Re: Duchess of Angoulême's ruby and emerald parures Archived Message
Posted by Beth1  on August 26, 2014, 4:19 pm, in reply to "Re: Duchess of Angoulême's ruby and emerald parures"
Your explanation for the use of coronets and diadems is interesting and seems so logical. Thank you Arthur.
I seem to recollect that there is a portrait (or colour enhanced photo) of Empress Alexandra wearing a high tiara where the coloured gems are depicted as emeralds whereas in reality the stones are sapphires. Does anyone know anything of this portrait?
The tiara is either this one http://www.pinterest.com/pin/575616396095436788/ or this one http://www.pinterest.com/pin/575616396095974799/
--Previous Message--
: I know that during the First Empire (Napoleon
: I's reign, 1804-1814), the parures made for
: Empresses Joséphine and Marie-Louise often
: included a small crown. Here is, for
: instance, a replica in garnet and white
: sapphires (on display in Chaumet's
: exhibition rooms, in Paris) of the ruby and
: diamond parure of Empress Marie-Louise,
: which includes a crown (the original parure
: was dismantled in 1816 to create the ruby
: and diamond parure of the Duchess of
: Angoulême):
:
:
:
: Here is Empress Marie-Louise wearing a crown
: with her topaz and diamond parure :
:
:
:
: It was probably considered that, in grand
: ceremonies, the Empress should display her
: imperial status even with her jewels...
:
: Later, fashion probably evolved. As the
: Duchess of Angoulême, though de facto
: "First Lady", was not Queen, she
: could not wear crowns (especially crowns
: with closed arches, which is an symbol of
: sovereignity), whereas the coronets did not
: bear such a symbolical significance. Beyond
: the symbolical aspect, the coronets (which
: were smaller than the tiaras) were also
: probably designed to wear around a chignon,
: so there might have been a practical aspect
: too.
:
: Why two necklaces? Well, why not? A big
: one for the most important ceremonies, a
: smaller one for less formal events... A
: "parure" does not mean that all
: the elements of the parure must be worn
: together.
:
: There are most jewels that we know from
: pictures (mainly the pictures taken in the
: 1880s prior to the auction of the French
: Crown Jewels), but that we have never seen
: on portraits of the royal or imperial ladies
: of the 19th century (one of the few
: exceptions being Empress Eugénie's pearl and
: diamond tiara, depicted on her famous
: portrait by Winterhalter - this tiara is now
: in the Louvre, after having belonged for
: decades to the Princes of Thurn-und-Taxis).
:
: Empress Eugénie was never pictured with the
: Duchess of Angoulême's emerald and diamond
: tiara, but she was pictured with one of her
: personal emerald and diamond tiara, made by
: the jeweller Fontenay in the 1850s. I think
: that this tiara was sold by the Empress
: during her exile.
:
:
:
:
: Quite funnily, this picture brings us back
: to the original topic of this thread (the
: artistic licence in the rendition of
: jewels), because this portrait has sometimes
: been copied but with the emeralds turned
: into sapphires...
:
:
:
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: Thank you so much for all the information
: and
: the beautiful photos Arthur. You have given
: us a very special treat - a feast for the
: eyes and the mind.
: I have a few queries, but I think they
: should wait until I have reread the post and
: thought about some of the information.
: The emeralds are luscious. What a shame
: there are no photos of the Empress Eugenie
: wearing the parure. If her portraits do
: reflect her true skin tone, emeralds would
: have looked superb on her.
: I do not know a great deal about French
: royal jewels, so I would be most grateful if
: someone could explain why the parures so
: often have a diadem and a coronet. I can
: understand the rationale behind having two
: necklaces.
:
:
:
:
:
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