WEDDING FLOWERS: Tiara Thursday
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Showing posts with label Tiara Thursday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiara Thursday. Show all posts

Tiara Thursday: Princess Thyra's Sapphire Tiara

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Our coverage of the Dutch state visit to Denmark last week was missing a tiara! Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, Queen Margrethe's first cousin, attended the state banquet but apparently entered separately, so we didn't get a great look at her. But she was there, and she was wearing this tiara:
Princess Thyra's Sapphire Tiara
Set in gold and silver and dating from latter half of the 1800s, it includes small diamond designs between five large scrolling diamond elements, each with a sapphire at the center. The sapphires can be swapped out for turquoise stones. The tiara belonged to Princess Thyra of Denmark (1880-1945), who was the daughter of King Frederik VIII and Queen Louise. Thyra never married and had no children, and she left the tiara to her niece, Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark (1912-1995).
Thyra (left), Caroline-Mathilde (right)
Caroline-Mathilde was married to Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, the second son of King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine. (Had history gone differently, Knud could have been the King of Denmark one day. He was next in line to his older brother, Frederik IX, who had only daughters at a time when women couldn't inherit the throne. But the law was changed in 1953, and a young future Queen Margrethe and her sisters jumped ahead of him in line.) The couple had three children, and this tiara went to their only daughter, Princess Elisabeth. Princess Elisabeth is still in the line of succession for the Danish throne, and she sometimes attends official engagements. When a tiara is required, this is her constant favorite.
Elisabeth
It really does remind you of a blue version of the Edward VII Ruby Tiara in Sweden, doesn't it? Princess Thyra's Sapphire Tiara has a lower profile and five larger elements instead of three, so it feels a little more balanced. It also seems easier to wear with a modern hairstyle (the Swedish ruby is truly made for the large Edwardian 'dos popular when it was created), although when worn tilted back (as it is above), it can practically disappear. Nevertheless, I'm always happy to see Princess Elisabeth out and about and to see this one in action.

Where does this rank on your list of favorite sapphire tiaras?

Photos: Bodilbinner/DR/Sean Gallup via Getty Images

Tiara Thursday: The Rosebery Pearl and Diamond Tiara

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The Rosebery Pearl and Diamond Tiara
This striking tiara was once the property of a woman said to have been the wealthiest woman in England, Hannah, Countess of Rosebery (1851-1890), and was an important member of a jewel collection rich enough to rival a royal collection. The Rosebery Pearl and Diamond Tiara has a base of clusters of large button (bouton) natural pearls surrounded by old-cut diamonds and a top of seven natural pearl and diamond drops, all set in silver and gold. It's a versatile diadem with multiple detachable pieces; the top pieces can be removed (in the same fashion as the Londonderry Tiara, also crafted by Garrard) leaving the bottom row as a smaller tiara, and the buttons can also be used to form six brooches with the top pieces as pendants. A bracelet and brooch, each featuring more clusters of button pearls and diamonds, completed the set.
The bracelet, brooch, and tiara close ups
The tiara dates from about 1878, the same year Hannah de Rothschild married the 5th Earl of Rosebery. Born into the famous banking empire, she was the only child of Mayer de Rothschild and when he died in 1874, the fortune she inherited made her the richest woman in England at the time. Her aristocratic marriage did not come without obstacles, caused particularly by religion (she was Jewish, he was not, and there were hurdles to jump on both sides), but they became an influential couple and her money financed her popular husband's rise through the political structure. He eventually became prime minister, but she sadly would not live to see it; she died suddenly at the age of 39 in 1890.
A Christie's employee shows off the tiara, brooch, and bracelet
Following her death, her husband stored her jewels for nearly 20 years, until their eldest son married and the jewels were split between their four children. Harry, Lord Dalmeny (the future 6th Earl of Rosebery), wed in 1909 and this set of pearl and diamond jewelry was given to his bride, Dorothy Grosvenor, granddaughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster and sister to the 3rd Duke. It passed down in the family and was last known to be part of the collection of the current Duke and Duchess of Westminster, because it was included in a magazine feature on their family jewels. It was sold by Christie's in 2011 as the property of a private collector, where the tiara went for $1.9 million and the brooch and bracelet together brought in nearly $950,000.

Video: The tiara modeled prior to auction
The Rosebery Pearl and Diamond Tiara was purchased by the Qatar Museums Authority Collection, as it was marked when included in a recent Victoria & Albert Museum exhibit on pearls. It's an important piece, thanks to its history (Christie's called the set "Victorian ancestral jewels of the first rank") and the large and rare size of its natural pearls, and I'm glad it is with an owner that frequently loans items for display around the world. It is such a curious and theatrical piece when the top row of pearls is installed - those drop pearls would be inverted on most other tiaras, and the triangular effect of this set up is quite dramatic - I can't help but think it would also be right at home on a movie set too.

