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

    Posted by Nellie on July 17, 2014, 7:13 am, in reply to "Re: Off topic: the Delhi Durbar Emerald Stomacher"


    Thanks Arthur. That's another instance of Queen Elizabeth (QM) wearing the Garter on her arm.


    --Previous Message--
    : 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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