Posted by Anh on March 22, 2013, 7:41 am, in reply to "Re: Dutch Jewels"
Can someone decipher the text. The handwriting is so hard to read.
--Previous Message-- : Thank you for this interesting quote and : picture from 1899. : : In the Netherlands we don't have 'Crown : Jewels'. Some jewels were considered : Historic Family Jewels and were inherited by : the Head of the House and were not allowed : to be sold. The Family has put their most : prized posessions in Family Foundations: The : Regalia (Ceremonial Crown, Scepter, Orb and : Sword) and the Jewellery owned by the Family : are thus at the disposal of the Monarch for : the execution of his/her function and to : his/her family. They do not belong to 'The : Crown' as such. : I think it's somewhat unlikely that in 1898 : Queen Wilhelmina wore any of the jewels that : were once stolen from the Palace in : Brussels. I think it is safe to say, we : don't know. : : The jewels that were stolen belonged to : Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, wife of the : Prince of Orange, later King Willem II. She : had a large collection of (Russian) jewels : and many were indeed stolen. She asked her : brother the Tsar for some replacements and : received some of the stolen items back. But : I believe they were actually found burried : in Brussels, not Brooklyn. I have never seen : the complete inventory of the 76 pieces of : jewellery that were stolen, nor have I seen : a list of items that were returned. I found : these two scans from the archives detailing : some of the items stolen. It was part of a : communique to the Embassies to look out for : these items. : : : : : : Source: Ga het Na : : I have always read that only a part of the : jewels were retrieved and that the majority : of the jewels in the posession of Anna : Pavlovna later in life were inherited by her : daughter (Grand Duchess of Saxen-Weimar) and : her second son, Prince Hendrik. The latter : left his share, mostly Sapphires, to his : brother, King Willem III and thus some ended : up with Queen Wilhelmina. : : The Tiara shown in the picture you posted, : is depicted quite accurately but was created : in the 1880's by Mellerio for Queen Emma. : Queen Wilhelmina never wore this piece. The : central sapphire is said to have been a : brooch of Anna Pavlovna. The devant de : corsages, I can't place. : : : --Previous Message-- : Source: Library of Congress collection. : : This is from the "The Appeal" (St. : Paul, MN) newspaper dated February 4, 1899. : : : : : CAPTION: : : CROWN JEWELS BURIED IN BROOKLYN. : : WILHELMINA'S TREASURES WERE ONCE CONCEALED : IN AN AMERICAN CEMETERY AND DUG UP AFTER : MANY YEARS. : : The crown jewels worn by the girl queen of : Holland at her coronation were once buried : in a Brooklyn cemetery. : : One year before the outbreak of the Belgian : revolution these jewels were stolen from the : court in Brussels, where William I held : forth. It was said that the thief or thieves : were intimate friends of one of the trusted : court servants; that one day while cleaning : the aparmtents the servant was made to drink : drugged wine and that the strong box : containing the jewels was broken open while : he was unconscious and the jewels taken out : of the country. : : On July 28, 1831, a Frenchman by the name of : Jean Romage appeared in the Dutch embassy at : Washington and asked to see the ambassador, : Baron Huygene. This man declared that he : knew the man who had taken the crown jewels : and that he would be willing to reveal his : whereabout if he would receive an assurance : that the $25,000 reward offered by King : William I would be forthcoming at once. : : Baron Huygene gladly gave a written : assurance, and then Romage accused an : Italian by the name of Polart as the thief. : Romage confessed that he had became : acquainted with Polart's sweetheart and that : the latter had betrayed to him the story of : the theft. He had quarreled with her, and, : to be avenged on him, she told of his crime : and the place of concealment is a Brooklyn : cemetery. When search was made they were : found there and returned to Holland, but : Polart had been warned before he could be : arrested and was never apprehened. : : End of quote. : : :
on March 22, 2013, 7:41 am, in reply to "