The comments following the article were interesting. I follow the Met Opera radio broadcasts and several years ago Texaco stopped funding the broadcasts and that was a huge blow to the Met. If they're selling off items such as this stunning brooch and valuable works of art, they are looking desparately for cash. The brooch is sure to bring a princely sum, no pun intended and it would be wonderful if it could return to France. --Previous Message-- : : Here's an article Norman Lebrecht posted : yesterday in his opera blog "Slipped : disc": : : "The Metropolitan Opera has begun to : raid its vaults to raise hard cash. An item : of jewellery made in 1855 for Empress : Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, has been put : up for sale next month at Christie’s Geneva. : : The Feuilles de Groseillier brooch was : presented to the singer Lucrezia Bori by : Mrs. Vincent Astor, on behalf of colleagues : of the Metropolitan Opera Board, on the : night of her retirement in March 1936. Ms : Bori continued to work as a fundraiser for : the Met until her death in 1960, at which : point the brooch passed under her will into : Met ownership. : : The sale is expected to raise between $2 and : $3 million. The brooch is said by insiders : to be ‘the most valuable item’ in the Met : archives." : : : http://slippedisc.com/2014/10/the-met-starts-selling-off-assets/ : : :