Court Artefacts: Gambling Items

Gambling remained one of the foremost pleasures of court life throughout the reigns of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Everyone participated - even the religious Marie-Thérèse and the pious Marie Leszczynska found the pastime a great amusement. With gambling parties being a regular fixture of court life it is hardly surprising that the royal family had their personal gambling items.

Gambling purse of Marie Leszczynska bearing her coat of arms as queen. This would have been used to carry jetons with at gambling sessions. It is of red velvet and embroidered with golden thread, 1740.

This gambling purse is quite similar to that of Marie Leszczynska. They belonged to Madame Henriette (her daughter)

Silver jetons of Marie Antoinette

Belonged to Louis-Joseph-Xavier de France, Duc de Bourgogne

Jeton belonging to Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, 1720

A neatly preserved set with a table bearing the crest of Marie Antoinette as Dauphine

From the household of the Comte de Provence

And another one, this time the household of his brother, the Comte d'Artois

As can be seen this jeton was intended for the very popular game of lansquenet at Choisy, 1745

Court Artefacts

Baroque and rococo were the dominating styles of the Versailles-era. Both are characteristic by their sheer opulence and extravagance which is clearly seen in the objects left behind.

I have been trying out a few different ways to display the court artefacts of Versailles and has decided to go with this one. Rather than dividing the objects by owner they are now divided by category. Just click the category you would like to see and you will be taken to a page dedicated to that particular type.

Books

Boxes & Chests

Candelabras 

Clocks & Watches

Clothing, Shoes & Fabrics

Correspondence 

Gambling Items

Perfume Burners

Porcelain 

Toilette Items

Vases

Mesdames Tantes' Ladies

The daughters of Louis XV were numerous and each had their own households. As is rather obvious Madame Adélaide was the favourite daughter of Louis XV - consequently, the ladies appointed to her service were numerous.

Adélaide-Élisabeth d'Hallencourt de Dromesnil, Marquise de Belzunce
1763-70: Companion to Madame Adélaide
Married to Louis-Antonin, Marquis de Belzunce


Catherine-Madeleine Pécoil de La Villedieu, Duchesse de Brissac
1745-52: Companion to Madame Henriette and Adélaide
1752-70: Companion to Madame Adélaide

Married Charles-Timoléon-Louis de Brissac, Duc de Brissac
Her marriage caused some raised eyebrows since Catherine-Madeleine was not an aristocrat; she was a very wealthy heiress to a merchant from Rouen. The Duc de Saint-Simon was quick to remark that the Ducs of Brissac had never been too proud to marry beneath them.


Charlotte Alexandrine Sublet d'Hallencourt de Dromesnil, Comtesse de Belzunce
1746-52: Companion to the Madame Henriette and Adélaide
1752-63: Companion to Madame Adélaide
1770-1774: Same as before

Married to Antonin-Armand de Belzunce, Comte de Belzunce

Charlotte Alexandrine

Charlotte Rosalie de Romanet, Duchesse de Choiseul-Beaupré
1751-52: Companion to Madame Henriette and Adélaide
1752-53: Companion to Madame Adélaide

Married at Bellevue to François-Martial de Choiseul - is believed to have been a mistress to Louis XV for a short while.
She was presented at court a fortnight after her marriage but she died just two years later.

Duchesse de Choiseul-Beaupré

Élisabeth-Louise de Boullongne, Marquise d'Hôpital
1739-55: Companion to the eldest Mesdames
1752-67: Companion to Madame Adélaide

Married to Paul-François de Galluccio de l'Hôpital, who served as ambassador to Naples. Her daughter, the Marquise de Lostanges, also served Madame Adélaide.


Louise-Diane-Françoise de Clermont-Gallerande, Duchesse de Brancas
1746-50: Companion to Madame Henriette and Madame Adélaide

Married to (I) Georges-Jacques de Clermont, Marquis de Clermont-Saint-Aignan, (II) Louis de Brancas, Duc de Brancas (his title was Duc de Villars at the time of their marriage). She was later transferred to the household of Dauphine Marie-Josèphe

Duchesse de Brancas

Louise-Marie-Emmanuelle de Tourzel d'Alègre, Marquise de Maillebois
1751-52: Companion to Mesdames
1752-56: Companion to Madame Adélaide

