Description and Details
A large Sajou Museum & Heritage cross stitch chart dedicated to Marie-Antoinette, the last Queen to live at Versailles before the Revolution.
The embroidery brings together the iconic portrait by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun — the Queen's official portraitist — alongside designs drawn from embroideries associated with Marie-Antoinette herself, fabric samples from her dressmaker Rose Bertin, her silhouette, and her monogram. Her passion for lace and fashion is woven throughout.
Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793) continues to fascinate. Vilified during her lifetime, her reputation was slowly restored: Louis XVIII gave her the funeral she was denied in 1816; the Empress Eugénie devoted years to collecting her belongings; Dumas and the Goncourt brothers reclaimed her story in literature. Finally, Pierre de Nolhac, first curator of Versailles, rehabilitated her image entirely by restoring the Petit Trianon to reflect her original taste.
The motif is 340 stitches wide by 340 stitches high. Worked on 12 count linen, the finished piece measures approximately 56.7 x 56.7cm — a project representing around 310 hours of stitching.
Part of Sajou's Museum & Heritage Versailles series, which also includes the large Versailles chart, the Queen's Brocade Cushion, the Queen's Petit Trianon Bedchamber Cushion, and the Marie-Antoinette & Mme Élisabeth Tapestry Cushion.
Materials: A1 chart in a decorative folder. Made in France.
