Thank you for all the photos and fascinating information Arthur. I wonder why the museum authorities have decided not to display all the jewels. If I were to make a trip to Paris with the expectation of seeing all the jewels, I would feel very disappointed if I could see only a few. Perhaps visitors from other parts of the world who don't have to undertake such long flights might feel more philosophical and start planning another trip. Do you know if the Duchess of Angouleme had a complete ruby parure? Did the Duchess of Angoulene have a complete emerald parure? Her emerald tiara is one of my favourites.
--Previous Message-- : Lorenzo, : : this is the former display of the French : Crown Jewels in the Apollo's Gallery of the : Louvre, as it was a few years ago. : : The Apollo's Gallery went into renovation : for several years, and now the glassed case : displays only the crowns (Louis XV, Napoleon : I/Charles X, Empress Eugénie) and some other : jewels minor in size, but important in : history: the drake-shaped 'Côte de Bretagne' : spinel (the oldest piece of the French Crown : Jewels, dating back to the Renaissance), the : 'Eagle of Poland' (a white-enamelled : eagle-shaped brooch with a large central : spinel), a diamond-framed portrait of Louis : XIV, and an enamelled Elephant for a : bejewelled decoration of the Danish Order of : the Elephant: : : : : There has been, in the meantime, a new : display case installed in another section of : the Louvre (near the 19th century 'State : Apartments'), for some of the jewellery : pieces of the 19th century: : : : : But I find this display case quite weird and : unsatisfying. It is a rather small case, : strangely located at the end of a narrow and : gloomy corridor, in front of which only a : few people can stand. The light in the case : is yellowish, which does not do justice to : the jewels. And last but not least, the case : is too small, so only four jewels are on : display: the Duchess of Angoulême's emerald : tiara, the Duchess of Angoulême's ruby : bracelets, Empress Eugénie's pearl tiara : (once in the Thurn-und-Taxis collection) and : Empress Eugénie's large diamond bow brooch. : But, the 'Regent' diamond, Queen : Marie-Amélie's sapphire parure, Empress : Joséphine's pearl drop earrings of Empress : Marie-Louise's emerald parure (minus the : tiara, which is in Washington DC), as well : as other beautiful pieces, are somewhere in : the Museum's reserves... : : : --Previous Message-- : Breathtaking !! : : : : --Previous Message-- : Hello Beth1, : : as another example of artistic licence, I : have in mind this portrait by Jean-Baptiste : Isabey of Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine, : Empress of the French (as second wife of : Napoleon I) and later reigning Duchess of : Parma. Isabey has depicted the Empress with : a ruby parure... which is actually an : emerald and diamond parure! : : : : The necklace and the earrings of this parure : are now in the Louvre Museum in Paris : (though not on display, unfortunately), : whereas the tiara (with the emeralds : replaced with turquoises) is in the : Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. : : : : : : I have seen the necklace and earrings in the : Louvre a few years ago (when they were still : on display in the Apollo's Gallery of the : Museum), and they are just simply gorgeous! : A beautiful Empire design, beautiful intense : green emeralds of the highest quality... It : is beyond perfection! : : More information about this parure on : Ursula's website: : : : : http://www.royal-magazin.de/french/napoleon-marie-louise.htm : : : : http://www.royal-magazin.de/french/emerald-marie-louise.htm : : : : http://www.royal-magazin.de/french/emerald-marie-louise-2.htm : (I think the portrait on this webpage was : digitally colorized to make the stones : green) : : : : http://www.royal-magazin.de/french/emerald-marie-louise-3.htm : : : : : --Previous Message-- : Sully's portrait of the young Queen Victoria : has drawn my attention to how artistic : licence can make it difficult for those : interested in royal jewels to identify : specific jewels with certainty from : paintings, or questions might be posed as to : whether the jewel had been reset. : See : : : : : http://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org/eMuseumPlus;jsessionid=6D4E1DCE187BAB140E98650CC9C801B1.node1?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.t1.collection_detail.$TspImage.link&sp=10&sp=Scollection&sp=SelementList&sp=0&sp=0&sp=999&sp=SdetailView&sp=0&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F : While Queen Victoria is wearing what is : obviously the diamond diadem, the artist's : rendition is different from the actual jewel : and might cause confusion to those who were : unfamiliar with it. : Do others know of portraits where artistic : licence might cause confusion or make : identification problematic? For example in : the recent post I did about Annigoni's study : of the Queen Mother wearing her Greville : emerald necklace and earrings, those : unfamiliar with the set might ponder if she : was wearing that demi-parure. : : : : : : : : : :
on August 26, 2014, 12:38 am, in reply to "