Origin of name
Stephanie de Beauharnais, the Grand Duchess of Baden, was a niece to
Alexandre Vicomte de Beauharnais, the first husband of Empress Josephine de
Beauharnais, who was killed during the upheavals of the French revolution.
On March 9, 1796, when Napoleon Bonaparte married Josephine de Beauharnais,
he became the step-father to two of Josephine's children Eugene de
Beauharnais and Hortense de Beauharnais, who were second cousins to
Stephanie de Beauharnais. As Napoleon rose to the position of First Consul
of France and later Emperor in 1804, he became the de facto patron of both
the Bonaparte and the de Beauharnais families. Napoleon who was the "uncle"
of Stephanie, extended his benevolence to Stephanie and adopted her as his
daughter, and in keeping with her new imperial status she moved into the
Tuileries Palace.
In 1806, Napoleon arranged the marriage of Stephanie de Beauharnais whom he
referred to as "Princesse Francaise" (French Princess), to Karl Ludwig
Friedrich, the heir to the Grand Duke of Baden, with the intention of
securing an alliance between the two ruling dynasties. On this occasion
Napoleon showered his adopted daughter, Stephanie de Beauharnais, with
several valuable jewelry suites, costing 500,000 French francs, and a handsome dowry of 2 million French
francs. Among the jewelry suites he gifted to Stephanie de Beauharnais were
an emerald parure, a pearl parure and a diamond parure.
The emerald parure consisted of a tiara, necklace, a pair of earrings and a
pair of bracelets, and came to be known as the Grand Duchess Stephanie
Emerald Parure. However, only the emerald necklace and the pair of earrings
of the original parure, known as the "Beauharnais Emerald Collection" had
survived up to this day, and are preserved and displayed at the Victoria &
Albert Museum in London.
Description of the Beauharnais Emerald
and Diamond Necklace
The necklace that was designed and executed by Napoleon's court jewelers
Nitot & Fils, exhibits neo-classical features of the Napoleonic era, such as
the briolette-cut emeralds, hanging as pendants from around the necklace, a
design that suited the low-neck dresses of the ladies of Napoleon's court
during this period. Other creations of this period that have similar designs
are the Marie-Louise emerald and diamond necklace and the Marquess of
Lothian emerald and diamond necklace.
The necklace is essentially a double-stranded emerald and diamond necklace,
interspersed with square, rectangular and cushion-cut emeralds placed in
symmetrical positions and surrounded by small round or cushion-cut diamonds.
The strands of the necklace are made up of alternating round-shaped small
emeralds and diamonds.
©Victoria and Albert Museum
The centerpiece of the necklace is a large cushion-cut emerald surrounded by
12 small round-shaped diamonds, from which hangs the largest briolette-cut
emerald pendant in the necklace. The emerald on the rear-side of the
necklace, in line with the centerpiece, is a square-shaped emerald,
surrounded by 14 closely set round white diamonds. The gap between the
centerpiece and the rear emerald, on either side is occupied by three
identical rectangular-shaped emeralds, each surrounded by 12 small
round-shaped diamonds, and placed on symmetrical positions on either side of
the necklace. Briolette-cut emerald pendants are attached to all the large
emeralds on the necklace, except the rear square-shaped emerald. Thus there
are eight large emeralds on the double-stranded necklace, but only seven
large briolette pendants. In the painting appearing above Grand Duchess Stephanie is shown
wearing the emerald and diamond necklace, together with the matching pair of
earrings.
The most striking features of this necklace are the color contrast between
the green emeralds and the white diamonds; the large briolette-cut emerald
pendants arising from the necklace; the double strand of emeralds and
diamonds that link all large emeralds together; and the open-back settings
of the emeralds and diamonds, which allowed more light to pass through the
stones, increasing their brilliance.
Description of the Beauharnais Emerald and
Diamond Earrings.
The identical pair of emerald and diamond pendant earrings complements the
emerald and diamond necklace. Each earring of the matching pair consists of
two sections. An upper circular or round-shaped section and a lower pear or
drop-shaped section. The centerpiece of the upper round-shaped section which
fits on to the ear lobe, is a round-shaped emerald surrounded by 12 small
round-shaped diamonds. The centerpiece of the pear or drop-shaped section is
a large free swinging briolette-cut emerald, surrounded by 18 round or
cushion-shaped diamonds. Even in the earrings the emeralds and diamonds are
set in open-back settings like the necklace.