Too dramatic for you, or just right?

Photos: Christie's, Auctioneers video, Getty Images as indicated

Tiara Thursday (on a Friday): Empress Farah's Turquoise Tiara

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The Duchess of Gloucester's outing of the Teck Turquoise Tiara this week has put me in a turquoise mood, so let's chat about a tiara that's grown to be rather a favorite of mine. This one was worn by Farah Pahlavi, the third wife and Empress (or Shahbanou) to the last Shah of Iran.
Empress Farah's Turquoise Tiara
It's only fitting that a great turquoise tiara would by a Persian shahbanou; mining of turquoise and decorating with the stone is part of Iran's history, and Persian turquoise is famed for its quality. More than one turquoise tiara is tied to the dynasty, but this is my favorite of the known options, like a colorful version of the Antique Pearl Tiara from the Netherlands. The base contains a central round turquoise stone with oval turquoises to the sides in a diamond framework, and a top of nine upright turquoise stones in a graduating height arrangement. A pair of pendant earrings were worn with the tiara, and there was also a turquoise necklace to pair with it.
Farah
This tiara was made for Farah's personal use, unlike the Noor-ol-Ain Tiara or her Seven Emerald Tiara, which were created as part of the crown jewels and remained with the state when the monarchy was abolished. However, the Empress did not take this tiara with her when she left the country, and today she does not wear tiaras to the royal events she attends. But when it was in use, she wore it to perfection (the high center point made it an especially good fit for the tall updos she sported back then), and it's a shame we don't get to see it today. But of course I would say that, since I think it might be my favorite of the Iranian tiaras.

Where does this rank on your list of favorite Iranian tiaras?

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

Tiara Thursday: The Barberini Sapphire Tiara

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The Barberini Sapphire Tiara
So many of the sapphire tiaras we know today are fairly symmetrical, even architectural, in their design, so an asymmetrical floral option makes for a refreshing change of pace. Joining other sapphire floral tiaras such as the Ogilvy Tiara, the Barberini Sapphire Tiara features a flowering wreath design. A rose-cut diamond branch is the base for old-cut diamond flowers with an oval collet sapphire at the center of each, and more sapphires are scattered along the branch. The stones are mounted in silver and gold, and the tiara dates from around 1850.
Other pieces in the set
The tiara is part of a parure that includes a necklace, brooch, and girandole earrings. The accompanying pieces are also notable for their commitment to the floral theme, when many parures might opt for a simpler design for the rest of the set. These were among the jewels that belonged to the Barberini family, an old Italian noble family that counts a pope among its ancestors (Pope Urban VIII) and who gave their name to the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, today the location of the National Gallery of Ancient Art.
The tiara is modeled before its most recent auction
These particular pieces are known to us via their history of auctions, rather than their former owners. The jewels were first sold by Christie’s as a parure in 1971 for $18,850. They were sold again, this time as four separate pieces, in 2009, and brought in close to $250,000 all together ($100,144 for the tiara alone). Floral tiaras are not my favorite overall, but this one does have a charm that makes me wish I’d had the checkbook power to scoop these up.

Sapphires in your floral tiaras, yes or no?

Photos: Christie's / Marco Secchi via Getty Images

Tiara Thursday: Queen Marie José's Beauharnais Pearl Tiara

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Today's tiara is unusual for a variety of reasons.
Queen Marie José's Beauharnais Pearl Tiara
First, of course, is the design. Pearl tiaras are often more diamond heavy than pearl heavy, but the design of this coronet-like piece relies on small pearls to outline the engraved gold base and the triangular and fan motifs above it, with small diamonds just as accents. It was made around 1829 in Paris, making it one of the older tiaras still in existence today - but adding another point in the unusual column, it looks mostly the same today as it did back then. Many diadems dating back that far have been remodeled heavily over time, but this one has only been modified to add an extension piece at the back.
Stéphanie
The tiara belonged to the adopted daughter of Napoleon, Stéphanie de Beauharnais (1789-1860). Stéphanie married the Grand Duke of Baden, and she was pictured wearing the tiara (above). The tiara made its way to the Belgian royal family, who are related to Stéphanie courtesy of her granddaughter Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Countess of Flanders (1845-1912), and it eventually ended up in the possession of Princess Marie José of Belgium (1906-2001), daughter of King Albert I and granddaughter of the aforementioned Countess of Flanders. (It should be noted that some references to this tiara tie it back to Empress Joséphine, Napoleon's first wife, who died prior to the reported approximate creation date of the piece, and some paths of ownership tie it to Empress Charlotte of Mexico, born a Belgian princess, at some point.)
Marie José
The tiara's main modification came in 1924, when the band was extended at the back so that Princess Marie José could wear it in the fashionable style across the forehead to her first court ball. In 1930, the princess married the future King Umberto II of Italy. The tiara stayed in Queen Marie José's possession until her death in 2001, when it passed to her daughter, Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy. It was auctioned at Christie's in 2007 (as were other pieces from the late queen's jewel collection, including the Empress Joséphine Tiara), and it sold for $85,190. Adding another layer to the rarity of the tiara's tale, it did not disapper into a private collection but was bought by the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. They purchased the tiara because of its link to the history of Mannheim Palace, which was the home of Stéphanie de Beauharnais. It is now part of the museum collection at the impressive Baroque palace.

