Die ungeheuer wertvollen Borghese-Diamanten waren sagenumwoben.
[ „Die Französische Revolution und ihre Folgen“, Karl August Schimmer, Wien, 1838, Seite 178
EARS OF WHEAT... The tiara contains of eighteen ears of wheat, set in silver and gold. The ears of wheat are made in 1811 by Nitot, Paris. Regarding it is two hundred years old, it hasn´t lost its elegance and it is still very wearable today. The inner circumference 39.00 cm;Gross weight: 219 grams.
We see above a sketch from the Borghese archive: the Borghese Diamond Parure which shows the array of twelve diamond ears of wheat - sheaves (from the eighteen), together with a diamond flower bandeau, a diamond comb with large dimonds on top, two diamond rings, a diamond butterfly, a diamond medaillon, a pair of diamond earrings, a diamond belt for wearing under the bust.
Ears of wheat, or épis de blés in French, were one of the most prominent decorative themes in jewellery under the First French Empire. This period was stylistically marked by a revival of classical antiquity, inspired by recently excavated archeological sites such as Pompei and Herculaneum.
These was the style of Pauline Bonaparte, in the fashion this translated into simple dresses with high waistlines that were a canvas for elaborate parures. Ears of wheat are an attribute of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, the harvest, fertility and prosperity. Ears of wheat were often executed as separate diamond, gold and silver brooches that could be arranged freely on a dress or hairstyle, either separately or bundled as wheat sheaves.
Pauline Bonaparte 1780-1825 was the second and favorite sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her first husband, general Charles Leclerc, died after only a few years of marriage.
In 1803 she married Camillo Borghese, Prince of Sulmona. Pauline Borghese was known for being fun-loving and extravagant, as suggested by the famous statue of her realised by Antonio Canova. She was also the only Bonaparte sibling who always remained faithful to Napoleon and visited him in exile on Elba.
On Jacques-Louis David’s monumental painting depicting the 1804 coronation, Napoleon’s sisters and sisters-in-law stand behind Empress Josephine. From left to right: Elisa Baciocchi, Pauline Borghese, Caroline Murat, Hortense de Beauharnais and Julie Clary. Pauline Borghese can be spotted wearing a wheat sheaf tiara. The provenance of the ears-of-wheat, can be traced back to Pauline Borghese through family inheritance.
The important ears of wheat tiara will be offerd from Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels, in November 2021.
Sources:Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels;Pauline Borghese –; Joyaux Pauline Bonaparte princesse Borghese;Archivio Borhese;
.........
Bonaparte France Empire
.........
:::::::
|