History of the Beauharnais Emerald Collection
A short biography of Stephanie de Beauharnais
Stephanie de
Beauharnais relationship to Eugene and Hortense de Beauharnais
Stephanie de Beauharnais who was born in Versailles on August 28, 1789, at
the beginning of the French revolution was the daughter of Claude de
Beauharnais (1756-1819), the 2nd Count des Roches-Baritaud and his wife
Claude Francoise de Lezay (1767-1791). Claude de Beauharnais was the first
cousin to Alexandre Vicomte de Beauharnais who married Josephine Tascher de
la Pagerie in 1779. Alexandre and Josephine had two children, Eugene de
Beauharnais and Hortense de Beauharnais. Thus Stephanie de Beauharnais was a
second cousin to Eugene and Hortense. Alexandre and Josephine separated in
1785 after six years of marriage, as Alexandre was ashamed of Josephine's
rural manners and lack of sophistication, which prevented her from
associating with the elite ladies of the Royal court. After the divorce,
Josephine refused to return to her rural village in the island of
Martinique, and instead chose to remain in Paris and was determined to learn
the life style of the elitist high society and the aristocrats. In 1794, at
the height of the French revolution, her former husband Alexandre Vicomte de
Beauharnais was guillotined to death. Josephine who was now a cultured high
society lady was introduced to Napoleon Bonaparte who fell in love with her
and began courting her, and on March 9, 1796 they were married. Napoleon
Bonaparte was now the step-father to Eugene de Beauharnais and Hortense de
Beauharnais.
Stephanie de Beauharnais becomes the
adopted daughter of Napoleon Bonarparte
After Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, and later the
Emperor in 1804, he also became the de facto patron of both the Bonaparte
and de Beauharnais families. He also decided to adopt Stephanie de
Beauharnais as his daughter, and as a member of the new imperial family she
moved into the Tuileries Palace.
Stephanie de Beauharnais' marriage to Karl
Ludwig Friedrich the heir to the Grand Duke of Baden Karl Friedrich
In 1806, Napoleon sought to secure an alliance with the Prince Elector of
Baden, through a marriage between the members of the two ruling dynasties.
Accordingly he arranged the marriage of his adopted daughter Stephanie de
Beauharnais to the heir to the Grand Duke of Baden Karl Friedrich, which
took place in Paris on April 8, 1806. After initial difficulties in their
marriage, the couple eventually reconciled and were blessed with five
children. Karl Ludwig Friedrich succeeded his grandfather as the Grand Duke
of Baden, on June 10, 1811.
Grand Duchess Stephanie de Beauharnais wearing the emerald necklace and
matching pair of emerald earrings
At the time of Stephanie de Beauharnais marriage to Karl Ludwig Friedrich,
Napoleon Bonaparte gifted several jewelry suites to his adopted daughter
Stephanie whose value was said to be over 500,000 French francs, besides a
dowry of 2 million French francs in cash. The jewelry suites included an
emerald, diamond and pearl parures.
Grand Duchess Stephanie de Beauharnais
becomes a widow at 29 years and remains a widow for the rest of her long
life of 71 years
Grand Duke Karl Ludwig Friedrich died on December 8, 1818 at the age of 32
years. The Grand Duchess
Stephanie de Beauharnais who was only 29 years at the time of her husband's
death, however remained a widow for the rest of her long
life, remaining a devoted mother to her three daughters. The Grand Duchess
Stephanie de Beauharnais died in Nice, in 1860 at the age of 71 years, 41
years after the death of her husband.
A short history of Baden
History of Baden from ancient times up to
its re-unification in 1771
Baden was an independent state on the east bank of the Rhine river, in the
southwestern corner of present Germany, which is now part of the
Baden-Wurttemberg State of unified Germany. Ancient Baden was occupied by
the Celts, followed by the Germanic peoples. The Romans conquered Baden in
the 1st century A.D. followed by the Alemanni in the 3rd century A.D. In the
8th century the Franks conquered the area, and were also responsible for
Christianizing its people. The rulers of Baden were known by the title
"Margrave," and were members of the House of Zahringen. In 1535, the territory
was divided into two margravates, the Baden-Baden margravate in the south
and the Baden-Durlach margravate in the north. Baden suffered heavily during
the "Thirty Years War" (1618-48) and also during the expansionist wars of
Louis XIV of France in the late 17th century. Baden was finally re-united in
1771, by Karl Friedrich (Charles Frederick) the margrave of Baden-Durlach.
Under Karl Friedrich, Baden enjoyed a long period of prosperity and
happiness.
