The number of jewels owned by Maria-Antoinette at the auction of Sotheby’s rises to ten ♦ ︎
The possibility of buying a piece of History together with a piece of jewelry is expanded. As we have already written, on November 14th, in Geneva, Sotheby’s sells the jewels that belonged to Marie-Antoinette, the decapitated queen of France with her husband, King Louis XVI, during the French Revolution. They are not only precious jewels, but they bear witness to an exceptional piece of Human History and, therefore, expectations are high. After the presentation in June, however, there are some news: the pieces attributed to the queen have risen to ten.
Sotheby’s, in fact, has revealed that in the sales catalog have been added other pieces belonging to Marie Antoinette, including a pair of earrings with natural pearls and diamonds (estimate between 200,000 and 300,000 dollars).
Not only that: a necklace of six-strand pearls has an unaltered closure that was part of the royal collection. The closure of noble origins includes five large and 18 small natural pearls and, originally, it was used for a bracelet of natural pearls with six threads. The necklace was then commissioned by the Bourbon-Parma family and made with cultured pearls. Five other diamond jewels are linked to Marie-Antoinette, like the late 18th century diamond brooch with a yellow diamond. The queen of France had also a double-bow brooch, but the hanging yellow diamond seems to have been added later. They are the descendants of Marie Antoinette, however, who probably made a diamond ring with the portrait of the queen.
If you are fond of antique jewelry with blue blood know that there are also jewels belonging to King Charles X (1757-1836), the last king of France.
For example, it was own by Charles X’s the diamond diadem. The stones came from a badge of the Royal Order of the Holy Spirit, a French chivalric order founded by King Henry III in 1578, which was owned by Charles X, brother-in-law of Marie Antoinette. The diamonds were then transferred to Robert I, Duke of Parma (1848-1907). The tiara was created using precious stones around 1912 for the Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1882-1940) by the famous Vienna jeweler Hübner: the flowers on the tiara can be detached and worn separately as brooches.
Another fascinating piece that was added to the jewelry auction is an emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece belonging to Louis Antoine of Bourbon, duke of Angoulême (1775-1844), who married the daughter of Marie Antoinette, his cousin . The Order of the Golden Fleece has long been considered the most prestigious and exclusive order of chivalry in the world. Louis Antoine received the badge following his participation in the Spanish expedition of 1823. Under a large white diamond, the badge shows the traditional French royal symbol, the orifiamma, represented by a central sapphire and surrounded by flames composed of rubies. Federico Graglia
