Royal jewels at Paris' Biennale des AntiquairesArchived Message
Posted by Arthur on September 17, 2016, 4:46 pm
This week (from 10th to 18th September), the Biennale des Antiquaires is taking place in Paris. I visited it last Thursday, and as expected, I was amazed by the beauty of many of the artefacts on display - whether paintings, sculptures, furniture, jewels...
There were, this year, less jewellers at the Biennale than two years ago. Notably, the big jewellers of the Place Vendôme (Chaumet, Cartier...) were absent. This is the consequence, according to what I have read in various papers, of the wish of the new direction of the Biennale to focus more on the selling of antique artefacts (which is the role of an "antiquaire", indeed...) rather than on the commercial display of newly-made pieces. This new rule is not strictly enforced, though, as several jewellers were present, selling pieces which were, as far as I can see, recent creations (De Grisogono, Cindy Chao-The Art Jewel, Boghossian, Nirav Modi).
Taking pictures was allowed on some stands, not on others. Fortunately, it was allowed on all the stands of antique jewels. So I could take several pictures.
Among many other glittering (and sometimes even breathtaking) jewels, there are a few royal jewels on display, all of them on the stand of jewel retailer Martin du Daffoy:
- a ruby, pearl and diamond necklace, which was already displayed by Martin du Daffoy at the Biennale two years ago. It is possible that this necklace was formerly in the private collection of Empress Eugenie (1826-1920), wife of French Emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873). It could have been a wedding gift. See our discussion two years ago: http://members2.boardhost.com/royal-jewels/msg/archive/1411117531.html
The necklace is displayed with a red leather box bearing the Napoleonic coat-of-arms and stamped "Joyaux de la Couronne" - though this necklace was never part of the Crown jewels.
- a golden bracelet stuuded with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, presented by King Victor-Emmanuel II of Savoy, first King of unified Italy, to his mistress (and later morganatic wife), Rosa Vercellana. The colours of the gems obviously remind of the colours of the Italian flag, while the sides of the bracelet bear the cypher of the King (a V in diamond, intertwined with an E in emeralds and another E in rubies) topped by a royal crown.
- a pair of earrings of Art Déco style, with large baroque pearl drops weighing circa 100 grains each. According to what I heard from M. du Daffoy himself, these earrings come from Queen Elena of Italy, born Princess of Montenegro (1873-1952), wife of King Victor-Emmanuel III of Italy. They were at some point given by Queen Elena to her youngest daughter, Princess Maria-Francesca of Savoy (1914-2001), who married Prince Louis of Bourbon-Parma (1899-1967).
- a lovely emerald and diamond bracelet, made by the Saxon Court jeweller for Queen Caroline (or Carola) of Saxony, née Princess Vasa (1833-1907), wife of King Albert of Saxony (1828-1902). The bracelet clasp is made of a large emerald heart, intertwined with a similar diamond heart, while the elements of the bracelet bear the intertwined letters of "ALBERT" (in emeralds) and "CAROLA" (in diamonds). Note that the colours of the flag of the Kingdom of Saxony were white and green, which might give an extra meaning to the choice of diamonds and emeralds...
Picture source: all the pictures were taken by myself last Thursday.
PS: my pictures are normally of a larger size, but Photobucket automatically scales them down... Does any poster know how to fix that? Thanks in advance...
on September 17, 2016, 4:46 pm
Does any poster know how to fix that? 
Thanks in advance...