Lot n° 319
Estimation :
2000 - 3000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 2 576EUR
PAIR OF EVENING SHOES BELONGING TO EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE (179 - Lot 319
PAIR OF EVENING SHOES BELONGING TO EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE (1791-1847).
Flat, square-toed model, in cream-colored silk satin trimmed with a small bow and held by two ribbons to be tied at the ankle, lined with cream-colored silk, leather outsole. These extremely fragile shoes were reserved for indoor wear or balls. They were made to slide on parquet floors and were not resistant to walking. Moreover, according to court custom, they were worn only once by the sovereign.
French work from the first third of the 19th century.
Minor stains, but overall good condition.
Provenance:
This pair of shoes, once owned by Empress Marie-Louise, second wife of Emperor Napoleon I, was given by the sovereign to one of the ladies in her service, Madame Bassais. The latter then gave them to Hector Masel, as the handwritten note accompanying the pair of shoes states: "À monsieur Hector Masel avec prière d'accepter d'une vieille amie de passage un petit souvenir d'amitié la même et pas limp (...)". This pair was subsequently sold by Hector Masel's grandson on December 8, 1925: "Received from Monsieur Sueur, residing in Paris, 6 rue Mélingue, the sum of four hundred francs, representing the price of a gilded bronze box dating back to Louis-Philippe, commissioned by my grandfather and containing various objects (shoes and gloves) that belonged to the Empress
Marie-Louise and addressed to my grandfather by Mme Bassais, lady of the court. Also included in this price is a gilded wooden pedestal, for acquired
Th. Potier"
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue