Queen Marie Antoinette’s Silk Shoe Auctioned In Versailles

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - A silk shoe that belonged to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France who was executed during the French Revolution, auctioned with a starting price of €10,000 ($11,800).

A white shoe that once belonged to Queen Marie-Antoinette, made of silk and goatskin,
that was auctioned on Nov. 15, 2020, in Versailles, France- source

The sale takes place in the Palace of Versailles, where the queen – who has gone down in history as a symbol of the excesses of the French monarchy – and King Louis XVI held court before they were guillotined in 1793.

The shoe bears her name on its heel and Jean-Pierre Osenat, of the auction house that is conducting the sale, said she is thought to have worn it regularly during daily life at the palace.

Image credit: AP Photo via Daily Sabah

France24 writes that during the French Revolution, the queen’s shoe ended up in the possession of Marie-Emilie Leschevin, a close friend of the queen's head chambermaid, and whose husband was later killed by the guillotine. For generations, her family was in possession of the shoe before it was sent to auction 227 years after Marie Antoinette’s death.

"Marie Antoinette is someone who arouses the interest of the whole world," said Osenat adding that "this auction is coming at a time when French people are facing real uncertainties regarding their values, and many of them are clinging onto the history of France."

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer