Souvenirs of an embassy: the comte d'Adhémar in London, 1783-87

• Autores: Christian Baulez
• Localización: Burlington magazine, ISSN 0007-6287, Vol. 151, Nº 1275, 2009, págs. 372-381
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • In February 1783, Jean-Balthazar d'Azémar de Montfalcon, the comte d'Adhémar (born 1731), was appointed French ambassador to England, and for his residence, he then leased a large town house at Hyde Park Corner in London. The evidence suggests that, while there, he established a dignified embassy worthy of France's diplomatic presence. The elegance of the embassy is corroborated by the catalog of a sale of its contents, held by Christie's on the premises from March 17 to 22, 1788, following the ambassador's recall, as well as by a second sale held on May 2 and 3 of the same year. D'Adhémar's career as ambassador was not particularly brilliant, and he departed the post in 1787. When he did so, his successor retained portraits of the French monarch and furnishings from the embassy's chapel and Audience Room, though the Christie's sale dispersed the majority of the pieces d'Adhémar had collected.