[Maison Greffulhe] - Coat of arms of the Greffulhe and Rique - Lot 54

[Maison Greffulhe] - Coat of arms of the Greffulhe and Riquet de Caraman-Chimay alliances [Maison Greffulhe] Coat of arms of the Greffulhe and Riquet de Caraman-Chimay alliances, circa 1878 Gouache 52 cm in diameter On September 25, 1878, Henry Greffulhe married Élisabeth de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay, daughter of Joseph Riquet, eighteenth Prince of Chimay, Count of Caraman, who had become Prince of Caraman in Belgium on March 15, 1867. Her father had a brilliant diplomatic career with the King of the Belgians: appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1884, he held this post until his death in 1886. His mother, née Marie de Montesquiou-Fezensac, descended from an illustrious Gascon noble family. The marriage contract established a regime of separation of property between the spouses, designed to protect the husband's capital. Indeed, the young woman had no real fortune before her marriage: she brought a trousseau worth 15,000 francs and an annual annuity of 5,000 francs. The husband, on the other hand, had a considerable dowry, amounting to 8 million francs. The Countess, educated in the best circles and brilliant in society, provided the couple with the seniority of her rank and a cosmopolitan outlook, while the Count financed a large part of their lifestyle. It was no doubt in this spirit that Count Henry Greffulhe wrote to his wife on October 26, 1878: "Bébette, take good care of yourself for Paris... Everyone has to say: 'Lucky Henry! He married the prettiest woman in France!