The Maison de Piasa in Paris is scheduled to auction a marble head of Jeanne de Bourbon (1338 – 1378), wife of King Charles V
Thursday, December 11th Piasa in Paris will auction a marble head, which probably is a portrait of Jeanne de Bourbon, wife of King Charles V. She was born at Château de Vincennes in 1338, married to the king in 1350 and crowned in 1364. She bore nine children and died two days after the birth of a daughter Catherine. As was custom her heart and entrails were buried at diverse locations. Her body, though, was interred in St. Denis, the royal necropolis just North of Paris. According to the Cronicler Froissart, the king expressed great sorrow saying that she was “his beautiful light and the sun of his kingdom”.
The head, which is up for sale is believed to date from 1370 – 80 and is attributed to Jean de Liege (c.1330 – 1381) or his workshop. Jean de Liege is especially known for his work carving effigies for the real family.
The original recumbent effigy in St. Denis was destroyed during the revolution in 1789 and only a few fragments exist in Louvre. However, that of the king still exists and a comparison between the size of his head plus a comparison with that of her effigy from l’église des Célestins (where her entrails were buried) makes it probable that the head is an original part of her effigy in St. Denis; which makes it in fact a sensational find.
The head is well preserved apart from slight accidents to her nose and lip. The head with its high and bulging forehead was probably intended to be fitted with a silver crown like the original was (compare with the 18th century engraving of the original effigy). Her headdress is quite elaborate with double braids on either side leaving the visible end of earlobes. The head measures 23 cm in height, 21 cm in width and 19 cm in depth.
It was acquired by a Belgian industrialist 50 years ago and has until now remainded in his collection.
SOURCE:
La tête du gisant de Jeanne de Bourbon, retrouvée ?
Un chef-d’oeuvre du xiv e siècle retrouvé – jeudi 11 decembre 2014 a 15 h