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Who owned/owns this tiara and what is its history?
Posted by Beth on April 28, 2019, 6:30 am
I am hoping to encourage others to join in -- so a guessing game.
Who owned this tiara? Do we know anything about its current whereabouts? What is its alleged provenance?
Some clues.
1. It was displayed at the Ageless Diamond Exhibition in London in 1959.
2. The then owner was a leading British aristocrat.
3. The original owner was said to be a royal who is famous in French (and world) history.
4. The band was said to be a vivid blue enamel, the gemstones diamonds.
Re: Who owned/owns this tiara and what is its history?
The alleged original owner was Marie Antoinette however like a lot of her alleged jewels I can't seem to find any link. Further it is also said that at one point it belonged to the Spencers.
What I find intriguing is that at the 1959 exibit it seems to have a matching comb of almost the same size.
PS: I seriously dislike the way the jewels have been displayed as it reminds me of the Russian jewel display by the bolsheviks.
Re: Who owned/owns this tiara and what is its history?
It is quite likely that the jewels entered the Spencer collection via Margaret Baring as her father was a member of the wealthy Baring family; however, they do not appear to have been part of her wedding gifts from her parents, as the only tiara she was reported to have been given at the time was from her husband, the Hon Charles Spencer, MP who, at the time, was heir presumptive to his half brother, the Earl. Margaret Baring died in childbirth in 1906 and never became Countess. So far I have not been able to find photos of her wearing evening jewels.
I very much doubt that the jewels ever belonged to Marie Antoinette as the style does not fit her era, much less that of the Austrian court during her youth.
Links to videos showing both jewels, as well as other sparkling items.
Re: Who owned/owns this tiara and what is its history?
The Spencer tiara has nothing but a very tenuous connection to Queen Marie Antoinette.
Yet I have always been intrigued by its unusual design.
This tiara was frequently exhibited in the 1950s and 60s:
It was shown at the Château de Versailles in 1955 for the big exhibition "Marie Antoinette. Archiduchesse, Dauphine et Reine", along with a considerable number of objects, most of which had doubtful provenance.
It was included in the exhibition catalogue as n° 487:
"A diadem of rose(-cut diamonds) mounted in silver with blue enamel. The diadem is reported to have been made for Marie-Antoinette. Former collection of Lord Revelstoke, grandfather of the current owner. Collection of the (7th) Earl Spencer."
After the 1959 London exhibition it was shown again in Paris, at the Musée du Louvre "Dix siècles de joaillerie française" in 1962:
This time the tiara (cat. n° 90) was displayed alongside the other head jewel (cat n° 91), which was listed as belonging to Sir E.(dward) Reid, a British banker.
I have no idea of what became of these jewels.
Ella Kay (The Court Jeweller) put together contemporary clips of the 1959 exhibition, one of which shows the smaller head jewel, with its comb.
There must have been some compelling reason for Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke, to believe that the tiara belonged to Marie Antoinette as I strongly suspect that he was not the gullible type.
It would be interesting to know how and when it entered his collection and when he gave it to his daughter, Margaret.
As I mentioned earlier, it is not listed as one of the wedding gifts to his daughter. Nor is it likely to have passed to her at his death -- but some time beforehand.
Report of the will of Baron Revelstoke. The sensible man had everything tied up in trusts so, without access to the Spencer or Revelstoke archives, we are unlikely to discover much more.
Thomas' post with the section from the catalogue from the 1962 Louvre exhibition "Dix siecles de joaillerie francaise" gave the names of the then owners, which provides the clue to the provenance of the comb.
The diadem (or tiara) belonged to Earl Spence.
His grandmother was Margaret Baring, a daughter of Lord Revelstoke.
The comb (or tiara) belonged to Sir Edward Reid.
His mother was Susan Baring, another of Lord Revelstoke's daughters. She married Sir James Reid, a famous physician.
So the two owners were cousins.
Apart from the mystery of where both jewels might be today, there is the question of how and when they entered into Lord Revelstoke's possession. Purchased? Inherited? And as a set or separately?
Very good thread guys. One can try to contact the present Earl Spencer of the whereabouts of the purported tiara which came into the Spencer family via Margaret Baring as he is quite an open guy to these kinds of things.
Regards,
Dave.
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Thomas' post with the section from the catalogue from the 1962 Louvre exhibition "Dix siecles de joaillerie francaise" gave the names of the then owners, which provides the clue to the provenance of the comb.
The diadem (or tiara) belonged to Earl Spence.
His grandmother was Margaret Baring, a daughter of Lord Revelstoke.
The comb (or tiara) belonged to Sir Edward Reid.
His mother was Susan Baring, another of Lord Revelstoke's daughters. She married Sir James Reid, a famous physician.
So the two owners were cousins.
Apart from the mystery of where both jewels might be today, there is the question of how and when they entered into Lord Revelstoke's possession. Purchased? Inherited? And as a set or separately?
on April 28, 2019, 6:30 am
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