unknown, it is generally believed that the service was used for the Petit Trianon due to the simplistic design which matches the aesthetic Marie Antoinette cultivated at her private estate.

Unlike a few other Sèvres designs created for Marie Antoinette which were sometimes repeated for other members of the royal family, the official Sèvres factory perles et barbeaux service was reserved exclusively for Marie Antoinette. However, its design was such an immense success that it was copied by other factories throughout Europe.

The full service consisted of 295 pieces, including 96 plates worth 30 livres each. As of today, the service is scattered around the world in both museums and private collections. These particular pots are in the collection of the Chateau de Versailles.

'What They Said' Saturday: "It was done with dignity and in such a way as to displease no one."

'What They Said' Saturday: a day for quotations of all kinds, including excerpts from letters written by Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries, memoirs, non-fiction, novels and everything in between.

Although the rivalry between the dauphine Marie Antoinette and Louis XV's mistress Madame du Barry would eventually cause a months-long feud at court, Marie Antoinette did not enter Versailles with a mind to snub the king's favorite.

On June 15th, 1770, the Austrian ambassador Mercy reported to Maria Theresa that Marie Antoinette received Madame du Barry cordially:

"Madame du Barry thought it necessary to go and pay court to [the dauphine] one morning. She was received simply and easily. It was done with dignity and in such a way as to displease no one." [translation: Olivier Bernier, Secrets of Marie Antoinette]

This is a far cry from Marie Antoinette's later behavior of snubbing the favorite, which caused such a furor that it was a subject of discussion between Maria Theresa, Louis XV and the ambassador Mercy. Yet Marie Antoinette's behavior did not come from thin air: Louis XV's daughters, the 'Mesdames,' encouraged the young Marie Antoinette to show disdain for Madame du Barry. 

Ambassador Mercy would share his thoughts on the subject with Maria Theresa, noting that it seemed as if the king's daughters were using Marie Antoinette to express what they dared not:

"It has always struck me that Mesdames, while encouraging Mme la dauphine to be severe and silent [to Madame to Barry] act in a measured way themselves in their behavior to [her], and this conduct is all the more strange as it would appear that they wish to use Mme la dauphine as an instrument of a hatred that they themselves dare not admit." [translation: Margaret Anne Macleod, There Were Three of Us in the Relationship]

Eventually, of course, Marie Antoinette would break away from the influence of her new aunts and placate both the king and Madame du Barry with those famous words; "There are many people at Versailles today."

Film Friday: A set photo from Marie Antoinette (1938)

Film Friday: a day for sharing movie stills, production art, film analysis and anything film related!

 [credit: IMDB]

A production-made set photo taken on the set of MGM's Marie Antoinette (1938). This shot offers a rare glimpse of the lighting rigs above one of the palace interior sets.

Book Thursday: Upcoming Release: Jane Austen Embroidery: Regency Patterns Reimagined for Modern Stitchers

Book Thursday: a day for anything and everything books; reviews, highlights, and more.

[credit: Amazon/Dover Publications]

I absolutely cannot wait for this book to be released! Jane Austen Embroidery: Regency Patterns Reimagined for Modern Stitchers is a collection of 15 modern sewing projects inspired by designs featured in Lady's Magazine (1770-1832). The projects featured in the book included embroidery patterns for an apron, napkin set, muslin shawl, and more. According to the official synopsis on Amazon, the book will include "fascinating historical features, quotes from Austen's letters and novels, enchanting drawings, clear instructions, and inspirational project photography trace the patterns' origins and illustrate their imaginative restoration for modern use." 

My embroidery needles are ready!

Portrait Wednesday: A colorized miniature of Madame Elisabeth

Portrait Wednesday: a day for sharing portraits of Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries.

 [credit: original image via Metropolitan Museum of Art; colorized by me]

I came across this miniature via the online Met collection and decided to spend a few minutes colorizing it. When I saw the miniature I thought that it looked a bit like Madame Elisabeth and sure enough, according to the Met's "Signature, Inscription and Markings" information, this portrait is inscribed as depicting Madame Elisabeth, sister of Louis XVI. It is from the collection of the famous collector Bernard-Franck, a veteran of the 1870 Franco-Prussian War who was known for his important collection of paintings from the late 18th and early 19th century. 

The miniature is undated but given the style, outfit and apparent age of Elisabeth (assuming the inscription is correct) then it is likely late 1780s.

Museum Sunday: The Royal Family's Prayer Book

Museum Sunday: a day for highlighting objects, books, and other items from the collections and lives of Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries.

[image credit: Millon et Associés Paris, via Auction.fr]

The above book, which was auctioned in 2017, is a prayer book from the collection of Marie Antoinette, which accompanied her and the royal family to the Temple after their imprisonment. According to one of the previous owners, who gifted it to the comte de Chambord, the book’s spine was prone to opening on pages 138, 310, and 364; meaning, these were pages that Marie Antoinette and the royal family frequently returned to during their captivity.

The book has been kept closed for preservation for more than 150 years and has almost entirely lost this feature, but upon inspection for the auction, it was discovered that it still opens to page 310, which includes the passage: 

“Scarcely is he [Jesus] raised to the sight of all these people, that he is insulted, and charged on all sides with curses and reproaches. In the end, he makes one last effort to raise his eyes to Heaven: My Father, he exclaims, forgive them, I pray you, because they know not what they do.”

One can easily imagine the royal family finding meaning and comfort from this particular passage. 

Film Friday: A set photo from Marie Antoinette (1938)

Film Friday: a day for sharing movie stills, production art, film analysis and anything film related!

  [credit: IMDB]

A production-made set photo taken on the set of MGM's Marie Antoinette (1938). This set was memorably used for the moving scene between Marie Antoinette and the princesse de Lamballe, when Lamballe remarks that her place is by the queen's side.

Book Thursday: Coming in January 2020: Élisabeth, princesse à Versailles, Tome 15: Disparition dans le jardins

Book Thursday: a day for anything and everything books; reviews, highlights, and more.

Another Élisabeth, princesse à Versailles is on the way! The children's novel series loosely based on the youth of Madame Élisabeth de France has been a surprise hit, with the 15th book in the series set to come out on January 8th, 2020. The book series weaves real events in Élisabeth's life with fictional characters and adventures, allowing young readers to glimpse the life of the real Élisabeth with some added twists.

In this 15th book, Élisabeth witnesses a kidnapping but finds that none of the adults believe her. With her friend Colin, who discovers a coded message at the scene of the crime, Élisabeth attempts to solve the mystery and free the woman she saw being kidnapped.