Joyaux de la reine Marie-Amélie
An extraordinary pair of natural pearl and diamond earrings, dating to circa 1790, once belonged to Queen Marie-Amélie of France, the last Queen of France. A rare surviving example of authentic French Crown Jewels.
Queen of France
Louis-Philippe I of France, son of Philippe-Égalité and Louise-Marie de Bourbon-Penthièvre, married Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 1809. She was the sixth daughter of Ferdinand IV, King of the Two Sicilies.
Following the abdication of Charles X in 1830, Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amélie ascended the throne as King and Queen of the French, reigning until 1848, when the Revolution led to the establishment of the Second Republic and forced the royal family into exile.
Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1782–1866) and Louis-Philippe of Orléans (1773–1850) thus became the final sovereigns of the French monarchy.
The pearl and diamond earrings originated from Queen Marie-Amélie’s mother, Marie-Caroline of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, who was the sister of Marie Antoinette.
Born at the intersection of Europe’s most powerful dynasties, Queen Marie-Amélie inherited the ceremonial splendour of the ancien régime through the Habsburg and Bourbon-Orléans houses—along with jewels sourced from the world’s finest origins and crafted by the most eminent court jewellers.
The earrings descended through the Bourbon-Orléans line and are among the very few jewels to have escaped the dispersal of the French Crown Jewels, one of the most significant royal jewellery collections ever assembled. At the time of their creation, natural pearls of this calibre were valued far above diamonds, regarded as the most prestigious gemstones of royal courts.
Each earring is centred by a perfectly matched natural saltwater drop pearl of exceptional quality, measuring
10.95 × 11.05 × 14.80 mm and 10.85 × 10.90 × 14.90 mm respectively.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, matched pearl pairs of such size and perfection were reserved exclusively for sovereigns, prized for their rarity, lustre, and flawless form.
Originally created in the classic late-eighteenth-century court style, the earrings were later enhanced with surrounds of old-cut diamonds by Mellerio dits Meller, official jeweller to the French Crown. This discreet intervention adapted the jewels to nineteenth-century court taste while preserving their original royal drop form.
The provenance of the earrings is recorded in Les Joyaux de la Couronne de France:
« Paire de boucles d’oreilles de perles et diamants ayant appartenu à la reine Marie-Amélie, et provenant de sa mère Marie-Caroline d’Autriche, reine des Deux-Siciles et sœur de Marie-Antoinette. »
Length: 1¼ inches (approx. 3.2 cm)
In the inventory of the Duchesse de Chartres*, the earrings are recorded as:
« Une paire de boucles d’oreilles, perles poires entourées de brillants »
with a valuation of 100,000 francs.
Une broche en croix de Saint-André, sertie de brillants, comprenant treize brillants principaux, montée en or et argent, ayant appartenu à Princesse de Joinville, belle-fille du roi Louis‑Philippe I.
Cette broche est évaluée à 100 000 francs dans l’inventaire.
A diamond brooch in the form of a Saint Andrew’s Cross, set with thirteen principal brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted in gold and silver, formerly belonging to Princess de Joinville, daughter-in-law of Louis‑Philippe I.
The brooch is recorded in the inventory with a valuation of 100,000 francs. Also worn by Madame la Comtesse de Paris, above in the picture.
The total inventory, divided into three compartments, amounted to 1,260,150 francs. These jewels were bequeathed by the Duchesse de Chartres, to her childrens:
- Princess Marie of Orléans (1865–1909), who in 1885 married Prince Valdemar of Denmark, son of King Christian IX of Denmark.
- Prince Robert of Orléans (1866–1885)
- Prince Henri of Orléans (1867–1901)
- Princess Marguerite of Orléans (1869–1940), who in 1896 married Marie-Armand-Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duke of Magenta, son of Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duke of Magenta.
- Prince Jean of Orléans (1874–1940), Duke of Guise, and Orléanist pretender to the throne of France as "Jean III", who, in 1899, married his first cousin Princess Isabelle of Orléans
and some left direct to her grandson Prince Henri d’Orléans it was:
One necklace 221 pearls 1940 grains, brilliant and pearl clasp FF 480 000;
The Saint Andrews cross brooch set with brillants FF 100 000;
One pair of earrings with per-shaped pearls, sourrounded by brilliants FF 100 000;
Three pins with bezel-set brillants FF 100 000;
One duke's coronet with brilliants FF 60000;
One four strand pearl necklace, brilliant barrettes,brillant and button pearl plate brooch FF 30 000;
One comb set with brilliants FF 38 000;
Isabelle d’Orléans-Braganza, Madame la Comtesse de Paris, wore the earrings and the other jewels as the 221 pearls as necklace , the St Andres cross brooch, and the bezel pins frequently. However, they were not her personal property. The jewels formed part of the dynastic family collection, and were later sold by her husband, together with the greater part of the family jewels.
Provenance
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Marie-Caroline of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies
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Queen Marie-Amélie of France, last Queen of France
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François d’Orléans
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Françoise d’Orléans, Duchess of Chartres
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Le Prince Henri d’Orléans worn by his wife Isabelle d’Orléans-Braganza, Comtesse of Paris(not owned by her)
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Private Collection, Switzerland
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M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Source: Morel; La fortune disparue du roi Louis-Philippe;MS RAU;
THE COLLECTION:
Jewels of Princess Clementine of Orleans | Herzogin Klementine von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha Kohary
