Today we’re going on Antiques Diva® Tour No Passport Required!

• We’re going to do a virtual tour through the centuries discussing Style.

• There is NO BETTER Place to start a Style Tour than in France - French Design throughout the centuries has influenced how the rest of le monde lives.

• We’ll discuss Louis 14th, 15th and 16th

• Afterwards I would love for join me for a Champagne Brunch

An Antiques Diva Tour

The Antiques Diva®• I own Europe’s largest antiques touring and

sourcing company.

• We lead one on one customized antique buying tours in 11 countries and I have 19 guides.

• We work with tourists and the trade –antique dealers and interior designers sourcing antiques abroad.

• In essence we’re European Pickers!

• On tour we translate, we negotiate and we liaise buyers with international shippers to help get your goods home sweet home across the pond.

• For those times when you can’t travel in person we offer Buying Services Shopping On Your Behalf.

Toma Clark HainesChief Executive Diva

The Antiques Diva® & Co European Tours

www.antiquesdiva.com

In The Beginning

• I’m American and have lived inEurope 15 years - I lived 5 years in Paris, 4 ½ in Amsterdam and currently reside in Berlin

• I’m a Rancher’s Daughter from Oklahoma but my whole life I dreamed of far-away places.

• Other kids drew Houses with Picket Fences…. I drew a Palazzo in Venice.

• In 1999 I moved overseas and it changed my life…. My hobby for antiques lead me to writing an antique blog and that blog became a business…. THE LARGEST EUROPEAN ANTIQUES TOURING COMPANY.

• If France were the sun and antique shoppers were the world then our buying patterns revolve around French finery as if one of the Louis cast a spell to magnetically pull all future generations towards the treasures of La République!

• But have you ever wondered how to tell Louis XIV from Louis XVI and why Louis XV is perhaps the most reproduced style in the world?

• In spite of the fact that these three kings were the ruin of the French monarchy, Louis-cubed did something right.

• Their pursuit of gracious living and 150-year-long contribution to the arts is the greatest influence ever made on the world of design.

La République!

• When it comes to discussing French Antiques we refer to the various styles for the reigning monarch.

• For centuries, fashions came from the top, down - Each new king had his own style that differentiated his reign from the others.

• There is never a rigid divide from one style to the next

• There were a couple of transitional styles as tastes changed, but for our purpose we’ll concentrate on the high points of the Louis Styles.

La République!

Louis XIV - 1643-1715

• Louis XIV was known as “The Sun King”

• I like to refer to him as “Baby Baroque” the style for which his period is known.

• He is renowned for his exorbitant Court and spectacular events at his palace of Versailles.

• Louis Quatorze ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death.

• He believed he was appointed by God and thus was an absolute power.

• He became King at age 5 - his reign was 72 years and 110 days long.

• In order to understand how Baby Baroque lead to the fall of France… you need to understand the context of his upbringing.

Louis XIII - 1601 –1643• Let’s Go Back In Time – Louis XIV’s father was

Louis XIII.

• Louis 13th succeeded his father Henry IV as king of France a few months before his 9th birthday.

• Louis 13th mother was Marie de' Medici and she acted as his regent during Louis's minority.

• Louis XIII married Anne of Austria - They were both 10 when engaged, and 14 when married.

• On their wedding night Louis XIII was forcibly carried into the wedding chamber – and nurses watched to confirm the act of marriage took place.

• Serious diplomatic concern. It took 23 years after their wedding for their son Louis XIV to be born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

• Louis XIV was actually named Louis Dieudonné (Louis the God-given) because his birth was considered a divine gift

• .

Louis XIV - 1643-1715• Louis XIII dies and Louis XIV took the throne at the

age of 5.

• When he made Versailles his permanent home he insisted the nobles to move with him. Versailles had been a hunting lodge but in an act of decorating flourish that changed French history he set about redecorating the palace.

• He placed himself in the center of their world, as the sun, hence the Sun King, and the nobles were surrounding him like planets.

• He rewarded his nobles loyalty with wine & women. 300 Waiting Willing Women.

• Louis XIV suffered none of the difficulties of his father.

• He had many lovers and had many illegitimate children but to bring about peace between France & Spain he married Marie Therese of Austria.

Louis XIV - 1643-1715

• This center was in fact royal bedroomat Versailles.

• The Members of aristocracy had rooms surrounding the Kings bedroom. The closer your room, the more important you were.

• The greatest honor was to be present when the king woke up and went to bed.

• If you were allowed to assist or even be present at these daily ceremonies you had a very good positions at court.

• Understanding historically the world in which these kings lived helps you to understand their style.

Louis XIII – 1589 1661• During the reign of Louis XIII furniture became

comfortable for the first time

• Louis XIII lived 1601-1643 but this period is 1589-1661

• This style began under Henry IV’s patronization of crafts. The economic situation is reflected in the sober style - Geometric in appearance and austere in conception

• Woods used were oak, walnut, pear wood and pine. Louis XIII furniture featured veneer, turned wood and moldings.

• The typical Louis XIII chair was short in the back and square in shape and covered with finely worked leather or tapestry which would be fastened to the chair with large brass nails.

