Michèle Lorin, collector extraordinary!

Michèle Lorin : la passion de Marie-Antoinette (francetvinfo.fr)

Here is an altogether more appealing collector of 18th-century objects.  Michèle Lorin was inspired with a "passion for Marie-Antoinette" by the classic 1956 film staring Michèle Morgan and Richard Todd.   She started collecting at the age of twelve and has not looked back since.  Her modest home in  the Loiret is stuffed with Marie-Antoinette memorabilia of all sorts, some of it bric-a-brac, some of it valuable and interesting pieces.  In the video, from a France 3 local news feature, she picks out a few items, notably a little miniature from the Queen's room in the Tuileries which was broken on 10th August.  

I also spot the miniature I wrote about in a previous post which shows Marie-Antoinette with flaming  red hair.  Michèle  explains that she has amassed the collection by careful budgeting and a finely developed nose for a bargain; nowadays many of her finds come from ebay!

Michèle Lorin is now an acknowledged Marie-Antoinette expert and something of a minor celebrity.  She gave her advice for the 2006 Sofia Coppola blockbuster and can be seen on YouTube at the preview of the 2015 Rothschild sale.

Bravo Michèle!  It is nice to know that worthwhile 18th-century collecting is not the exclusive preserve of millionaires and professional dealers.


References

Michèle Lorin : la passion de Marie-Antoinette,France 3 Centre-Val de Loire, 1/11/2015
http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/centre/michele-lorin-la-passion-de-marie-antoinette-841587.html
Michèle previews the 2015 Christie's Marie-Antoinette Collection sale.
http://dai.ly/x3ca0yj

Photographs of the collection on Getty Images:
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/michele-lorin?family=editorial&phrase=michele%20lorin&excludenudity=true&sort=best#

Website of the Association Marie-Antoinette, organisation founded by Michèle Lorin
http://www.associationmarieantoinette.org/

Michèle on Marie-Antoinette Forum and Le Boudoir de Marie-Antoinette:
http://marie-antoinette.forumactif.org/t2196-michele-lorin-marie-antoinette-ma-collection-particuliere
http://maria-antonia.justgoo.com/t6785-la-collection-de-michele-lorin