Queen Marie-Antoinette is, along with Napoleon 1, the historical figure who fascinates the most collectors in France.There was some selective buying at a Christie’s sale this week devoted to a collection of personal belongings of the tragic Queen.The auction house offered 120 works of art not seen in a public sale in decades.Although not mentioned in the catalogue, many connoisseurs said that the objects came from the collection of Baroness Eliane de Rothschild. The items were gathered over many years, and she retained pieces she was unwilling to part with.The total proceeds of the sale came to €659,000 with premium, with 83% sold by lot and 82% by value.The star lot, a rare copy of the album of the original drawings and plans of the Petit Trianon by Pierre Mique (estimated at €200,000 to €300,000), found no buyer, possibly because, as a national treasure, it was forbidden to leave FranceOther highlights remained unsold, such as a portrait of the Count of Saxe attributed to the pastellist Quentin de La Tour (est. €50,000 to €70,000), and a pair of Louis XVI Ormolu three-branch wall-lights, one of them designed by Pierre-Philippe Thomire for the Queen’s private bathroom (est. €60,000-€100,000).More encouragingly, memorabilia with strong symbolic and emotional content fared better. A basket that the Queen used when she was held at the Conciergerie sold for €10,625, about 10 times its low estimate. An autographed piece written by the young Archduchess Marie-Antoinette to her lady-in-waiting achieved €35,000, significantly better than its €7,000 to €10,000 estimate.
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