Marie-Antoinette’s Shoe Goes Under the Hammer

FOOTLOOSE: A right shoe belonging to Marie-Antoinette, the last queen of France, went under the hammer at the Osenet auction house on Sunday.

The ecru-colored shoe in silk and kidskin leather has four superimposed pleated ribbons and a leather sole. Its 1.85-inch heel is covered in gray patent leather with the words written in quill pen on it: ”Soulier de Marie-Antoinette donné à M. de Voisey” (or “Marie-Antoinette’s shoe given to M. de Voisey”).

Inscription on Marie-Antoinette’s shoe Courtesy of MICHEL BURY/Osenat

The shoe measures 8.86-inches long, equivalent to about a size six in the U.S.

It had been passed down through the family of Marie Emilie de La Chapelle, a close friend of Marie-Antoinette’s first chamber maid.

The lot was expected to go for between 8,000 euros and 10,000 euros, but in the end far exceeded the estimates by bringing in 43,750 euros.

The shoe was part of a sale entitled “La Royauté À Versailles” (or “The Royalty in Versailles”), which also featured a wooden trunk used by Marie-Antoinette when she was transferred to the Conciergerie, the prison where the queen was held before being executed by guillotine in 1793.

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