As pearl tiaras go: Yay or Nay?

Photos: Christie's, Wikimedia

Tiara Thursday: The Russian Sapphire “Wave” Tiara

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The Russian Sapphire "Wave" Tiara
Today’s featured tiara is one that has been mentioned in the comments on just about every Romanov tiara we’ve covered of late, I think, so we’re overdue to give it a proper day in the spotlight. It’s an eye-catcher to be sure, and while pretty much every Russian imperial tiara has a bit of mystery to it, thanks to the course of history, this one comes with extra intrigue. It was essentially an unknown piece of Russian treasure until evidence of its existence was unearthed in 2012. You might expect such a discovery from the files of an historic jewelry house or perhaps the depths of a wealthy private collection, but this one came from a far more surprising source: the library of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in Reston, Virginia.
The Marie Feodorovna portrait and the sketch referenced below, with a detail of the tiara center
Mineralogist and gemologist George F. Kunz (1856-1932), who worked for the USGS as well as Tiffany & Co., left his private library to the government agency when he died. Among his treasures was a large book with a nondescript exterior and a title plate in Russian that turned out to translate to The Russian Diamond Fund, with a publication date of 1922. The Diamond Fund is, to this day, the name for the Russian state’s store of their remaining crown jewels. Kunz’s book was a photo album of pieces of Russian jewelry. The USGS compared the album to another publication, Russia’s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones, published in 1925 and regarded as the most complete inventory of the Russian crown jewels which were seized by the new state after the revolution, and discovered that most of the photos were printed there as well. But they also discovered that their 1922 album included photos of four additional pieces, mysteriously not included in the 1925 inventory and thus unknown to most jewel scholars: an emerald and diamond necklace, a sapphire and diamond bracelet, a sapphire and diamond bow brooch, and a sapphire and diamond diadem.
Video: The USGS discusses the discovery
The tiara in question includes nine large sapphires, each surrounded by arcs of diamonds ending in dangling diamond drops, a design reminiscent of breaking waves in the ocean. Investigation into its provenance produced a sketch that seems to depict the piece. The sketch is reproduced in Tiaras: A History of Splendour by Geoffrey Munn, where it is identified as a study by Nicholas Chevalier of the jewels worn to the 1874 wedding of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia by Marie Feodorovna (née Dagmar of Denmark, 1847-1928), then the Tsarevna, wife of the heir. The same piece may be the diadem depicted in a portrait of her from the same year. (Note: The video above about the discovery briefly mentions the tiara belonging to Marie Alexandrovna instead, though the sketch itself points elsewhere as I’ve mentioned here.) These illustrations indicate that the tiara was originally worn attached to a traditional fabric covered kokoshnik headdress which was topped by what appears to be a diamond rivière.
The large table of Russian jewels, top; all four jewels discovered in USGS photos, bottom
Apart from that speculation, the rest of the story behind these four pieces remains a mystery. Three of them can be spotted on the table laden with bejeweled treasures above, but we don’t know why they were excluded from the 1925 inventory. The USGS research team was able to determine that the brooch was sold at an auction in 1927, but other record of what happened to these gems seems nonexistent so far. While it is possible that they still exist – it’s happened, things going missing for a century and then popping back up – they may also have been dismantled. Sad, but all too often true.

Would this nab a spot on your list of favorite sapphire tiaras?

