Katharina die Grosse

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Jewels of the Romanovs

Catharina the Great

The collection of diamond dress ornaments presented here displays the glorious legacy of Russias imperial court jewels at the height of their magnificence in the 18th Century.

These prexious jewels would have been made for high-ranking members of the Imperial Court and for Catherine the Great and worn throughout the bodice and skirt of a gown, in a pattern, or randomly, like so many glittering stars, see above the tassels on the corsage.

Such can display seen in a portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna also.

Not only do the diamonds in this assemblage of ornaments form a dazzling display of wealth, but the forms may allude to the rank and privilege of their original owner.
In addition to the multi-petal flower form resembling daisies, some of the ornaments are designed as tulips, which at this time were among the rarest of flowers, their bulbs regarded as precious.

The attention to detail of each flower type indicates the preferenc for naturalism in jewerly in the second half of the 18th Century.
It is possible that these ornaments may be the work of Louis David Duval, who was handpicked by Catherine the Great to become the court jeweler during her reign.

Part of a line of French emigre jewelers imported by Catherine, legendary for her love of jewels, Duval and his workshop created stunning jewelry an jeweled objects for the Empress and her court.

As part of the riches of the Imperial court, these ornaments were part of the Diamond Fund, a stockpile founded in 1719 by Peter the Great to distinguish the wealth of the Romanov family from that of the nation.
It was as part of this collection of jewels that the ornaments came to light, from the treasures of the russian imperial court, in 1922 when an inventory of the holdings was conducted as part of a confiscation and nationalization of all imperial property by the Sowjet government.

Agathon Faberge, an imprisoned member of the illustrious firm of jewelers and goldsmiths, was released to perform the evaluation of the Russian Crown Jewels. Faberge escaped from Russia in 1928, two years after the publication of the inventory, titled Russia`s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones.

Fortyfive small diamonds trimmings..." (ten of which are mounted in a necklace)

Although other ornaments which may be linked to to the inventory have been offered for sale in this century, ( four of the elements are sold in 1966) the greater part of the inventory was originally liquidated in a 1927 auction, at which time it was purchased by an American consortium of buyers. The members of this consortium are not known and the history of these jewels is tenuous at best.

In 1968 there had been assebled as a necklace and was ...as a timeless expression of unsurpassed splendor.

source:sothebys/christies; Lord Twining, A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe; Russia`s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones

 

Empress Marie Feodorovna and the Imperial Diamond Dress Ornaments

Diamond Flower and Tassel-Ornaments of Catharina the Great

Russian State Jewels Flower Ornaments

Empress Marie Feodorovna and the Imperial SAPPHIRES

Empress Marie Feodorovna and her Pearl Brooch

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Die Schmuck-Collection ihrer Tochter:

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna

Sapphire Parure

Pearl Choker and Pearl-Stomacher

Die Paruren mit Smaragden und Rubinen

Diamond Briolettes Tiara and Fringe Tiara

More imperial russia jewels

 

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