Queen Victoria of Sweden's unidentified broochesArchived Message
Posted by Arthur on July 4, 2014, 3:20 am
Hello,
I am wondering about the whereabouts of two brooches which can be seen on portraits of Queen Victoria of Sweden (née Princess of Baden, and wife of King Gustav V):
1) On this picture, Queen Victoria is wearing (among many jewels) the Leuchtenberg sapphire parure and the Baden Fringe tiara (worn upside down, as a corsage ornament). Does anyone know about the origin and the whereabouts of the big brooch she is wearing in the middle of her corsage? It looks like a sunray design, centered on a big pearl, with diamond drops. This design reminds me the style of the "whopper brooch" of Princess Marie-Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (grand-daughter of Queen Victoria of the United-Kingdom), which Marie-Louise bequeathed to Queen Elizabeth the Queen-Mother (who unfortunately wore it only once or twice) (NB: I do not suggest that these two brooches are the same, just that they have a similar design).
She is wearing the same brooch here:
and probably here too, on her wedding portrait: (BTW, I would love to see the Baden Fringe tiara worn sometimes like this, as a necklace... with the Nine Prong Tiara, it would make a tremendous combination)
2) On this picture, Queen Victoria is wearing on her right shoulder the pearl and diamond Ivy-leaf Brooch that can still be seen nowadays, worn by Queen Silvia or Crown Princess Victoria. But she is also wearing, pinned on her waist, another brooch, which is less familiar to me. It seems to be a double-bow brooch (similar in style to Queen Victoria of Britain's bow brooches).
Queen Victoria is wearing the same brooch here, pinned on her collar, with an added pearl drop:
Does anyone know the origin and whereabouts of this bow brooch?