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    Re: Off topic: the Delhi Durbar Emerald Stomacher Archived Message

    Posted by Arthur on July 17, 2014, 7:06 am, in reply to "Re: Off topic: the Delhi Durbar Emerald Stomacher"

    Thanks for the pictures, Nellie!

    The pictures of the Royal Tour to South Africa in 1947 are rather blurry, yet we can see that the tiara is in its original form (minus the emerald drops), i.e. with the top diamond line still present and with the original "cylindrical" shape (whereas the current form looks more like a curtailed reversed cone). So it must have been altered later, probably by Queen-Mother Elizabeth (maybe she had found the tiara uncomfortable to wear?).

    We can also notice that in The Queen's Diamonds, Hugh Roberts mentions that the tiara was "loaned" by Queen Mary to Queen Elizabeth for the South African tour, which means Elizabeth was still not the owner of the tiara by then, and could not alter it as she might have wished. We can also see (page 15) the page of Queen Mary's Jewels Inventory concerning the Durbar tiara. Below the original text stands a later annotation by Queen Mary's hand, stating that the tiara had been "handed over to the Queen for her to wear in South Africa - 1947 - & since retained by Her Majesty without the emerald drops".

    More (blurry ) pictures from the South African visit:





    --Previous Message--
    :
    : Beth - just who was responsible for altering
    : the durbar tiara is not known.
    : Well, Roberts did not say, in the QD, when
    : writing of the alteration.
    : I have my own theory but will not be posting
    : it!
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    : Hello Arthur, I am not sure if I have read
    : your posts correctly.
    : I have only ever seen two very small
    : photographs of HM wearing this tiara during
    : the South African tour and neither provides
    : a good view of the tiara. To me it looked as
    : if the tiara was in its present form, but
    : obviously I could be very much mistaken, and
    : my impression might simply be a result of
    : seeing it without the emeralds.
    : Are you saying that there is definite proof
    : that Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
    : altered the tiara sometime after the South
    : African tour?
    : Thank you for the wonderful photos.
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    : Camilla should give a try for us to be sure
    : about that...
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    :
    : You describe the changes thoroughly but I
    : cannot agree that upright emeralds could be
    : added without the tiara looking even more
    : like that of the winner of a beauty pageant.
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    : The alterations made at some time between
    : 1947
    : (when worn in South Africa in its original
    : form) and 2001 (when photographed in its
    : altered form by Munn for his book Tiaras, A
    : History of Splendor ) mainly consisted in
    : two changes:
    : 1) the base of the circlet was narrowed,
    : making it probably easier to wear
    : 2) the top line of diamonds was removed
    : (probably a necessary consequence of the 1),
    : to enable to open up the top of the tiara as
    : a result of narrowing the base.
    : In my view, these alterations have improved
    : the beauty of the tiara (which looked too
    : cylindrical and fence-like in it original
    : form, IMHO).
    :
    : But even in the tiara's original form, the
    : Cambridge emerald drops could be mounted
    : between the top of the "lyre"
    : elements - i.e. at the only points the top
    : line of diamonds (the one which was later
    : removed) was interrupted. And Hugh Roberts,
    : in The Queen's Diamonds , explains that the
    : emeralds were made removable from 1922 (they
    : were initially permanently fixed) to be used
    : alternately on the Durbar tiara and the
    : Vladimir tiara (which Queen Mary had by then
    : just acquired). Therefore, I am not sure the
    : points where the emeralds were mounted have
    : been concerned by the alterations. So the
    : emerald drops could possibly still be
    : mounted on the Durbar tiara, if wanted.
    :
    : The tiara in its original form:
    :
    :
    :
    : And in its altered form:
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : Here is a link to an HP pic of the Durbar
    : Tiara (in its altered form, without the
    : emerald drops):
    :
    :
    :
    :
    :
    : http://www.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/05_250528-p179-delhi-durbar-tiara-011.jpg
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    :
    : The tiara has also been so altered that it
    : would not support the emeralds very well.
    : I would like to see tiara restored.
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    : That's what I had in mind: a formal portrait
    : of the Queen, rather than a "live"
    : appearance during a gala ceremony (wearing a
    : full stomacher in such a circumstance could
    : indeed be over the top for today's jewellery
    : standards... even for the Queen!).
    :
    : I had also thought of the Thistle robes, as
    : the green of the jewels would match
    : perfectly with the green velvet of the
    : robes. But as the Queen has recently (last
    : year) made a portrait with the Thistle
    : robes, I think it will be a few years before
    : she has another one made.
    :
    :
    :
    : And yes, the Delhi Durbar Emerald Necklace
    : would be a better match with the Delhi
    : Durbar Emerald Stomacher (as they were made
    : for the same occasion and are made of the
    : same oval Cambridge cabochon emeralds) than
    : the Greville Emerald necklace (which is
    : probably made of faceted rectangular
    : emeralds). But I would be glad of any
    : opportunity to see the Greville necklace!
    :
    : Am I right that the only emerald tiara the
    : Queen has at her disposal is the Vladimir
    : Tiara (when worn with the Cambridge emerald
    : drops)?
    : (there could also be the Delhi Durbar tiara,
    : if surmounted by the Cambridge emerald
    : drops, but this tiara has been loaned by the
    : Queen to the Duchess of Cornwall).
    :
    :
    : --Previous Message--
    :
    : My suggestion is for someone to commission
    : another portrait for the Thistle with the
    : Queen wearing the complete emerald stomacher
    : - and the Durbar necklaces please.
    :
    :
    :

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