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Princess Hortense de L'Espine de Cro˙| Impressive important Diamond Corsage Ornament made by Lalique for Vever |Stomacher Princesse Louis de Cro˙ German Royal Jewels
Among the remarkable jewels once owned by Princess Louis de Croÿ, born Hortense de L’Espine (1867–1932), is a magnificent diamond corsage ornament, created in Paris between 1885 and 1890 by the renowned Lalique for Maison Vever. The jewel, designed as a spray of cherry blossoms, exemplifies both the refined craftsmanship of the Belle Époque and the pervasive influence of Japonism in late 19th-century French decorative arts.
The corsage ornament, is composed as an articulated branch, set throughout with cushion-shaped, circular- and rose-cut diamonds, the delicate flowerheads mounted en tremblant to catch the light with every movement. Executed in silver, yellow and pink gold, the jewel could be divided into three smaller brooches and accompanied by two detachable diamond caps — a hallmark of Parisian versatility and engineering in haute joaillerie of the period. Two rose-cut diamond set caps accompany this lot in order to cover the stem of the branches when separated into three brooches and one additional pin with two screws.Diamonds bright and lively stones of mixed quality. Length 290mm.
This unique jewel was long attributed to the workshop of Vever, yet stylistic evidence — notably the naturalistic rendering of blossoms and the rhythmic composition of the branch — The brooch bears maker's marks for René Lalique and is probably 10 to 15 years earlier than the date of . In 1885 Lalique took over the workshop of Jules Destape and was creating jewellery for other houses such as Vever, Cartier and Boucheron among others. French assay marks for gold, maker's marks R L with a sword. . At that time, both Lalique and Henri Vever were exploring the artistic language of nature and Japonisme, blending Western romanticism with Eastern motifs.
The choice of the cherry blossom (Sakura) motif reflects the Japonist fascination that swept through Paris following the Meiji Restoration (1868), when Japan opened its borders to Western trade and culture. The Sakura, symbolizing the transience of life, became a central theme in Japanese aesthetics and was admired by French artists for its purity and poetic fragility.Sakura/Cherry Blossom, Prunus serrulata, the ornamental Cherry tree had been highly regarded by the Japanese since the Heian Period 794-1191, where the nobility would gather and celebrate under the blossoms, emulating their Chinese counterpartsl
In the context of this jewel, the fleeting bloom — rendered immortal in diamonds — evokes both the delicate grace of Princess Hortense and the refined cultural sensibilities of the Croÿ family, who moved in the highest aristocratic and artistic circles of Parisian society.
Hortense de L’Espine de Croÿ, born in Paris on 25 February 1867, was the daughter of an established French noble family. In 1887, she married Prince Louis de Croÿ (1862–1931), eldest son of Prince Georges de Croÿ (1828–1879) and Marie de Durfort-Civrac (1841–1910), thus joining one of Europe’s most distinguished princely houses — a lineage that traced its ancestry to medieval Flanders and the Holy Roman Empire. She is pictured above in her apartment at in avenue Foch, Paris. The marriage was without children, and she left part of her collection of art to the Louvre and the jewels to the german branch of the Croy family.
The Croÿ family maintained close ties to the French and Austrian courts, and their marriages often united them with familiin aristocratic milieu, jewels of great artistry were not mere adornments but emblems of heritage and cultural identity.#
The jewel’s maker, Maison Vever, had been founded by Pierre Vever in 1821 in Metz. His son Ernest Vever (1824–1884) later relocated the firm to 19 Rue de la Paix, Paris, after the Franco-Prussian War. Under Ernest’s sons Paul (1850–1915) and Henri Vever (1853–1942), the house rose to international prominence, exhibiting at the Paris World Fairs of 1889 and 1900, and ranking beside Lalique as a leading exponent of Art Nouveau jewelry.
While Paul oversaw the commercial operations, Henri Vever guided the creative direction, promoting the union of fine art and jewelry craftsmanship. Henri’s three-volume study, La Bijouterie Française au XIXe Siècle (1906–1908), remains one of the most authoritative histories of French jewelry, establishing him as both historian and practitioner of exceptional insight.
Sold in Geneva for 777,000 CHF, this corsage ornament from the estate of Princess Louis de Croÿ stands as a luminous relic of the French Belle Époque. It embodies the refinement of a bygone age when jewelry, art, and philosophy converged — when the ephemeral beauty of a cherry blossom could be transmuted into diamonds by the hands of masters like Vever and Lalique, and cherished by an aristocrat whose lineage bridged the worlds of France, Flanders, and Imperial Europe.
Exhibited: Comparable examples, Paris Exposition Universelle 1889 and 1900.
Source:Sotheby's;
I want to remember to my friend Volker, thank you my dear.
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