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    Re: Pss Brigitta Hohenzollern tiara-Portuguese origin? Archived Message

    Posted by Cristina on June 12, 2012, 6:42 am, in reply to "Re: Pss Brigitta Hohenzollern tiara-Portuguese origin?"

    I've been puzzling with this tiara for a long time, but I am quite convinced it did in fact came from Queen Maria II of Portugal.
    It's a pity I could never found a bigger version of the Queen's portrait or any notes on it, but the tiara in it seems to be a match to the one Pss Brigitta wore.

    As far as I know this was the only time it was worn by Pss Brigitta, and I have no pictures or portraits of other Hohenzollern princesses wearing it. Maybe it's because this tiara doesn't seem to be very "easy" to wear due to its rather unusual design, it asks for an upright airdo (like the Pss has) to make it work.

    The origin of the tiara also puzzles me. It could have been made for Queen Dona Maria II or it could have been inherited from her mother, the unfortunate Empress Leopoldina of Brazil, born archduchess of Austria. I really cannot define its style, but I would say possibly early XIX...

    I do wish that this tiara still remains with the Hohenzollerns. I find this piece really interesting because if it proves to be correct that indeed belonged to the portuguese queen, then it is one of the few portuguese jewels from that time that have survived to present day.

    Queen Maria II two daughters married german princes. Infanta Maria Ana married the future king of Saxony (she died before becoming queen), Infanta Antónia married the Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern-Siegmaringen, and both of them took the jewels they inherited from their mother to their new countries, so part of the queen of Portugal jewelry passed to the descend of the Saxony and Hohenzollern families.

    The faith of the jewelry that remained in Portugal was as tragic as the faith of the royal family... After the early death of Queen Maria's eldest son, king Dom Pedro V (he was in his 20's), his brother Dom Luis became the next King of Portugal. He married Maria Pia of Savoy, who became very popular for her charitable work but also known for spending fortunes in luxurious clothing. Queen Maria Pia had almost all of the jewelry from her late mother-in-law, and also from previous queens, completely dismantled and reset in new jewels to her personal taste. All the grander pieces contemporary of Queen Maria II (a big diamond leaf tiara, a stunning saphire set, a huge emerald corsage brooch from the XVIIIth century...) were gone forever. Most likely the only ones that survived were the jewels in possession of her daughters descend.
    The portuguese crown was far from being rich and in the late XIX early XXth century, the queen was heavily indebt... More than 100 items of jewelry, including tiaras, necklaces, brooches, were sold in auction. Only the jewels property of the crown remained and are still today property of the state. The country was in a turmoil and shortly after the king and the crownprince were assassinated...




    --Previous Message--
    : Great news Cristina ! Thank you so much for
    : sharing it, I'd never heard about this till
    : now, I always looked for Hohenzollern
    : Sigmaringen line in my researchs.
    : The tiara shown in the Portuguese
    : Parliament site looks very similar to
    : Birgitta's one and the emeralds adorning it
    : indicates that it is probably the same one.
    : Now I'm wondering why she never wore it
    : again, perhaps the tiara belongs to the
    : Fűrst von H-S her then brother-in-law ?
    : Anyway intersting !
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    : I have no confirmed notes for this but I am
    : quite convinced for a long time that
    : Princess Brigitta's tiara could have
    : portuguese royal origin, from her husband's
    : ancestor Infanta Antónia of Portugal. Her
    : mother, Queen Maria II of Portugal, was
    : portraited in a very similar tiara, the
    : portrait belongs to the collection of the
    : Necessidades Palace in Lisbon. The Queen
    : also wears other emerald jewels in the
    : portrait.
    : Here is a link to the small image on the
    : Portuguese Parliament site, scroll down and
    : click on the image to make it a bit bigger
    :
    :
    :
    : http://www.parlamento.pt/Parlamento/Paginas/AMonarquiaConstitucional.aspx
    :
    : The tiara in the portrait seems in all
    : similar to the one Pss Brigitta wore, the
    : design of diamond triangular shaped high
    : motifs and an emerald in the front motif.
    : Not a very usual design.
    : Most likely (and again with no confirmed
    : sources) Infanta Antónia inherited the tiara
    : (and perhaps some other jewelry) at the
    : death of her mother the Queen of Portugal,
    : who died at the age of 34 while giving birth
    : to her 11th child. Infanta Antónia was a
    : young girl at that time. When she married
    : the Prince of Hohenzollern-Siegmaringen she
    : took her beloved mother's tiara with her to
    : her new country, and passed it to her
    : descend.
    :
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    : GD Josephine Charlotte mystery tiara which
    : had
    : been discussed many times was a floral
    : diamond tiara with what seems to be emerald
    : stones as she wore it along with her VCA
    : emerald necklace tiara. Here she chatted
    : with Princess Marina and Prince Harald :
    :
    :
    :
    : Now my guess is that it was a loan from a
    : jeweller to match with her necklace,
    : earrings and bracelet.
    :
    :
    : Looking closely at Pcess Birgitta of Sweden,
    : I recall that it was said at that time that
    : her tiara had also some emeralds . Perhaps
    : the tiara came from The Hohenzollern
    : Sigmaringen heirloom. Could someone give any
    : information about it ? The Bernadotte
    : emerald necklace now with Queen Silvia
    : adorned her neck.
    : Anyway her hairdo is gorgeous, she enhances
    : her tiara perfectly. And her dress is of the
    : same green color as that of Princess
    : Caroline Mathilde of Denmark who is just on
    : her left !
    :
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