Married to Jean-Baptiste-François Desmarets, Marquis de Maillebois.
She became a Grandee of Spain through her husband in 1745


Marie-Françoise de Pardaillain de Gondrin, Marquise de Civrac
1747-52: Companion to the eldest Mesdames
1752-55: Companion to Madame Adélaide
1755-64: Dame d'atours to Madame Adélaide

Marie-Françoise de Talleyrand, Comtesse de Périgord
Companion to the younger Mesdames

Marie-Francoise-Catherine de Beauvau-Craon, Marquise de Boufflers
1750-60: Companion to the younger Mesdames

Marie-Henriette de Polastron, Comtesse d'Andlau
1739-46: Companion to the Mesdames Henriette and Adelaide

In 1746 she was exiled to Auxerre which would end her court career

Comtesse d'Andlau

Marie-Louise-Angelique de Talaru de Chalmazel, Marquise de Castries
1746-52: Companion to the eldest Mesdames
1752-83: Companion to Madame Adélaide

Wife of Armand François de La Croix de Castries

Marie-Magdeleine-Charlotte de Béon de Massés de Cazaux, Comtesse de Béon
1782-89: Companion to Madame Adélaide

Married to François-Fréderic de Béon. She was formally presented to the king in 1780.

Comtesse de Béon

Marie-Suzanne-Françoise de Creil, Duchesse de Beauvilliers
1744-50: Companion to the eldest Mesdames
1750-52: Dame d'honneur to the eldest Mesdames
1752-80: Dame d'honneur to Madame Adélaide

Married to Paul-François de Beauvilliers


Marie-Thérèse-Josèphe-Corinthe de Névet, Comtesse de Coigny
1750-55: Companion to the younger Mesdames
1775-76: Companion to Madame Victoire

Robe à la Française

This absolutely gorgeous gown was sewn in 1765 of blue silk with gold trimmings. Flowers have been hand-embroidered with golden thread - notice that both skirt and petticoat are of the same fabric. This alone attests to the luxuriousness of the fabric used - it is simply not necessary to add more to it.

GemGem

Louis Ferdinand de Bourbon

Louis Ferdinand was born on 4 September 1729 to the extreme joy of both his parents and his country. As the longed-for son and heir he was destined to a life in the centre of court life. For fear of him dying before being introduced into the church he was immediately baptized in private - but without being given an official name. It would not be until his seventh birthday that his name of Louis would be confirmed.

As all young boys of the French royal family he spent the first seven years of his life completely surrounded by women. They took care of his every need ranging from a wet-nurse to the servants who changed his linen. Once he reached that golden age of seven he was officially transferred to the care of men.

Like his father he quickly showed an interest in the military. However, being the only surviving son he was far too precious to risk him on the battlefield. Consequently, his father denied him a leading role in the campaign of 1744. Roughly a year later Louis XV came very close to dying himself at the front (from illness, not battle wounds). For fear of contagion Louis Ferdinand was ordered to stay away but he disobeyed his father and rushed to his bedside. 

Louis XV recovered but began regarding his son with a more distant attitude. Some might attribute this to the same suspicion that Louis XIV had had for the Grand Dauphin but the exact reasons are not quite clear. What is clear is that Louis Ferdinand's relationship with his father became cooler while those with his mother and three elder sisters became very close.

1744 would turn out to be quite a remarkable year for Louis Ferdinand. While he was still sulking over being kept from the battlefield he was soon to turn his attention elsewhere: to marriage. By December of that year he was married by proxy to Maria Teresa Raphaëlla of Spain. The couple met in February the following year - it was a massive success. Immediately, the two young people took a liking to each other. However, their bliss was to be short. The Dauphine became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Marie Thérèse. Sadly, both the infant girl and the young mother died shortly afterwards.

Louis Ferdinand was devastated. Although he was just sixteen years old he had loved his first wife but was soon obliged to contract another marriage - after all, an heir had not been born.  In February 1747 he was married again to Marie Josèphe of Saxony. On their wedding night he infamously broke down sobbing. Luckily for him, Marie Josèphe took pity on him and showed him great patience. This marriage was expected to produce children - and so it did. Thirteen children were born to the couple including three kings: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.

State portrait

Louis Ferdinand's personality was remarkably different to that of his father. He was moved by strong moral motives and never had any affairs outside his marriage. If Louis XV had died sooner he would have been more likely to divide government into ministries rather than absolutism.

