At the auction of Dorotheum tiara and brooch of Maria Valeria, Archduchess of Austria ♦ ︎
The charm of ancient nobility is often present in jewelery auctions. Dorotheum knows it well, and in Vienna on November 27 it will sell a diadem and brooch of Maria Valeria, daughter of the Empress Elisabeth. Maria Valeria was the favorite daughter of Elizabeth Amalia Eugenia of Wittelsbach, Duchess of Bavaria who, with her marriage to Francis Joseph, became empress of Austria, apostolic queen of Hungary, queen of Bohemia and Croatia.
The two precious jewels owned by Maria Valeria are a diadem set with 15 oriental pearls and 25 carat diamonds, and an equally magnificent brooch, so-called corsage: two pieces that amaze not only with their diamonds, but also for the numerous and very rare oriental pearls, then fashionable all over Europe, symbol of beauty, power and influence. The two jewels are considered to be in excellent condition. The estimate ranges from 100,000 to 200,000 euros (for the diadem) and from 60,000 to 100,000 euros (for the brooch).
In 1890, when Archduchess Maria Valeria married Archduke Francesco Salvatore of Austria-Tuscany, jeweler A. E. Köchert was a third-generation court and Imperial-Royal Chamber supplier. It was he who executed the brooch around 1890. It was Wilhelm Friedrich Haarstrick, until 1891 authorized signatory and head of the atelier, who designed the diadem.
