Richelieu

Richelieu

Playful in design, RICHELIEU portrays a fascinating tale of 17th-century Europe through the symbols of a lion (Spain), an eagle (Austria), and a lily (France). The clergyman and statesman Cardinal RICHELIEU was a shrewd foreign minister with a hunger for power-- especially over the Hapsburg Dynasty in Austria and Spain. Even the caterpillars on the lily (enemies within) must be brought to heel before almighty France, as a famous etching shows. Along with amassing power, RICHELIEU was a renowned patron of the arts whose collection of painting and sculpture, once housed at the now disassembled Chateau Richelieu, was Europe’s largest at the time.