Art Price Index: Dog Houses Are a Howling Success

In 1780, a dog house was delivered to Marie-Antoinette for her pug, illustrating a particular concern for pets’ comfort in the 18th century. At court, dogs, kittens and other small companions were welcome in the drawing-room, and led a royal life. A recent exhibition at Versailles ("Les animaux du roi" (“The King’s Pets”), October 2021-February 2022) showed how they were entitled to porcelain bowls, collars adorned with precious stones and "dog houses": a term that appears in inventories at the end of the 17th century. These small items of furniture might take the form of beds, dome, stools or benches. Their wooden bodies, sometimes made by leading joiners and embellished by master upholsterers for more comfort, adopted the aesthetic canons of the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles.
 

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