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Necklace

Necklace

  • Place of origin:

    France (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1806 (made)
    1820s (alteration)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Nitot & Fils (makers)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Emeralds and diamonds set in gold and silver

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Countess Margharita Tagliavia

  • Museum number:

    M.3-1979

  • Gallery location:

    Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery, case 15, shelf A, box 1

This necklace and earrings are part of a larger set or parure of jewellery. It is believed that the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his consort Joséphine gave them to their adopted daughter, Stéphanie de Beauharnais, on her arranged marriage to the heir of the Grand Duke of Baden in 1806. Nitot & Fils, the principal jewellers to Napoleon and Joséphine, probably made it. The large stones and the simplicity of design are typical of jewellery favoured at the court of Napoleon. The emerald drops at the back of the necklace can be detached and worn as earrings. They are later in date.

Physical description

Necklace, faceted table-cut emeralds in borders of brilliant-cut diamonds; briolette emerald drops; open-set in gold and silver. Extra drops were added to the back of the necklace in the 1820s.

Place of Origin

France (made)

Date

ca. 1806 (made)
1820s (alteration)

Artist/maker

Nitot & Fils (makers)

Materials and Techniques

Emeralds and diamonds set in gold and silver

Dimensions

Length: 41 cm, Depth: 6 cm, Height: 20.5 cm, Width: 20 cm, Depth: 0.9 cm average (segment)

Object history note

Part of a parure presented by Napoleon to his adopted daughter Stephanie de Beauharnais (1789-1860), a connection of the Empress Joséphine, on her marriage to the Grand Duke of Baden's heir in 1806. Probably made by Nitot. The marriage was arranged to consolidate the Confederacy of the Rhine.

Descriptive line

Necklace, faceted table-cut emeralds in borders of brilliant-cut diamonds, Nitot & Fils, France, about 1806

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Shirley Bury Jewellery Gallery Summary Catalogue (V&A, 1982), Case 17, Board F, No.2, p. 107.
Martin Chapman, 'Jewellery and the French Revolution' in V&A Album, Spring 1989, pp. 47-52.
'Metalwork Acquisitions at the V&A 1978-88', Burlington Magazine, Vol. 131, no. 1034, (May, 1989), item XIV, p. 389.
Diana Scarisbrick, Chaumet: Master Jewellers since 1780 (Paris, 1995), pp. 40-1.
Clare Philips, Jewelry From Antiquity to the Present (London, 1996) p. 128.
Clare Philips, Jewels and Jewellery (V&A, 2000), pp. 68-9.

Materials

Emeralds; Gold; Silver; Diamonds

Categories

Jewellery; Royalty; Europeana Fashion Project

Collection

Metalwork Collection

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