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A Taste of Versailles, Part II

9/4/2012

By Gabrielle Ferreira

This summer has brought a little taste of Versailles to Museum Textile Services. In my previous blog I told you about Wheaton College's 18th-century Robe à L’Anglaise originally belonging to the Duchesse de Choiseul (1734-1808). In this post I will tell you a little more about the Duchesse behind the dress...

Portrait of the Duchesse de Choiseul.

The Duchesse de Choiseul, born Louise Honorine Crozat du Châtel, was a member of the French elite. Her family’s immense wealth sprung out of the ingenuity of her grandfather Antoine Crozat (ca.1655-1738). Antoine, along with his brother Pierre, were merchants and amassed a great fortune for their family during their lifetime. Antoine’s wealth even led him to become the first private owner of French Louisiana in 1712. Antoine soon became the financial counselor to Louis XIV.

At the age of 12, the Duchesse was betrothed to Etienne-Francois de Choiseul (ca. 1719-1785). Her new husband was a soldier and a diplomat, and some sources suggest he was the inspiration for the character of the Vicompte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos. By other accounts, they had an extremely happy marriage that lasted nearly 30 years. Some sources paint a less flattering picture of the Duchesse as a tyrant.

Portrait of Étienne-Françios de Choiseul by Charles van Loo.

Together with her husband, the Duchesse de Choiseul traveled to Rome, and then Vienna, where Etienne-Francois had secured a post with the help of his patroness, Madame de Pompadour. Etienne-Francois was a principal author of the Second Treaty of Versailles, which united France and Austria against Prussia in May, 1757. When the Austrian beauty Marie Antoinette married France's Louis XVI in 1770, the Duc de Choiseul took it as a personal victory.

What did her husband's political career mean for the Duchesse? It would have cemented her position in society and required her to dress for court. Her Robe à L’Anglaise reflects the style and fashion that grew out of the reign of Marie Antoinette. The fine silk, generous rouching, lace, and chenille trim all attest to the wearer's wealth and would have been a requirement for attendance at the court of Versailles.

Detail of the Robe à L’Anglaise of the Duchesse de Choiseul during treatment. Courtesy of Wheaton College.

The Duchesse gracefully survived the French Revolution, and we are delighted here at MTS that her Robe à L’Anglaise made it to the 21st century.

For further readings on the Duchesse and her fashion, see:

A Duchesse of Versailles : The Love Story of Louise, Duchesse de Choiseul (1961) by Margaret Trouncer

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution (2007) by Caroline Weber.

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A Taste of Versailles, Part I

8/27/2012

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by Gabrielle Ferreira

This past May I graduated from the small yet well-known institution, Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. Since the Fall of 2009 I have helped research, display and condition report the College’s Permanent Collection. Sure I have my favorite objects, but the College’s 18th century Robe à l’Anglaise, once belonging to Duchesse de Choiseul of France, certainly stands out. I was so excited to learn that the dress would be undergoing conservation during my internship at Museum Textile Services. And that I would be part of the treatment team!

c 1780 dress and

skirt. Courtesy of Wheaton College.

The Robe à l’Anglaise was created in France circa 1780 during the reign Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Although there are some 19th century alterations, the dress is representative of 18th century French fashion. Wheaton College purchased the dress from Edgar L. Ashley of Foxboro, Massachusetts, in 1934 in order to expand the institution's textile collection. The Robe à l’Anglaise is one object in the collection that is continuously researched and studied by students and faculty.

The author surface cleaning the Robe à l’Anglaise at Museum Textile Services. Courtesy of Wheaton College.

The Robe à l’Anglaise has been apart of my life for nearly a year since I began inventorying Wheaton's textile collection in November, 2011. Now as an intern at MTS, I am excited to continue learning about this dress from a different perspective. Treatment began with four days of detailed, gentle vacuuming, a task I shared with fellow Wheaton graduate and MTS intern Michelle Drummey. The dress is in almost perfect condition, so only minor spot cleaning were necessary. Next, a few small repairs were made with hand stitching and cotton patches where necessary. The Robe à l’Anglaise was then humidified to allow the pleats to recover from years of storage in a too-small archival box. This conservation treatment will improve the dress's preservation level and ensure its continued use as a teaching object at the college.

Pleats before humidification

Pleats after humidification

In the upcoming weeks Museum Textile Services will build a custom gender-neutral archival manikin that Wheaton College can use to display various costume items from their collection. In November, Camille Breeze will return to Wheaton as a visiting scholar to work with students to convert this basic manikin into an appropriate support for the outlandish shape worn at the court of Louis XVI. The Robe à l’Anglaise will then be displayed in the exhibition 100 Years, 100 Objects, honoring Wheaton College's 100th anniversary.

Example of a c 1780 Robe à l’Anglaise from the internet.

Stay tuned for my next blog, in which I will teach you more about the remarkable woman for whom this dress was made, the Duchesse de Choiseul.

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Who Was Ludovicus Rex?

7/16/2012

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by Michelle Drummey

Sometimes a big mystery can come in a small package. Museum Textile Services recently acquired a jar of 20th-century buttons to aid in conservation treatments, such as replacing missing buttons from garments. Of all the buttons, a single one has inspired curiosity in the MTS team.

Front of MTS button

Crafted from what appears to be thin brass-colored metal, the stamped face of the hollow button bears an image of two figures surrounding a crown atop a crest or shield. Circling the image is text reading, “LUDOVICUS REX PLURES NON CAPIT ORBIS,” which translates as, “There is no room in the world for more than one King Ludovicus.” While this button is clearly modern, I wondered if it is a reproduction of an older design. As it turns out, these buttons are popping up throughout Europe, as well as in in Russia and the United States. The internet is abuzz with button collectors and even numismatists trying to figure out who King Ludovicus was.

A similar, and apparently older button from a Polish website.

The challenge is that the Latin name Ludovicus can translate into a number of names, including Louis, Ludwig, or even Luigi. Ironically, while the button states that there can only be one King Ludovicus, history says otherwise, as Kings bearing various forms of the name Louis reigned across Europe, as far back as the time of Charlemagne.

Heraldic Crest of King Ludwig II of Bavaria

Although I’m no expert on buttons or European heraldry, the image encircled by the text may be the key. At the very center of the button are three cross-like shapes within an emblem resembling a crest, topped by a crown. After comparing our button to other examples, it seems that those three shapes may actually be fleurs-de-lis. I discovered that our button actually looks a lot like the insignia of French monarchy during the 17th and 18th centuries. An almost identical motif can be seen in this photograph of a carved ceiling at Versailles.

Similar imagery within a gilded ceiling at Versailles. Photo by Tara Bradford.

It appears, therefore, that Ludovicus Rex may refer to King Louis of France...but there was more than one King Louis, of course. The Palace of Versailles, where the above image above was taken, was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790, included Louis XIII through Louis XVI.

Still, some researchers claim that the King referred to on our button was King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who notably built the castle which stood as inspiration for the iconic Sleeping Beauty castle of Disney fame. Will we ever know who King Ludovicus is? Perhaps one day, with the help of specialists, we may.

20th-century, cast aluminum button.

If you are interested in learning more about buttons you can contact a society dedicated to the collection and preservation of buttons such as the National Button Society or visit one of the numerous museums dedicated to them, such as the Waterbury Button Museum in Connecticut.

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A Taste of Versailles, Part II

A Taste of Versailles, Part I

Who Was Ludovicus Rex?

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