French Royal Silkwork Portrait of Marie Thérèse of France, Duchesse D’Angoulême, Daughter of Marie Antoinette France, Circa 1814–1824

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Description

French Royal Silkwork Portrait of Marie Thérèse of France, Duchesse d’Angoulême, Daughter of Marie Antoinette
France, Circa 1814–1824

This French … Read more French Royal Silkwork Portrait of Marie Thérèse of France, Duchesse d’Angoulême, Daughter of Marie Antoinette
France, Circa 1814–1824

This French silkwork picture portrays Marie Thérèse of France (1778–1851), Duchesse d’Angoulême — the only child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to survive the Revolution. It is worked in the needle-painting technique of the early 19th century: the face, curled hair and ruffled collerette are painted in watercolor on cream silk, the white dress is embroidered in ivory floss silks with a black silk band at the waist, and the bust sits within a double oval of couched gold metallic thread. Her title, MADAME Dsse D’ANGOULEME, is embroidered in black silk above her head, with a fleur-de-lis in each corner and a trailing green leafy border framing the whole. It is presented in a molded gilt frame with a decorative inner band.

The fleurs-de-lis and the Duchesse title date the piece to the first decade of the Bourbon Restoration, between 1814, when the monarchy — and its lily emblem — returned to France, and 1824, when Marie Thérèse became Madame la Dauphine. Embroidered portraits of this kind were made as private royalist keepsakes and survive in far smaller numbers than the portrait prints they follow. A framed piece of genuine royal history, it hangs beautifully among portrait miniatures, silhouettes and other small works in a hallway, library or dressing room.

Dimensions
Height: 12¾ inches (32.4 cm)
Width: 11½ inches (29.2 cm)
Depth: 1¾ inches (4.4 cm)
Dimensions are of the giltwood frame.

Condition
Good, with wear consistent with age and use; light even toning and minor creasing to the silk ground.

(Ref: NY8448-urr) See less