Eugénie, Empress of France, Queen of Clubs

This hand-colored engraving from a French playing card set depicts Empress Eugénie in formal court dress, wearing a golden crown and pearl necklace. She stands in an elegant pose holding a fan, her white lace gown layered with blue ribbons and a trailing robe of crimson and gold. A small table with a crown and jewels sits beside her. The Queen of Clubs card marks this as part of the Jeu Imperial, a luxury deck celebrating Napoleon III's Second Empire. Such ornamental playing cards served both recreational and propagandistic purposes, circulating images of imperial power throughout French society during the mid-nineteenth century.