The Siamese Ambassadors and Their Interpreter, the Abbé de Lionne
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.In this decorative painting intended to go over a doorway, the set painter and tapestry designer Vigoureux shows the Siamese ambassadors donning tapered conical hats of rank. The presence of their interpreter at right highlights the central role of the Church in Franco-Asian diplomacy. While Louis XIV was interested above all in trade relations, the missionary priests who had shepherded the relationship hoped the Siamese king, Phra Narai, would convert to Christianity; this was never the ruler’s intention.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Siamese Ambassadors and Their Interpreter, the Abbé de Lionne
- Artist: Jacques Vigoureux - Duplessis (French, before ca. 1680–ca. 1732)
- Date: ca. 1715
- Culture: French
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: Without frame: 63 × 55 1/8 in. (160 × 140 cm)
With frame: 87 13/16 × 68 1/8 × 4 3/4 in. (223 × 173 × 12 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Institut de France, Abbaye Royale de Chaalis, Fontaine-Chaalis (MCAJ-P 344)
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts