January 19, 2017

The Danish Ruby Parure Tiara

January 19, 2017/ Kathleen Marino

Princess Mary of Denmark looked stunning at the annual royal New Year’s Banquet held at Amalienborg Palace this year. She paired her gold dress with a diamond and ruby tiara and her Knight of the Order of the Elephant collar.

Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark at the annual royal New Year’s Banquet

The tiara began life in the court of Napoleon Bonaparte and looked very different from its current form. In honor of the grand coronation planned for the Emperor, Bonaparte had given money to many of his marshals so that jewels with the appropriate grandeur could be created/bought for their wives. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was one of those marshals. He purchased the ruby and diamond wreath tiara and accompanying parure for his wife, Désirée Clary.

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte and his wife Désirée Clary later became King Carl XIV Johan and Queen Desideria of Sweden, and thus the jewels found a new Swedish home. The tiara came to Denmark with Swedish princess Louise who married the future Danish king (Fredrick VIII) in 1869. Louise had received the tiara as a wedding gift from her grandmother, Queen Josephine of Sweden (Désirée's daughter-in-law). Queen Louise later gave the tiara to her son Crown Prince Christian's bride Alexandrine as a wedding gift; Alexandrine would inherit the rest of the parure on Louise's death.

Queen Alexandrine in the ruby tiara

Queen Ingrid in the original tiara

Queen Ingrid in the altered tiara

Alexandrine then gave it to Princess Ingrid of Sweden when she married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 1935. In the hands of Queen Ingrid the original small wreath was transformed. In 1947, Ingrid added two of the brooches that came with the original parure to the tiara. This gave the tiara a much more substantive look and turned the wreath into a proper tiara.

When Queen Ingrid died in 2000 she left the parure to her grandson, Crown Prince Frederik who would go on to marry Princess Mary. The ruby tiara is the first tiara Princess Mary ever wore during her pre-wedding events in 2004. Mary also wears it for the annual New Years Court gala (mentioned above).

The current parure consists of a necklace, hairpins, earrings, a brooch, a bracelet, and a ring (an addition care of Mary). Princess Mary does not have many grand pieces at her disposal, but with Mary's own inventiveness has and all that is available with the ruby parure Mary is able to make the ruby parure "stretch" so to speak. Mary has also followed in Ingrid's footsteps by altering the shape of the tiara to her own taste. It was not as major of a change as Ingrid's, though it is noticeable in a side by side comparison. Mary rearranged the diamond covered leaves creating a more condensed look which sits more upright. The work on the tiara and the rest of the set was done by the Marianne Dulong jewelry firm. They also created a new ring and hairpins from pieces that were left over. The new tiara debuted in 2010.

Princess Mary in the ruby Parure after it's alteration

December 13, 2015

Pearl Poiré Tiara and a Crown of Light

December 13, 2015/ Kathleen Marino

Today is Luciadgen day (St. Lucy's Day). The girl chosen to represent St. Lucy wears a crown of candles so I thought that the Pearl Poiré Tiara from Denmark would be an appropriate piece to feature today.

Pearl Poiré Tiara

Queen Louise (with King Frederik VIII) in the Tiara

The tiara is thought to have been made around 1825 in Berlin at the request of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. The tiara was a wedding gift for his daughter Louise, who was marrying Prince Frederik of the Netherlands. The tiara features 18 drop pearls (poiré pearls) dangling from tall diamond arches. The Prussian king also commissioned a look-alike tiara for his son Prince Albrecht's bride, Princess Marianne of the Netherlands; however, the second tiara's current whereabouts are unknown.
The current version of the (now) Danish tiara wandered through various Scandinavian royal owners before it found its home in Denmark. The original owner, Princess Louise (1808-1870), left the tiara to her oldest daughter, also named Louise, who was Queen of Sweden and Norway. Queen Louise (1828-1871) died shortly after inheriting the tiara and it then passed to her daughter, who was also named Louise (1851-1926). This Louise married the future King Frederik VIII of Denmark in 1869, and the tiara arrived at its final home. That is a lot of Louise's, I know!

Queen Louise of Denmark wore the tiara with a few other pearl and diamond pieces consisting of a demi-parure of a necklace and earrings (a wedding present from the Khedive of Egypt), and a brooch that came from her grandmother. The assembled parure (set) is still worn together today.
Louise made sure that the parure stayed in Denmark by leaving it to the Danish Royal Property Trust. This means the pieces are not the personal property of any particular royal, so they will pass from monarch to monarch without being sold. And so the parure has been worn by Louise's daughter-in-law Queen Alexandrine (1879-1952); Alexandrine's daughter-in-law Queen Ingrid (1910-2000); and Ingrid's daughter Queen Margrethe, who wears them today.

Queen Ingrid

Queen Margrethe

This tiara is frequently worn at the annual New Year's Court gala by Queen Margrethe. The tiara has also worn it to big events like her jubilee celebrations and Crown Princess Victoria's wedding. It also features prominently in many well-known portraits. The tiara is very rarely loaned as this is one of the pieces that has historically been kept for the queen. The exception was made for on the occasion of two British coronations: Ingrid, while still Crown Princess, at the 1937 coronation of George VI and Elizabeth, and Princess Margarethe at the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II).

