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The Siamese Ambassadors and Their Interpreter, the Abbé de Lionne

Jacques Vigoureux - Duplessis French

ca. 1715

Not on view

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.

The Siamese Ambassadors and Their Interpreter, the Abbé de Lionne, Jacques Vigoureux - Duplessis (French, before ca. 1680–ca. 1732), Oil on canvas, French — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

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)

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