What would the Royal Courts be without this NING blog?
Ships without a compass
Rivers without bridges
deserts without caravans
or even a French lunch without cheese...:-)
This is the crossroads where we all gather, long live the RC NIng, and a thousand thanks to Tatiana!
(( Gee, this badge is eating half of my face, look up there, I look like the phantom of the Opera, ahahaha))
These diamonds were stolen during the Revolutionindeed, but soon found again. The Regent and the Sancy finally landed in the collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris , after having been worn by Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Charles X, Napoleon III and his wife, Empress Eugenie.
I remember having seen the Regent there, in my childhood, before the Museum renovation. This gem, one of the biggest and purest ever, was exhibited in a remote room, completely empty of visitors and without ANY museum watchman, in a dusty glass display cabinet...Incredible, but I saw it with my own eyes!
For security reasons, probably, it was withdrawn from the sight of visitors for some years, but I heardit can been seen again , along with the Sancy ( not the same as the Beau Sancy on auction) in the Crown Jewels Room in the LOUVRE.
As to the Sancy, the legend has it that its owner, Nicolas Harlay de Sancy, Surintendant des Finances of the King, had decided in 1604 to export it discreetly and sell it to England. He had entrusted his most loyal servant with this tricky and dangerous mission. During his ride to London, this confidential agent was attacked by highwaymen, and murdered. His corpse was discovered by some roadside in the woods. The diamond had disappeared.
The Baron de Sancy, knowing how loyal and trustworthy his servant was, sensed he might maybe have swallowed the diamond to keep it out of reach of the thieves. He ordered to dissect his body ( brrrr!) ... and the Sancy was there:-)
It later adorned Marie-Antoinette'sRegalia,who probably never knew where it had been hidden before...:-)
Finally sold 9 Millions Swiss Francs, only 7.5 Millions euros, a bargain.... especially considering the euro might not exist anymore in a near future, but the Beau Sancy will still be worth something:-)
I was tempted to buy it for Lady Candace, but she said it looked too " Nouveau Riche".
Snuffing makes me sneeze! but I must admit these boxes are perfect! Congratulations!
mmmmm...May I dare to say that this Lady in the bathtub certainly adds some ' Epices' to your ' Sucre' ?
Congratulations, Stanze! Your Sucre tastes good!
Some time ago, Lady Candace Ducatillon opened her own Art Gallery, called REALMS, in a Petit Montmartre shop, Aquitaine Cur Nord ( She also has a booth in the Art Museum inside the Languedoc Coeur castle). As she is too humble to advertise it, I will here allow myself to express how deeply I feel about her work.
Candace is a SL artist, first. She only uses SL tools to present SL places and moments( with very few exceptions). No Photoshop, no editing or such devices. It makes her art seem simple because it has no tricks nor special effects. Simple, because it has the obviousness of things you usually would pass by, leaving them unnoticed. Candace has an eye for them. She focuses on representing them in all their glory, making them look as wonders. Candace is a visual poet.
Tawny ponies shining like suns in a field of poppies, fog clouds at night slowly moving through the pines, golden moon reflections blinking on a shoreless sea, the endless miracle of flowers in full bloom, a purple starfish dying on a bed of pebbles by the beachThings we may all have seen some day, without paying much attention. Candace does: she opens her heart to them, she opens our eyes on them. She opens for us the doors to the mysterious REALMS of this unknown world: Ours.
Here is the Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aquitaine Coeur Nord/204/20/23
"One need not hope in order to undertake, nor succeed in order to persevere."
I wish you all the success you deserve ( and deserved already in your shop before). Success can be seen from many angles, and from the aesthetic point of view, your new collection has a charm all its own: whatever happens next, believe me, youought tobe proud of what you achieved.
It is said that the great Rameau liked to crease in his hands the drapes, sheets, and rich fabrics, to listen to thehundreds of different swishing sounds they made: it inspired him in his music.
Had he known this dress of yours, Ephe, with its fluid shape, the soft touch of its fabric texture wonderfully reflecting light, the delicacy of its prints and embroideries, and the wonder of its heavenly colour, a colour that has no name- and therefore should be named after you: "the Ephe Blue", just as there was a "Bleu Nattier"- so yes, if Rameau had laid his eyes upon this dress and creased it in his hands, no doubt he would have been inspired to compose his harpsichord masterwork, and called it " La Belle Ephmre" !
Thank you, Ephe, for bringing so much beauty into our virtual world.
