The carriage gallery at the Palace of Versailles is one of the largest in Europe. Each carriage tells a story from French history through a dynastic or political event: baptisms, weddings, coronations, funerals.

True mobile thrones, designed to impress, these carriages are works of art in their own right. Ostentatiously luxurious, lavishly decorated with gold and sculptures, and a dazzling combination of all the decorative arts, they were created by the finest artists and craftsmen: architects, carpenters, sculptors, painters, bronze workers, gilders, upholsterers, embroiderers, etc.

More than just a guide, this book also offers a brief history of horse-drawn vehicles, because beyond their artistic quality, these works reveal the latest advances in French coachbuilding in terms of elegance, comfort and technology.

Sumptuous carriages, refined sedan chairs and sleighs forming a strange and wonderful bestiary are the most vivid testimony to court life and splendour under the Ancien Régime, the Empire and the Restoration.

Dimensions : 17,1 x 24 cm

French