The uniforms and gala uniforms presented in the third session of the Genoese auction of Furnishings, Paintings, Sculptures, Ceramics and Art Objects, which will be held in the historical Genoese venue of Palazzo del Melograno on Wednesday 30 March 2022 at 3 pm, come from the collections belonging to a patrician family. They represent an interesting cross-section of the production of these garments, between the 19th and the 20th century (lots 783 – 800).
Of great quality and with a remarkable decorative impact, they take us back to a world where the exercise of diplomacy was combined with a necessary attitude to formalism and etiquette: associated to the diplomatic service carried out by various family members for the Kingdom of Italy (but also for other states of the time), these clothes are also an important record of costume.
Among the most intriguing lots, the rare gala tailcoat used by the great commis of the Mexican Court stands out. It probably belonged to Giuseppe Corio, marquis of Sacconago and prince of Castelcicala, minister plenipotentiary of Maximilian of Hapsburg, emperor of Mexico (lot 799, estimated price 4,000 – 6,000 euros), and the one that once belonged to a Truchsesse (imperial seneschal), under Francis Joseph I of Austria The term marsina traditionally derives from the name of the Belgian Jean de Marsin (1601 – 1673), leader of the Spanish troops in Flanders (lot 800, estimated price 2,200 – 2,600 euros). An inescapable accessory for Court life for about three centuries, it was a ceremonial dress with a long-brimmed jacket, often in embroidered velvet or richly garnished, worn with the sottomarsina, a mock jacket.
