Whenever I go to museums and historic sites, there are always little things that stick in my memory. It’s often not the biggest or most famous “thing”, but something smaller, and often something that must have been meaningful to an individual person long ago.
This luxurious dog kennel falls into the category. Off to one corner in the 18thc French Wrightsman Rooms in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it’s almost overwhelmed by all the splendid furnishings that surround it. But this is a very special pet bed, or niche de chien: it was made by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, a master menuisier, or furniture-maker, and was created for the French Queen Marie-Antoinette.
The kennel was made from gilded beech and pine covered in velvet panels, with cushions and a lining of striped silk. It was designed not only to offer the most elegant quarters for the queen’s favorite dogs (possibly even Coco, the beloved pet who famously joined her in her imprisonment during the French Revolution), but also to compliment the rest of the furnishings in the royal suite. The neoclassical acanthus leaves and Greek keys that ornament the sides were favored by the Queen, and were the height of refined taste at the time.
I remember seeing this kennel long ago when it had just been given to the museum. I was in high school and taking summer classes in art history at the Met, and because our lecturer was a curator in French decorative arts, he made a point of showing the kennel to our class in great detail. Each time I visit the Met now, I always “visit” the kennel as one of my favorite object on display, and someday I’m sure it will appear in one of my books.
Last week I was browsing Instagram, and to my great surprise came across this pendant in my feed. Although the names of the little white dog, the artist, and the pet-owner are now unknown, there’s no doubt that this was a favorite pet. Painted in watercolor on ivory, the portrait might not be the most anatomically accurate (it does look a bit more like a bear than a dog), but the little painting was framed to be worn as a necklace so that owner could keep her or his favorite close.
But more interesting to me is the kennel behind the dog - almost exactly the same as the one owned by the Met. Was this dog, too, a royal pup?
I doubt the Met will ever part with the queen’s kennel, but you’re enamored with the miniature, it’s for sale here.
Above: Dog Kennel by Claude I Senet, c1775-80, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Below: Miniature Portrait of a Dog, 18thc French School, Galerie Jaegy-Theoleyre.
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