Posters of original research, analyses, insights etc retain all rights to their work. Such research etc cannot be used in any format without the written consent of the author.

A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong. Posted by Beth on September 17, 2018, 8:34 am In May 1905 the Pope declared Our Lady of the Pillar the patron of the Hispanic world and a "canonical coronation" was held on 20 May 1905. The diadem, designed by the Marquis of Grini, was made from gold and gemstones donated by Spanish ladies, the largest diamond reportedly being donated by the then Queen Mother of Spain, Queen Maria Christina. According to the Tatler 21 June 1905 the diadem was said to be the most valuable then in existence. I suspect that this was hyperbole but the jewel certainly is impressive. (I noted that the magazine used the term diadem, not crown so that rules out comparison with various national crowns) The sketch in the magazine gives little indication of either the size or gemstones in the diadem which are better seen in modern photos. [Edit: The photos below do not show the diadem as per the magazine article. For colour photos of what I now think matches the 1905 photo see the next post] Part of the description in Tatler was obviously incorrect as the gold is very visible. So far I have not been able to find any information about the firm which made the diadem, although some reports say that it took 33 workmen 44 days to complete the jewel. Does any one have any more information?

Oops! photos didn't match Posted by Beth on September 17, 2018, 10:19 am, in reply to "A religious diadem/crown" Apologies. I should have done some more searching before I posted the colour images above. Although various websites show the images, the diadem/crowns do not match those in the photo published by Tatler. I think these below do. No doubt there are numerous statues many of which have bejewelled adornments.

Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong. Posted by Alejandro E. on September 17, 2018, 7:41 pm, in reply to "A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong." Hello Beth! The crown was made by Ansorena, the same jeweler that made some of the jewels of the Royal Family: http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/cronica/2005/501/1116712820.html Regards!

Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong. Posted by Beth on September 18, 2018, 6:48 am, in reply to "Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong." What a treasure trove that article was! Thank you so much Alejandro! I doubt if I will ever get annoyed with Google translate ever again, even though it told me that 2,311 "pink diamonds" were used in the crown. I presume that in fact the article referred to rose cut diamonds. I had no idea that Ramiro Ansorena was only 18 when he designed the crown. For any one who does not use Google translate -- According to Elmundo the crown is considered the greatest artistic treasure in Spain and is considered one of the most important European goldsmith works of the time. I wonder who the craftsmen who did the actual work were? Their dedication in working day and night is amazing! So too the generosity of the ladies who donated their jewels. Additional reading on the web showed that this crown is used only on specific days, otherwise one of several other crowns in the Treasury of the Cathedral is used. A couple more photos which show more of the details. Previous Message Hello Beth! The crown was made by Ansorena, the same jeweler that made some of the jewels of the Royal Family: http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/cronica/2005/501/1116712820.html Regards!

Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong. Posted by MarcA on September 23, 2018, 11:29 am, in reply to "Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong." Unless i've missed it I'd like to know the size of statue to get more perspective on the diadem. However it' very impressive. Previous Message What a treasure trove that article was! Thank you so much Alejandro! I doubt if I will ever get annoyed with Google translate ever again, even though it told me that 2,311 "pink diamonds" were used in the crown. I presume that in fact the article referred to rose cut diamonds. I had no idea that Ramiro Ansorena was only 18 when he designed the crown. For any one who does not use Google translate -- According to Elmundo the crown is considered the greatest artistic treasure in Spain and is considered one of the most important European goldsmith works of the time. I wonder who the craftsmen who did the actual work were? Their dedication in working day and night is amazing! So too the generosity of the ladies who donated their jewels. Additional reading on the web showed that this crown is used only on specific days, otherwise one of several other crowns in the Treasury of the Cathedral is used. A couple more photos which show more of the details. Previous Message Hello Beth! The crown was made by Ansorena, the same jeweler that made some of the jewels of the Royal Family: http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/cronica/2005/501/1116712820.html Regards!

Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong. Posted by Beth on September 24, 2018, 6:35 am, in reply to "Re: A religious diadem/crown. Edited to show my images were wrong." I am sure that somewhere there is information about the statue's size, but I haven't found any details. It seems to me that the statue is tiny. It was covered when I visited Zaragoza, and all that now comes to mind is people kissing the hole in the pillar, which is the customary form of reverence in this instance. These photos may help give some clearer idea of the statue. I think that the value of the jewel is in the amount of diamonds used, so that, as the Tatler article said, the gold was not visible. To create such an item would also be extremely labour intensive, adding to the value. I have a vision that the jewellers who worked on the jewel, who were said to have worked almost non-stop would have donated their labour or at least what we today call overtime. I wonder if people would be willing to do the same today? Previous Message Unless i've missed it I'd like to know the size of statue to get more perspective on the diadem.

« Back to index