A gold and corallium rubrum diadem,

circa 1865

Footnotes

By family repute, this diadem, purchased in England during the early part of the 20th century, was once owned by Empress Eugénie of France. The beautiful Empress, consort of Napoleon III, was an influential leader of fashion and it was during the Second Empire (1852-70) that the tiara became fashionable again; Winterhalter's portrait of the Empress in 1864 depicts her wearing a gold diadem similar in design to the one offered here. This diadem, dating from the 1860s, reflects contemporary taste for jewels in gold archaeological-revival style as well as the vogue for coral. Eugénie loved jewels and as well as enjoying the sumptuous French crown jewels, she also had an extravagant private collection, the extent of which has never been fully catalogued. After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, the Empress took refuge in England, where she lived for the rest of her life. She escaped with her personal jewels and sold them off by degrees in order to fund her life in exile; their sale made more necessary after the deaths of both her husband and only son. In 1872 she put 123 jewels up for auction at Christie's; she also sold pieces privately to dealers, collectors and friends and these transactions were largely undocumented. Therefore, although it cannot be proved conclusively that this diadem belonged to the Empress, it is not unlikely.