History of Baden during the
Napoleonic period
During the French revolution, that was followed by the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte,
Baden came under the influence of France, and became one of its satellite
states. Between 1803 and 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte expanded the territory of
Baden by conquest, as far as the Main River in the north and the Lake
Constance to the south. The territory of the margravate increased by four to
five times its original size. In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the
margravate and converted it into a Grand Duchy, that became a member of
Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine. With the formation of the Grand Duchy
in 1806, Karl Friedrich became the Grand Duke of Baden, and his grandson
Karl Ludwig Friedrich became his heir. It was his heir Karl Ludwig Friedrich
who married Napoleon Bonaparte's adopted daughter Stephanie de Beauharnais
in 1806, and succeeded him as the Grand Duke on his death on June 10, 1811.
Karl Ludwig Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden
Baden becomes an independent Grand Duchy
after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte
After Napoleon Bonaparte's downfall in 1814, the Congress of
Vienna recognized Baden as a unified state, and a sovereign member of the
newly formed German Confederation, and was allowed to retain the territorial
gains it had achieved during the Napoleonic period. In the year 1818, just
before his death Karl Ludwig Friedrich introduced a new liberal
constitution, that made Baden one of the first German states to set up a
representative assembly.
Grand Duke Karl Ludwig Friedrich died on December 8, 1818, and since he did
not have any surviving male children, was succeeded by his uncle Ludwig I
(Louis I), who ruled from 1818 to 1830. Ludwig I supported the development
of the University of Freiburg, which eventually came to be known as the
Albert-Ludwig University. Ludwig I also founded the Polytechnic Hochschule
Karlsruhe in 1825, the oldest technical school in Germany. He was also
responsible for the construction of most of the classical revival buildings
in the city center.
When Ludwig I died in 1830 he was succeeded by his half brother Leopold I,
who ruled from 1830 to 1852. During his rule in 1848 a revolutionary
government ousted Leopold I and took control of the duchy. However in 1849,
the Prussian military intervened on Leopold's behalf, ousted the
revolutionary government, and restored Leopold I as the Grand Duke.
Frederick I joins Prussia in 1871 to form
the German Empire
Leopold I was succeeded by his son Ludwig II, in 1852, but being mentally
ill his brother Frederick I was appointed regent. Subsequently in 1856,
Frederick I assumed the title of Grand Duke and continued his rule until his
death in 1907. Frederick I married Princess Louise of Prussia, daughter of
Emperor Wilhelm I and Empress Augusta of Prussia. He was a liberal supporter
of a constitutional monarchy. During his reign he introduced the option of
civil marriages in Baden, and also direct elections to the Lower House of
Parliament. In 1871, Frederick I decided to join Prussia to form the German
Empire - a move initiated by the Prussian Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck
- but still remaining as a Grand Duchy within the Empire.
Frederick II abdicates after World War I
and Baden joins the new German Republic
Frederick I died in 1907 and was succeeded by his son Frederick II, who was
the last Grand Duke of Baden. Following Germany's defeat in World War I, the
country was declared a republic on November 9, 1918. Emperor Wilhelm II
abdicated and fled to the Netherlands. Frederick II, the Grand Duke of Baden
followed suit and abdicated on November 22, 1918, and the Grand Duchy of
Baden cease to exist. Under the republican constitution of 1919, Baden
ceased to be a Grand Duchy, and became a land of the German Reich. After
World War II, Baden was divided into American and French zones of
occupation, which eventually became the administrative district of the newly
formed state of Baden-Wurttemberg.
Fate of the Emerald and Diamond Parure after
the death of Stephanie de Beauharnais
Stephanie de Beauharnais died in Nice in 1860, at the age of 71 years. The
fate of the necklace after her death is not exactly known. Perhaps the
parure might have been disposed even before her death, or bequeathed after
her death to any one of her three daughters, with whom she had been very
close. Her eldest daughter was Princess Luise Amelie Stephanie of Baden, who
married Gustav, the Prince of Vasa in the year 1830. Her second daughter was
Princess Josephine Friederike Luise of Baden, who married Karl Anton, Furst
of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen in 1834, and her third daughter was Princess
Marie Amelie Elisabeth Caroline of Baden, who married William Alexander
Anthony Archibald Douglas Hamilton, the 11th Duke of Hamilton in 1843. It is
not known to which of her daughters she bequeathed her emerald parure.
It might also be possible that the parure remained as a royal jewel
belonging to the Duchy of Baden, and passed down the successive grand dukes
and duchesses of Baden, until it was inherited by the last Grand Duke of
Baden, Frederick II, who abdicated on November 22, 1918, immediately after
World War II. It is said that the parure was broken up after World War II,
and only the necklace and the pair of earrings were acquired by Count
Tagliavia. Subsequently, the widow of Count Tagliavia, Countess Margharita
Tagliavia, presented the necklace and the pair of earrings, to the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London, in memory of her son.