Photos: USGS, USGS video, Wikimedia Commons

Tiara Thursday: The Murat Tiara

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The Murat Tiara
Built as a showcase for three large pearls, the Murat Tiara is a creation by Joseph Chaumet. It dates from 1920, when it was created as a wedding gift for the marriage of Prince Alexandre Murat (1889-1926) and Yvonne Gillois (1894-1961). The large pearls came from the Murat family. The center pearl, noted as an "exceptional treasure" at the time of the tiara's sale, is a baroque button-shaped natural pearl of over 75 carats (75.84 carats to be exact, or 303.37 grains). Two additional large pearls, also button-shaped and natural, were added to the sides of the design, adding some balance to the large centerpiece. The family also supplied most of the diamonds used for the design of acanthus foliage scrolls that accent the pearls.
The Murat family's title goes back to the reign of Napoleon I, when Joachim Murat (1767-1815) rose up through the military and married Napoleon's sister Caroline Bonaparte. Titles were granted and eventually Joachim was King of Naples and Sicily (though all did not end well for him; he was ultimately executed for treason after the fall of Napoleon). The family maintained a prominent position in French society, and at the time of this tiara's creation, there still would have been plenty of tiara occasions for the new bride to attend.
This is a tiara certainly intended to convey status, thanks to those enormous pearls. The design itself is grand enough to recall the family's roots, with an acanthus motif that would have fit in at Napoleon's court. The tiara originally had a separate bandeau on which it could be worn for additional height and an option to be worn at the forehead, in a style very much of the 1920s but also very much in the style of Empress Joséphine. All of that grandeur paid off when the tiara was auctioned at Sotheby's in 2012. Estimated to bring in up to $2,445,636, the tiara sold for $3,864,318.

What do you say: A successful incorporation of large single gems?

Photos:  Sotheby's, Miguel Medina/AFP

Tiara Thursday: Alexandra Feodorovna's Emerald Bow Tiara

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Alexandra Feodorovna's Emerald Bow Tiara
As we’ve discussed before, if you’re searching for stones of exceptional quality and color, you need look no further than the collection that belonged to the Romanovs at the height of their splendor. The green stones featured in today’s tiara are one example, Colombian emeralds with what was said to have been a brilliant color. The center emerald is a sugarloaf cabochon, an unfaceted cut rising to a high point in the center, weighing in at around 23 carats. The emeralds were combined with South African diamonds in a design of upright loops alternating with bows in this tiara made to the order of Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918), wife of Tsar Nicholas II. It was crafted in gold and silver with removable elements in 1900 by imperial court jeweler Bolin.
Alexandra Feodorovna
The tiara was part of a matching set of jewels. Also made by Bolin for Alexandra at that time was a matching necklace and she was painted in 1907 by N.K. Bodarevsky (above) wearing what appears to be a matching brooch. A devant de corsage (dress ornament) of emeralds and diamonds with was made by another jeweler to the imperial family, Fabergé. The corsage was ordered by Alexandra Feodorovna’s sister, Elizabeth (1964-1918), who was married to Nicholas II’s uncle. The matching stones and bow design suggests that it was intended to be part of the same parure.
A detail of the center element in the tiara (left), the devant de corsage (center top), the tiara displayed with other jewels to be sold (center bottom), and the necklace (right)
Unfortunately, like so many other Romanov jewels, this parure has disappeared. It was sold by the Soviet government in the 1920s, after the overthrow of the monarchy. It’s hard to imagine it being successfully worn today, though; the tiara is actually a circlet, a complete circle, probably best worn with the elaborate hairstyles of the time, and a piece like the devant de corsage would scarcely be used with today’s fashions. The devant de corsage, however, is the one piece that has a version in existence today: a replica was made in 1985 for the Diamond Fund, the Russian state’s jewel collection.

Who do you think could pull this set off, if it was around today?

Photos: Fersman, Wikimedia Commons, USGS

Tiara Thursday: Princess Kako's Tiara

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It is standard practice in Japan's imperial household to provide each female member a tiara, either when they marry in to the family, or when they come of age at 20. Some of these are passed down, such as the two tiaras worn by Crown Princess Masako, and some are suspected to be reworkings of tiaras worn in the past by family members, but the imperial household remains one of the rare places where the purchase of a totally new parure still happens. The product of just such a commission was revealed at the end of last month.
Princess Kako's Tiara
Princess Kako of Akishino, second daughter of the Prince and Princess Akishino and granddaughter of the Emperor and Empress, turned 20 on December 29, 2014. In June 2013, it was announced that K. Mikimoto & Co. would be making her tiara and its matching set of jewelry after winning a bid between five jewelers for the honor. (The bidding process, as opposed to privately commissioning a selected jeweler, was introduced when creating the jewels for Princess Yōko of Mikasa's coming of age.) Mikimoto, a prestigious Japanese company known especially for their pearls, has a long history as an official jeweler to the imperial family. Their commission was for five pieces to be delivered the following March at a cost of approximately ¥30 million (about $250,000).
Princess Kako in her parure, on her birthday (center and left) and at the New Year's reception (right)
The resulting tiara is a series of linked scroll motifs around diamond clusters. The necklace is a mirror of the tiara's design, as is usually the case with these Japanese parures. Princess Kako also has earrings of round diamonds with a round diamond pendant, a design which is common to many of the family's jewel sets, a brooch, and at least one bracelet (she was wearing something sparkling on both wrists). She first wore the parure for her traditional coming of age visit to the Emperor and Empress, and then again a few days later for the annual New Year's court event.

