Royal Treasures from the Louvre

Covered vase with handles, ca. 1630, with additions ca. 1680. Lapis lazuli, silver gilt. Attributed to François Roberday, Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'Art. Copyright RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY/Jean-Gilles Berizzi. 

An exhibition at San Francisco's Legion of Honor presents a collection of decorative arts from the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Offering views into the splendor of the French court, Royal Treasures from the Louvre: Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette includes objects owned by the French monarchy from the time of Louis XIV until the Revolution of 1789. 

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the grouping of Gemmes de la Couronne, Louis XIV's personal collection of hard-stone vases mounted in gold and gemstones. Made of amethyst, agate, amber, jade, lapis lazuli, and rock crystal, many of these objects were displayed in rooms specifically designed for them in the royal apartments at Versailles. 

Plate (assiette à guirlandes) decorated with green ribbons, 1757, Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory. Soft-paste porcelain. Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'Art, gift of Albert and Paul Pannier, 1918. Copyright RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY/Jean-Gilles Berizzi. 

By the time of Louis XV, porcelain had become a symbol of a country's prestige and the manufactory at Sévres, still producing porcelain today, was acquired by the king in the 1750s. Often presented to foreign rulers, these objects would play an important role in statecraft. "A large dinner service decorated with green ribbons would cement the alliance of France with its traditional enemy, Austria, an alliance that would eventually lead to a significant realignment of the great powers of Europe," says curator Martin Chapman. 

Coffee grinder, 1756-1757. Jean Ducrollay, goldsmith. Gold in three colors, steel and ivory. Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'Art. Copyright RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY/Daniel Arnaudet. 

"They lived in smaller rooms and the objects produced for them were finely and intensely decorated because they were so close to the viewer," says Chapman. Many of these objects were designed to be used by the owners themselves, such as the gold coffee grinder made for Madame de Pompadour. 

Louis XVI put parts of the royal collection on view to the public and acquired decorative art pieces for the foundation of a new museum in the Louvre, which opened in August of 1793. "The Louvre's Département des Objets d'Art was originally founded during the French Revolution with objects from the former royal collections," says Chapman. "We are fortunate today to be able to see some of these magnificent royal objects that have been recovered in this exhibition." 

On view through March 17 at the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco.