The Garden Of Eden

Stag with Herb Branch Mounted as a Ring, 1567, Art Institute of Chicago: Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance

Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf Size: Diameter: 2.2 cm (13/16 in.) Medium: Gold, enamel, ruby, opals, and pearls

Marie Antoinette flattered herself that the Comtesse Jules and the Princesse de Lamballe would be her especial friends, and that she should possess a society formed according to her own taste. “I will receive them in my closet, or at Trianon,” said she; “I will enjoy the comforts of private life, which exist not for us, unless we have the good sense to secure them for ourselves.” The happiness the Queen thought to secure was destined to turn to vexation. All those courtiers who were not admitted to this intimacy became so many jealous and vindictive enemies.