Video: Kako's first outing of her new tiara
There's no mistaking this as a Japanese tiara, as it shares the all-white color scheme and somewhat generic design basis with many other sparkling headpieces in the family (I find it particularly reminiscent of her mother's tiara), and so it's a bit prone to get lost in the fray when the imperial ladies are all lined up. But on its own, I'm really charmed by this - then again, I am partial to tiaras with diamonds and scrolls - and can't help but wish someone would give me a birthday gift half this nice some day...sigh.

Favorite new tiara, or forgettable on the whole?

Photos: ANNNewsCH video

Tiara Thursday: The Edward VII Ruby Tiara

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The wedding of Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882-1920) and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf) in 1905 yielded a typical landslide of jeweled gifts for the bride, including several pieces still in action at royal events today. The haul included tiaras such as the Connaught Tiara, still in Sweden with Queen Silvia, and the Khedive of Egypt Tiara, now with Greece’s Queen Anne-Marie, by way of Denmark. Today’s tiara (also called the Connaught Ruby Tiara, though I always get it confused with the diamond version that way) is another from that wedding haul, and another still in Sweden – though just barely.
The tiara and the sketch of the wedding jewels
This tiara was a gift from King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Princess Margaret, who was their niece. Made by E. Wolff & Co. and likely sold by Garrard, the gem includes a scrolling diamond design with three large upright motifs that resemble hearts, and rubies at the center of each upright as well as at the base. It can be removed from its base and worn as a necklace.
Princess Margaret
Margaret, who became Crown Princess of Sweden, died tragically in 1920 while pregnant with her sixth child. Her jewels were divided between her five surviving children. The ruby tiara was inherited by the couple’s son Prince Sigvard, just 13 at the time of his mother’s death. The path from Sigvard back to where the tiara lies today – with the current King and Queen – is a complicated one.
Prince Sigvard lost his royal title when he married a commoner in 1934. He would later find success as a graphic and industrial designer, but before that happened, he was in need of funds. He sold the ruby tiara to his father, King Gustaf VI Adolf, but the arrangement did not go as planned. Sigvard believed it to be a loan, and that the tiara would return to him when he had the funds. His father disagreed, considering it a sale, and instead left it to Sigvard’s son, Michael, in his will. That son then sold it back to King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The tiara was still worn occasionally by Sigvard Bernadotte’s second wife, Sonja, as well as his third wife, Marianne (who wore it both as a tiara and as a necklace). But, along with his firm belief that he should get his prince title back since the family laws had changed, the tiara’s ownership remained a source of bitterness. He was open about the conflict, objecting when Queen Silvia wore the tiara to the 1995 wedding of Prince Joachim of Denmark and Alexandra Manley (first Silvia picture above, in the red and gold). And for a long time, the tiara was scarcely used by Queen Silvia. After that 1995 appearance, she did not wear it until 2007 (pictured above, in the pink dress).
What was different in 2007? Well, Sigvard Bernadotte died in 2002. Since then the diadem has been used more regularly by Queen Silvia. In 2013 she wore it in the necklace form, which she hadn't done since 1988. Like the Connaught Diamond Tiara, it is a shape made to be worn in the voluminous hairstyles popular at the time of its creation, and that makes it tough to wear today. But Queen Silvia, who has not yet shared the tiara with her daughters, is up to the task. 

Where does this rank on your list of favorite Swedish tiaras?

With the Nobel Prize tiara events approaching, my wish this year is something I wish for every year: anything new or rare on the jewel front. Not a new jewel, I am being somewhat realistic here, but someone wearing something they haven’t worn before or something beyond the expected. This is one of the tiaras that I wait for Silvia to share...

Photos: Illustrated London News, Royal Court of Sweden, Wikimedia Commons, Anthony Jones/Julian Parker/UK Press and Pool via Getty Images, Presidência da República Portuguesa

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