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Marie Antoinette had a penchant for the finer things. So much so, in fact, that his frivolous spending contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution and ultimately led to his execution. No one can dispute that the Gallic queen had impeccable taste. For proof of this, look no further than some of Antoinette’s beautiful furniture that will hit the auction block next week.
The two prized antiques, which will be part of Christie’s Paris Extraordinary Sale on November 22, come from different eras of design and illustrate Her Majesty’s penchant for the lavish.
The first piece is a commode made by Pierre Macret in 1770 for the then 15-year-old future queen Antoinette. The decorative dresser is the epitome of it le goût chinois, which was the height of good taste at that moment in history, according to Christie’s. The chest of drawers is equipped tôle-dorée doors that curve like waves and feature detailed chinoiserie landscapes.
Christie’s
The second piece was made for the Queen almost 20 years later and is a good example of her constantly evolving design eye. The pastel blue armchair is part of a set designed by Parisian maker Georges Jacob in a pseudo-classical Etruscan style. Apparently this was the fashion in the late 1780s. Unfortunately, the royal son was only able to enjoy his new Etruscan fauteuil in his Versailles apartment for a few years before it was sent to the guillotine in 1793.
After Antoinette’s death, the revolutionary government sold all 17,000 pieces of her extravagant furniture. As a result, relics are now extremely difficult to obtain. They are also expensive. The 250-year-old Macret dresser is expected to fetch between $832,000 and $1.25 million, while the Jacobs fauteuil has a pre-auction estimate of $104,000 to $208,000. However, don’t be surprised if the duo aims for more. Last year, a pair of the Queen’s diamond bracelets smashed pre-auction estimates and sold for more than $8 million. Sacrebleu.
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