Luciadagen (Saint Lucia Day)

Luciadagen, or Saint Lucy's Day, is also called the Feast of Saint Lucy. It is a Christian feast day celebrated on December 13, in Advent and commemorates the martyr Saint Lucy who (according to legend) brought "food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs" using a candle-lit wreath to light her way while leaving her hands free to carry food. Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a festival of light. St. Lucy's Day is also viewed as an event signaling the arrival of Christmastide.

St. Lucy’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia, with their long dark winters. It is also popular in Italy, where it emphasizes a different aspect of the story.

In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, Lucia is venerated on December 13 in a ceremony where a girl is elected to portray Lucia. Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a procession of women, each holding a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take St. Lucy's life when she was sentenced to be burned. The women sing a Lucia song while entering the room, to the melody of the traditional Neapolitan song Santa Lucia; the Italian lyrics describe the view from Santa Lucia in Naples, the various Scandinavian lyrics are fashioned for the occasion, describing the light with which Lucia overcomes the darkness. Each Scandinavian country has lyrics in their native tongues. In both Norway and Sweden, girls dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung. Even boys take part in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmas. After finishing this song, the procession sings Christmas carols or more songs about Lucia.

In Denmark, the Day of Lucy (Luciadag) was first celebrated on December 13, 1944. The tradition was directly imported from Sweden by initiative of Franz Wend, secretary of Föreningen Norden, as an attempt "to bring light in a time of darkness”. During the German occupation of Scandinavian countries during the Second World War it was widely regarded as a means of passive protest. Today schools and kindergartens also use the occasion to mark the event as a special day for children on one of the final days before the Christmas holidays.
There are also a number of additional historical traditions connected with the celebration, which are not widely observed. The night before candles are lit and all electrical lights are turned off, and on the Sunday closest to December 13 participants traditionally attend church.

Sankta Lucia (Norwegian Lyrics)
Svart senker natten seg i stall og stuer.
Solen har gått sin vei, skyggene truer.
Inn i vårt mørke hus stiger med tente lys,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia!
Natten er mørk og stum. Med ett det suser
i alle tyste rom som vinger bruser.
Se på vår terskel står, hvitkledd med lys i hår,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia!

Saint Lucia (English translation)
Black night is falling in stables and homes.
The Sun has gone away, the shadows are threatening.
Into our dark house enters with lit candles,
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia!
The night is dark and silent; suddenly a rush
in all quiet rooms, like the waving of wings.
See, at our threshold stands, dressed in white with lights in her hair,
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia!

References: Wikipedia, The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor
Kathleen Marino MA, GG, AJP, NAJA

May 12, 2015

Antique Tiara Adoration

May 12, 2015/ Kathleen Marino

An antique sapphire and diamond tiara/necklace.
This piece is very special.
The tiara as a whole is composed of a central floral and foliate spray, featuring cushion shaped foil backed sapphire and old-cut diamonds, raised stems and scrolling leaves lead to a series of graduated diamond fleur-de-lys panels.
The magic happens when you realize that the central spray detaches to form a brooch and the fleur-de-lys panels form the necklace! It's three stunning pieces in one. Made circa 1890 and was sold by Christie's in 2014.

April 29, 2015

Women's Sufferage

April 29, 2015/ Kathleen Marino

Jewelry Photos: 1908-12 "Votes for Women" enameled brooch in Suffragette colors made by the artist and enamelist Ernestine Mills.

Unknown artist circa 1905 Suffrage colored bow featuring: amethyst, diamond and, demantoid garnets in a platinum.

Child & Child Women's Suffrage necklace circa 1908, featuring amethyst, pearls, and green enamel work on gold.

Suffrage era jewelry has always been one of my favorites. Support, protest, and adornment all rolled into one. With another election race firing up it is a good time to look back and reflect on all the struggles that so many have faced (in many countries) in the pursuit of the right to vote.
Women's suffrage (the right to vote) in the United States was established over the course of several decades, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis, and then nationally in 1920. The movement in both Britain and the US relied on color as a means of instant recognition.
British suffrage colors - purple, white, and green, to symbolize loyalty, purity, and hope.

Gold banner with purple lettering produced by the National Woman's Party. The Party, in spite of its close ties to the British movement, adopted the traditional American color of gold.

In America we see the use of gold or yellow coupled with a variety of subordinate colors. Gold/yellow ribbons and flowers were popular. During the nation's centennial celebrations in 1876, suffrage supporters sang "The Yellow Ribbon" song that associated the color with "God's own primal color; born of purity and light" and with the "flame of freedom's fires." American women later adopted a second color scheme of the tricolors purple, white, and green which originated with the Women's Social and Political Union in the British suffrage movement. Later, this would change to purple, white, and gold.
We see these color schemes throughout the decades long fight for suffrage. The beautiful and quietly powerful jewelry pieces created during the fight for women's equality would have signaled the wearer's support for the movement, with or without a slogan, even when the wearer was silent.