For its 380th anniversary, Trudon looks back on its history in this new, limited-edition collection: Tuileries. An homage to house Trudon’s French heritage and story, the Tuileries collection takes its inspiration from Queen of France, Marie Antoinette.
In the early years of the French Revolution, the Tuileries Palace (located across from the Louvre in Paris) is where Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI were confined under house arrest from 1789-1792. This period was well chronicled, and archival documents from that time give great insight into the personal life of the queen. Preserved letters and notebooks reveal everything from her secret love affairs to the fabric choices for her beautiful dresses, allowing us to understand her better.
The floral chypre fragrance for the Tuileries collection of course features the Queen of Flowers, rose, well known to be Queen Marie Antoinette’s favourite flower.
BUST
This little-known copy of a bust Marie Antoinette of Austria is attributed to one of the Brachard brothers, either the eldest, Jean-Charles-Nicolas or the youngest, Jean-Nicolas-Alexandre.
Her head is slightly turned to the right; her shoulders covered with a swath of fabric for a natural effect; she is wearing a crown decorated with a fleur-delis and a row of pearls.
As one of the most famous and controversial women in French History, Marie Antoinette was the object of many artistic representations. While many valuable pieces disappeared during the French Revolution. Fortunately, some copies have survived the upheavals of time.
In collaboration with The Plaster Cast Workshop of the Rmn – Grand Palais.
SPECIFICATIONS
22cm High
ABOUT THE BRAND
Founded in 1643, Cire Trudon is the oldest wax manufacturer in the world.
In 1640s Paris, Claude Trudon, a convenience store owner, began to make tapered candles with a new methodology he had developed, utilising a special blend of beeswax and vegetable wax. His high-quality candles rapidly gained popularity, as they didn’t warp, smoke or splutter, and therefore didn’t cause fires!
In 1702, Trudon opened a factory so that their highly sought-after candles could be manufactured on a larger scale. Before long, their secret wax formula (still used today!) attracted the attention of the Crown. The house of Trudon became the candle provider to the Royal Court of Louis XIV, as well as many of the great churches of France. Louis XIV was so impressed with the candles that he issued his seal of approval with the official family crest. This crest can now be seen affixed to every Trudon product, with the addition of the motto “Deo regique laborant”, which means: “they (the bees) work for God and the King”, a nod to the creature that made their successful formula possible!
By the mid 17th century, Trudon had become the largest wax manufacturer in France. As candle makers for the Royal Court, Trudon were commissioned to make candles for many French icons – from Louis XIV to Marie Antoinette to Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon actually commissioned Trudon to make a candle for the birth of his son – rumoured to be the only gift he ever gave him – a black candle decorated with his likeness in gold.
Fast forward to 2007 when the house took the name Cire Trudon and became the leading specialist in manufacturing perfumed candles. All their candles are still hand-made, using traditional production methods akin to those Claude Trudon would have used in the 1600s. In their Normandy factory, each candle is hand-poured into hand-blown vessels from Tuscany. Today, Cire Trudon has extended their savoir-fare to a line of genderless perfumes as well as a variety of options to luxuriously scent your space.
