A Connoisseur's Quest

At at time when transatlantic travel was not lightly undertaken, the greatest sculptor of late 18th Century Paris, Jean-Antoine Houdon, arrived at Mount Vernon in October of 1784,  to capture Ge...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2019/03/gouverneur-morris-his-purchases-of.html

Among the last antiques galleries of importance in New York City in the tradition of grands antiquaires that emerged in the 19th Century as the taste for collecting the finest examples of French ...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2018/03/revisiting-some-intiriging-and-superior.html

Louise-Elizabeth, Enfant de France was the first daughter of Louis XV. Her pet name was Babette. The gallant King of France never minced words with regard to Babette.  She was his unquestioned ...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2017/05/another-babettes-feast-neglected.html

In his unforgettably lively diaries, Le Duc de Saint-Simon assures us that the businessman and financier Samuel Bernard was the one man in front of  whom even Louis XIV would have to ever so su...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-frequently-overlooked-louis-xv-period.html

Frèdéric de Cabrol was one of the more engaging personages in that delightful social constellation of social figures who animated what has become known as "Cafe Society" which was international...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2016/11/frederic-de-cabrols-vision-of-joie-de.html

Few of the younger people in the world devoted to interior design, elegant living, antiques and collecting even remember the Georgia born society decorator who reached the pinnacle of success in ...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2015/08/michael-greers-vision-of-joyful-french.html

In early December of 2011, I was perusing the online catalog for an upcoming "Interiors" auction of assorted furniture and decorative arts at Christie's in New York City. Two lots being offered i...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-charming-louis-xv-period-suite-of.html

Visitors coming to New York City's Met Museum to view important French 18th Century furniture and decoration often miss a very important collection of rather rare and historically significant thi...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-little-known-important-french-royal.html

Louis Masreliez was born and formally christened Adrien Louis Masreliez (1748 – 19 March 1810). He was a Swedish painter and interior designer. Masreliez was born in Paris and came to Sweden i...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-peek-at-usually-hard-to-see-house-of.html

Years ago, in the early 1990's, in preparation for a lecture I was going to present on the visit of Grand Duke Paul of Russia to Paris and Versailles in 1782,  I was conducting research in the U...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-ravishing-decoration-of-rented.html

Nothing develops a connoisseur's eye better than frequent physical examination and personal scrutiny of the items in which one is seeking to obtain a level of expertise. While attending the ...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2012/03/18th-century-art-furniture-and.html

Enthusiasts of the 18th Century and its seductions are all familiar with one of its many notable charms - the garden folly. One architectural historian described them as "joke buildings". Indee...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2011/10/18th-century-folies-from-1960s-at.html

Any serious collector or connoisseur of 18th Century French furniture has made the mandatory pilgrimage to the legendary family owned antiquaire, Dalva Brothers in New York City. Situated after...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2011/10/important-18th-century-french-chairs-at.html

From all accounts Madame Du Barry had everything it took to become a siren and sex symbol of the same level as Liz Taylor. Even people predisposed to disapprove of her on the basis of her early ...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2011/04/18th-century-folie-first-in-series-le.html

The voyeuse is an often misidentified form of seating furniture produced in France in the 18th Century. It is often mistaken for a prie dieu chair which is, as implied by its name, for devotional...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2010/10/furniture-discussion-2nd-in-series-les.html

A Few great cities and smaller ones have a museum dedicated to exhibiting art and historical artifacts that essentially are put to the task of telling the history of the city and its cultural ...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2010/10/few-great-cities-and-smaller-ones-have.html

A delightful blog entry in one of my favourite blogs discussing taste and decoration was written by much admired fellow blogger An Aesthete's Lament. I recommend the entry as I do this very amusi...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2009/11/furniture-discussion-first-in-series.html

The Chateau de La Motte Tilly stands on the site of what was formerly an old Medieval house and was built in 1748 by the brothers Pierre Terray de Rozières, Consieller au Parlement and Procueu...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2009/10/visiting-great-homes-1st-in-series.html

In November of 2007, The Parisian auction house Pescheteau-Badin, conducted the auction of the collections of the late Maurice Aicardi. This auction house is not as widely known outside of Euro...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2009/09/pescheteau-badin-auction-of-maurice_16.html

Although I had been taken there as a child, I consider my first visit to Versailles was in 2000 to quietly celebrate my recent 40th birthday in late 1999. I recall working on a epic scale apprais...

http://aconnoisseursquest.blogspot.com/2009/09/la-ville-de-versailles-introduction.html