Re: Empress Joséphine - sapphires and emeralds: a question?Archived Message
Posted by Boris on April 16, 2012, 4:35 am, in reply to "Re: a question?"
Yes, you’re correct - the originally posted picture is a rather bad version of the famous portrait by Francois Gérard, in the original you can see that Empress Joséphine is wearing an emerald and pearl parure (see the enlargement below). I'd love to know as well where this particular parure ended up.
As for Joséphine's sapphires, they are unquestionably in the Louvre (in their frequently altered form). There is only a speculative possibility that some pieces might have been used by Nitot in 1806 to create Napoléon’s wedding gift to Eugène de Beauharnais, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg, and Princess Augusta of Bavaria: The Leuchtenberg sapphire parure which is now in the Bernadotte collection. The history of Joséphine’s sapphires is quite complex, Ursula’s site offers a good overview as usual:
(Btw., Joye: Again a plea to you if you could perhaps make your post’s subject matters a bit clearer, if possible...?)
--Previous Message-- : I am quite sure the stones are emeralds. : Aparantly the set existed until 1920 when it : was sold. Louvre tried to interveen but to : no avail. If this story is true, I am sure : there must be something written about it in : French news papers at the time... : : --Previous Message-- : Empress Josephine's sapphires. : Might they be the same sapphires that are in : the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara, that her : granddaughter Queen Josephire brought into : the Swedish Royal Family jewels? : : : : :
on April 16, 2012, 4:35 am, in reply to "