The Throne of Dagobert with Pepin, Bertha and Charlemagne, Lithograph, 1842

This original antique lithograph, hand colored, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows the throne of Dagobert, a folding seat on crossed legs colored in bronze gold, the uprights ending in animal heads above clawed feet, with an openwork back of scrolls and a ring at the center, set on a low plinth. Below, at left, a crowned bearded king in a long buff mantle stands with a crowned queen at his shoulder; at right Charlemagne, crowned and moustached, wears a green tunic, a crimson cloak edged in gold, red and white banded hose and yellow shoes, a sword at his side, his hand held out toward the couple.

The top margin is lettered "T. IV", "FRANCIA" and "Tav 19". The captions read "Trono di Dagoberto 1°" (Throne of Dagobert I), "Pipino e Berta" (Pepin and Bertha) and "Carlo Magno" (Charlemagne).

Dagobert I was a Merovingian king of the Franks in the seventh century. The bronze folding seat known as the throne of Dagobert is preserved in Paris in the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Pepin the Short, the first Carolingian king of the Franks, and his queen Bertrada, often called Bertha, were the parents of Charlemagne, King of the Franks and from 800 emperor.

With its three famous names and the gilt throne, the sheet pairs well with other plates of French royal history.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.