Hunting Suit of Christian VII.
King Christian VII of Denmark
Thanks to the great support of Katia Johannsen, curator of Rosenborg Museum in Copenhagen, who has been very helpful once again with many detail photos, we were able to reproduce the hunting suit of King Christian VII of Denmark matching the original (see right).
This suit has been a present by King Louis XV. of France to King Christian when the latter stayed guest for a hunting party at Versailles. An almost identical suit was given to King Gustav II. of Sweden for his visit. There still exists a picture of this hunting scene with the king wearing the suit:
Special thank also go to our friend Bjarne Drews, a highly skilled costumier from Copenhagen, who translated Danish texts from antique books for us. Doing so, we were able to determine the correct braid width and descriptions of the lining.
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
||
|
||
 |
The cut of the culotte is a very early one, because King Christian, probably influenced by his father, preferred to wear early patterns. The culotte is lined with soft velours leather (like many other of his preserved garments). Furthermore they abstained from using knee buckles as heavy, high boots were worn with the suit. Waistcoat and jacket are cut from high quality woollen cloth, whereas the waistcoat is lined with white ottoman and the jacket with bright red silk taffeta.
The outside base of the cuffs and the collar consists of silk velvet, for the description of which see PERKEO.
After a long search for suitable braids we decided on purchasing them from a renowned English purveyor, which is famous for its outstanding quality. With handmade and gold plated “basket weave” design buttons and braids made of real gold and silver, the whole ensemble does not only gains its dignified prominence by means of appearance, but also by high-class materials.
| click here to enlarge |
The traditional weapon carried with a hunting suit is the double-edged hunting knife. The service Reine des Centfeuilles offers is not only restricted to manufacturing, but comprises also the acquisition of extraordinary accessories for completion.
At an auctioneer in Northern Bavaria we were able to obtain this striking double-edged knife from the 18th century, and thanks to the pictures of Copenhagen we could combine it with a reproduction of the original hanging.
| click here to enlarge |
