The Oriental circelet tiara - again!Archived Message
Posted by Beth on October 9, 2015, 5:01 am
Baxter's panel for this month showing Queen Victoria wearing what looks like an opal tiara got me thinking about some anomalies in the information I have.
I haven't solved my queries, but perhaps others have information which may lead us to a new conclusion.
We now know that the Oriental circlet tiara was initially made - or commissioned - in 1853. Here is a post by Nellie with some of the relevant information and an image of the original Garrard's ledger published by Menkes. http://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/1403250143.html
In searches I did some time ago in The Times I took the following note from the paper of 8 March 1850 detailing what HM wore for a Court Levee.
This proves that Queen Victoria was in possession of an opal tiara well prior to 1853 when the Oriental circlet tiara was commissioned.
I then tried to find the earliest image we have of this tiara.
The earliest I could find is a painting by Stephen Catterson Smith executed in 1854 to commemorate Queen Victoria's visit to Ireland in 1849. It is said to have been done from a live sitting by the Queen. (I do not appear to have taken a note of where I read this particular piece of information but in general see http://www.libraryireland.com/irishartists/stephen-catterson-smith.php )
I believe from information on the net that the painting, which was done for the Corporation of Dublin, is still today in the Mansion House in Dublin. Unfortunately the only image I can find of this painting does not show the tiara clearly,
Here is a detail of the tiara from that portrait.
Here is an image of the engraving done by G Sanders of the original portrait.
Although I cannot find a clear image of the Oriental circlet pre the Sanders engraving (I think it is dated 1857), I am now inclined to think that Queen Victoria had an opal tiara prior to the commissioning of the Oriental circlet tiara in 1853.
Unfortunately, I don't have any idea what that tiara looked like but, given that the Smith portrait of 1854 does not seem to show the same tiara as that in the Sanders engraving I wonder if there is something to be learned from the portrait Baxter posted, although I believe the date for that portrait is 1863 and the preliminary painting is dated 1861.
I hope that others will have information which may help to explain some of the anomalies I have found.