The Museum of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg and the National Archives Museum in Paris have joined forces to produce the first exhibition devoted to the “Queen’s Necklace” affair, which made headlines during the reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and continued into the Revolution.
When it broke on August 15, 1785, the “Queen’s Necklace” affair had all the makings of a perfect scandal: the sensational arrest of Cardinal de Rohan at the court of Versailles, the name of Queen Marie Antoinette entangled in a sinister deception, the disappearance of a priceless masterpiece of jewelry, and a sensational list of schemers implicated in the affair.
For the first time, an exhibition is dedicated to this affair, tracing its origins back to the legal case, whose unfolding and consequences spanned the decade from 1783 to 1793. Beyond the romanticized surface of an episode as incredible as it is scandalous, the exhibition invites an analysis of the scandal and its portrayals as a manifestation of the political and social upheavals unfolding in the France of Louis XVI on the eve of the Revolution.
When it broke on August 15, 1785, the “Queen’s Necklace” affair had all the makings of a perfect scandal: the sensational arrest of Cardinal de Rohan at the court of Versailles, the name of Queen Marie Antoinette entangled in a sinister deception, the disappearance of a priceless masterpiece of jewelry, and a sensational list of schemers implicated in the affair.
For the first time, an exhibition is dedicated to this affair, tracing its origins back to the legal case, whose unfolding and consequences spanned the decade from 1783 to 1793. Beyond the romanticized surface of an episode as incredible as it is scandalous, the exhibition invites an analysis of the scandal and its portrayals as a manifestation of the political and social upheavals unfolding in the France of Louis XVI on the eve of the Revolution.
En complément de l’exposition et jusqu’au 21 juin 2027, un parcours dédié à la vie, à la carrière et aux collections du cardinal de Rohan est installé dans les grands appartements du Palais Rohan. Ce circuit est l’occasion de déployer ses collections prestigieuses dans les lieux où vécut le prince-évêque, rendant compte des fonctions, du mode de vie et des fastes du haut clergé à la fin de l’Ancien Régime.