Perhaps this radical - or so it seemed to the absolutists at court - political idea he was kept away from political power.

By the age of 36 he became seriously ill. Louis Ferdinand died at Fontainebleau - the son of a king, the father of a king but never himself a king.

Gardens of Versailles

Louis XIV employed André le Nôtre as his royal gardener in 1661 and the work began immediately - it would be 40 years before they were complete. Le Nôtre was assisted by the men who created the palace: Charles le Brun designed most of the fountains and statues, Jean-Baptiste Colbert directed the project from 1664-83 and Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed the Orangery.

The work was not easy. To accommodate the plans insisted on by the King tons of earth had to be moved and the ground levelled out. What was formerly mushy marshland was transformed into flowerbeds, fountains, canals etc. It took thousands of men to complete the project and remember that all that dirt had to be moved by wheelbarrows! For the King's dream to come true trees of all sorts were imported from all over France and planted in a carefully designed pattern. Since it would be too long a post if I were to list all of the features of each park - anyone who has been there knows how enormous it is - I have chosen the same pattern as used for the château.

Today the garden covers 800 ha. and boasts 200.000 trees as well as 210.000 flowers. Sadly, there are only 620 water jets (and 50 fountains) left of the c. 1500 that were around from the beginning - the water jets are fed by 35 km piping.

To make it easier to navigate I have divided the garden into two sections: that of Versailles and those of the Trianons.

Gardens of Versailles

Each link takes you to a portion of the garden and describes its history and current state.

Apollo's Grove

The Apollo Fountain

The Colonnade Grove

The Dauphin's Grove

The Domes' Grove

The Enceladus Grove

The Girandole Grove

The Grand Canal

The Latona Fountain & Parterre

The Neptune Fountain

The Northern Parterre

The Obelisk Grove

The Orangery Parterre

The Rocaille Grove

The Royal Star

The Southern Parterre

The Star Grove

The Tapis Verte

The Three Fountain's Grove

The Triumphal Arch Grove

The Water Theatre Grove

The Queen's Grove

Gardens of the Trianons

The gardens of the two private retreats are generally divided between two styles: the English garden and the French garden.

The English Garden:

      The Belvedere 

      The Grotto

      The Love Monument

The French Garden:

      The Bird House

      The Cool Pavilion 

      The French Pavilion

The Grand Trianon's Garden:

      The Buffet d'Eau

      The Ice Houses

The Shirt

The white shirt was a necessary part of every man's wardrobe. This was one particular piece of clothing that did not discriminate according to rank. All shirts were cut in the exact same manner. Unlike what is usually seen in movies on the 18th century the shirt was not buttoned down the front. Instead, it was pulled up over the head and had three buttons to close it at the neck. 

Also, the choice of fabric was never silk. Even the aristocrats who otherwise understood better than anyone else that beauty means suffering saw the sense in keeping the finer fabrics for another purpose. First of all, silk could be rather expensive and it was therefore more sensible to save the silk for the clothing that could be seen and admired. Secondly, imagine the condition of a silk shirt after a day - or several - without washing under the arms...

Late 18th century shirt

Since silk was out of the question the preferred fabric was linen. The sleeves were full and quite wide; usually they were tighter at the wrist. What could be different from a nobleman's shirt was the ruffles of the wrists. While labourers contented themselves with plain sleeves the noblemen might array themselves with ruffles and even a bit embroidery.

Every morning, Louis XIV would have his night-shirt changed. This was necessary for most people but the Sun King was particularly known to sweat heavily during the night The fashions of the 1670-80's in France offered a surprisingly clear view of the shirt. The boxy waistcoat would often be several centimeters shorter than the shirt which meant that it could be seen peeking out. Also, once the coat was removed the extravagant sleeves was the only thing covering the skin on the arms.  

Worn by Louis XVI during his
first days as a prisoner

The state of the linen shirt could say a great deal of the wearer's status. For the gentlemen at Versailles their linen shirts were cleaned regularly by their servants - having a clean shirt was a symbol of wealth.

Not even the revolutionaries would deny Louis XVI a proper amount of shirts during his imprisonment. A laundry list reveals that he went through seventeen linen shirts in two weeks. Considering that he was accustomed to having his shirt changed daily this was still a change.