The illustration in Vincent Meylan’s book is beautiful indeed. It is the same image that Morel used in his book, and it comes from the 1971 catalogue.
In his detailed presentation of the necklace, Morel lists three documents:
- a text from the countess of Chambord (1884), bequeathing the necklace to her niece, the duchess of Madrid
- a certificate from Blanche of Austria, archduchess Leopold Salvator (1937), containing an extract from the duchess of Madrid’s will in which she left the necklace to her son Jaime
- a certificate of authenticity on vellum
- a family tree, illuminated on vellum, with the arms and titles of the owners prior to 1937, surrounded by a depiction of the necklace.
The necklace was kept in a box bearing the arms and cipher of Marie Antoinette.
I would think that these documents were included in the 1971 auction, but the answer probably lies in the catalogue.
Morel makes no mention of the story you mentioned. He seems adamant that the necklace was made in the early 19th century.
Regarding the story about Claude Arpels, I can’t help but think about the tragic fate of Marie Louise’s Emerald diadem.
I know that the book was also published in English; perhaps the English edition is available in a library near you?
I found my copy almost by chance at a very fair price, for most of those offered on the internet sell for considerable prices!!!
Thank you Thomas. Sadly, I have never read Morel. I wonder if Morel considered the claims made in some of the press reports that the necklace had been given to Marie Antoinette by the City of Paris at the time of her State Entry to the city when she originally came to France?
Vincent Meylan has a superb photo of the necklace in Christie's. The Jewellery Archives Revealed , p 12 and notes (on page 13) that when the jewel was presented for auction by Christie's in 1971 there was a "...long letter from a previous owner explaining how it had been passed from one generation to the next..." I wonder what happened to the detailed information said to have been included in the Sotheby's sale in 1937?
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the sale of the Darbhanga jewels is that Claude Arpel endeavoured to buy them as he had examined them (at the request of the Maharajah) in 1954. See https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19820815-darbhanga-provides-a-classic-study-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-indias-feudal-ruling-class-772064-2013-10-04
Would he have left the necklace intact? Or dismantled it?
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