• Typical pieces include tall cupboards, full dressers, and tables with a varying number of legs.

Louis XIV - 1643-1715• This monarch more than any other understood the power

of the decorative arts.

• Remember he was responsible for the court’s move to Versailles transforming it from a simple hunting lodge into the most magnificent palace in the country

• This period closed the age of multiple-use pieces and ushered in an era of individualized, use-specific furniture.

• His style is characterized by bold details, heavy ornamentation and large scale with symmetrical form. Principal motifs included lions heads, griffins, musical instruments, leaves & dolphins.

• Characterized by ebony woods, tortoise shell inlay and brass detailing. In addition to Bouille’s grand pieces more pedestrian pieces were perfected in oak, walnut and chestnut

• The commode became very fashionable, as well as console tables, writing tables and desks. Arm chairs or upholstered wing chairs will have stretchers between their legs & beds from this period were heavily draped.

Louis XV- 1643-1715• When examining the difference between

the style of Louis XV and that of his great-grandfather Louis XIV, into whose royal court he was born, I can’t help but ponder what Freud would say about Little Louis’ backlash against grand-père.

• While Louis XIV furniture is masculine, heavy and solid, Junior’s décor is feminine with curved lines characterized by delicate pieces and cabriole legs.

• While Louis XIV was all about symmetry, Louis The Beloved embraced asymmetrical detail, lavishing his period with floral motifs, ribbons and shells.

• The use of shell motif is significant.

• Timothy Corrigan calls this “Undoubtedly the greatest of all periods for French furniture”.

• Grand suites were replaced by smaller more intimate rooms and were furnished with unfailing attentiveness to elegance, refinement, comfort and well being.

• If you learn nothing else today in this talk remember this….From the shell motif comes the term used to refer to the style of his period—Rococo

• Rococo is derived from the French word shell combining it with the word stone. Rocaille(stone) + coquille (shell) = Rococo.

Louis XV- 1643-1715

Louis XV- 1643-1715• The most influential woman at Louis XV’s court was

Madame de Pompadour.

• She was his chief mistress for 20 years – a friend as well as a political advisor. And she was a commoner.

• Pompadour was such a taste maker that there were even colors (as well as hairstyles) named after her –Pompadour pink and Pompadour blue!

• She also influenced design… Anytime, you see caning you can date the chair as after Louis XIV.

Also note that the chairs all have the cabriole leg – another sign that they belong in the Louis XV classification.

• During Louis XV time France was living la dolce vita.

• Peace and prosperity were the mots du jour and Louis’ love for fine décor trickled down to the rising middle class.

• New furniture forms were in demand—with an emphasis on comfort and elegance. By the end of the period, La Republic bulged with bergères, chaises longues, and duchesses brisées as well as bombé-shaped commodes, matching consoles and elaborate gilt mirrors.

• The seeming prosperity of the Louis XV era folded under his ill-advised financial policies, bankrupting the nation and leading to the demise of the French monarchy.

Louis XV- 1643-1715

• While Louis The Beloved became the most unpopular king in French history, darn it, he had good taste. Today his style is what “les Américains” refer to as “French Country Style.”

• We have Louis XII with the stretcher between the legs – It was often shorter in back and square in shape, covered in leather or tapestry fastened to the chair with large brass nails.

• During the era of Louis XIV there was a breakthrough in chair construction, with the back becoming higher and the seat becoming larger to accommodate the more ample space required by the fashions of his day. The arms and legs of the chair are usually heavily carved. These are big chairs made for large rooms!

• The easiest difference to a Louis XV chair is in the legs - The Louis XV chair always has that curved cabriole leg.

• Louis XVI is what’s known as Neoclassical Style and Louis XVI chair always has that fluted leg!

Let’s Review!

Louis XVI - 1774 - 1792• Louis XVI was King of France from 1774

until 1792 before being executed during the French Revolution

• He was married to Marie Antoinette.

• Louis XVI did not stand a chance.

• 15 years after granddad Louis 15th’s death, the Revolution erupted and Louis le Dernier inherited a world of hurt.

• Again we see a revolt against the style of his predecessor; this time the new décor was defined by the most important discoveries of the time: the ruins of Pompeii.

• Neo Classical décor was all the rage.

• Although Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were ultimately guillotined during French Revolution, the neoclassical style had a lasting power and continues through Napoleon’s era.

• Symmetry and straight legs were back.

• Musical instruments found their way into motifs, showing up on lyre-backed chairs.

• Classical architectural elements like columns and pediments were reinvented into design along with the use of beading, rosettes and trophies.

• The ribbon motif from Louis XV décor lingered, tying graceful bows alongside the backs of sofas and chairs.

• Gone was the bombé, replaced with semi-circular commodes and side tables.

Louis XVI – 1774 to 1792

• And while this is serious style—keeping with the mood of Liberté Egalité Fraternité, a topic of conversation that originated among the aristocracy and got “out of hand” when embraced by the lower classes—this style was also one that lingered into that of its predecessor.

• Bonaparte sobered the style, removing ornamentations in an attempt to hide the Ancien Régime, but the essential style of Directoire furniture remains steadfastly the same as that of the executed king.

Louis XVI – 1774 to 1792

Long Live The King!

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