Footed Fan-shaped Box (detail), Japanese, Edo period, late 17th–mid-18th century, lacquer. Musée national des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon. Photo: Thierry Ollivier. © RMN–Grand Palais/ Art Resource, NY Footed Fan-shaped Box (detail), Japanese, Edo period, late 17th–mid-18th century, lacquer. Musée national des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon. Photo: Thierry Ollivier. © RMN–Grand Palais/ Art Resource, NY

This exhibition showcases Japanese lacquer from the private collection of the French queen Marie-Antoinette. Her collection of small lacquer boxes was one of the finest in Europe, and she considered it to be among her most cherished possessions. The elaborate works reveal the queen's personal taste and demonstrate the high level of achievement attained by Japanese lacquer artists during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The loan of the boxes is part of an artistic exchange between the J. Paul Getty Museum and Versailles, where an important desk made for Louis XVI from the Museum’s collection is currently on long-term loan.

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Vogue
You Can Now See Some of Marie Antoinette’s Most Cherished (and Tiny) Possessions
Marie Antoinette is generally associated with excess. Her infamous “let them eat cake” mentality (which precipitated her ultimate demise) came in all forms, but often manifested in fashion and the fine arts ...


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