The Beauharnais Emerald Collection on display
at the new William and Judith Bollinger Jewelry Gallery at the Victoria and
Albert Museum
Classification of the Museum's Collections
The Victoria and Albert Museum, which was founded in 1852 as the South
Kensington Museum by Prince Albert, using funds raised by holding the Great
Exhibition of 1851, of which he was the chief organizer, is today the
world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, with a collection of
over 4.5 million objects, derived from over 5,000 years of human history, in
virtually every possible medium of art, and from cultures of all the five
continents of the world. The museum that now covers an area of 12.5 acres,
has 145 galleries, but only a small percentage of the collection can be
displayed at any given time.
The Museum is split into four collection departments :-
1) Asia 2) Furniture, Textiles, Fashion and Jewelry 3) Sculpture, Metalwork,
Ceramics and Glass 3) Word and Image, which includes prints and books,
paintings and drawings, and photography.
The collection departments are further sub-divided into 16 display areas,
which can be listed in alphabetical order as follows :-
Architecture, Asia, British Galleries, Ceramics, Childhood, Contemporary,
Fashion and Jewelry, Furniture, Glass, Metalwork, Paintings and Drawings,
Periods and Styles, Photography, Prints and Books, Sculpture, Textiles.
Fashion and Jewelry
There are over 6,000 items in the jewelry collection, which includes jewelry
of all periods from the ancient to the modern, such as Ancient Egypt,
Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Medieval Period, Elizabethan Jewels, 17th
Century Jewels, 18th Century Jewels, 19th Century Jewels, and Modern
Jewelry. The collection includes some of the finest pieces by Cartier,
Lalique and Peter Carl Faberge. Among items of historic significance are
diamond dress ornaments made for Catherine the Great, bracelet clasps that
once belonged to Marie Antoinette, and the Beauharnais emerald
necklace and earrings presented by Napoleon to his adopted daughter
Stephanie de Beauharnais in 1806 on the occasion of her marriage to the heir
of the Grand Duchy of Baden.
Among the modern jewelry are creations by designers such as Gerda
Flockinger and Wendy Ramshaw. There are also items of jewelry from Asia and
the African continent. The jewelry items also include collections bequeathed
to the museum by several individual collectors, such as a collection of 154
gems by Reverend Chauncy Hare Townsend bequeathed in 1869, A collection of
diamond jewelry from the 18th and 19th centuries bequeathed in 1951, by Lady
Cory, a collection of more than 800 jewels from the middle ages to the early
19h century, that belonged to the jewelry scholar Dame Joan Evans,
bequeathed in 1977.
William and Judith Bollinger Jewelry
Gallery
On May 24, 2008 a new jewelry gallery donated by William and Judith
Bollinger was opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This gallery
displays 3,500 jewels from the V&A's jewelry collection dating from the 7th
century to the present day. The jewels that are on display reflect the
splendor of courtly life of the European monarchies in the last 800 years.
The display also includes some of the finest designs created by contemporary
designers, and the great jewelry houses of the 20th century.
Among the jewelry of historical significance that are displayed in the
gallery are jeweled pendants given by Queen Elizabeth I to her courtiers,
diamond jewelry worn by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, the
Beauharnais Emerald Collection, gifted by Napoleon to his adopted daughter
Stephanie de Beauharnais, tiaras and ornaments worn by Empress Josephine,
creations by Peter Carl Faberge, that include an enameled snuff box with the
diamond monogram of Czar Nicholas II, several pieces of 19th century jewelry
that include sprays of diamonds mounted on tremblers, and revivalist jewelry
in the archaeological and renaissance styles.
Some of the new additions to the V&A's jewelry collection that have been put
on display in the new gallery are, a collection of jewelry by Lalique, Lady
Mountbatten's "tutti frutti" ruby, sapphire, emerald and diamond bandeau,
purchased by her from Cartier in 1928, and the jewelry collection of the New
York collector and dealer Patricia V. Goldstein gifted to the V&A, which
includes several pieces by Tiffany and Cartier.
The four-year renovation of the jewelry gallery of the Victoria and
Albert Museum was made possible by a generous donation given to the
museum by William and Judith Bollinger. Architect Eva Jiricna who was in
charge of the project, redesigned the exhibition space, incorporating a
central glass spiral staircase rising to a new mezzanine floor.
According to Mark Jones, the Director of the V&A, "the power of jewels
lies in their beauty and their ability to stir human emotions. The V&A has
one of the finest collections of jewelry, and the imagination and passion of
William and Judith Bollinger have allowed us to create a gallery worthy of
this collection."
Related :-
1)
Emerald and Diamond Parure of Marie Louise Empress of France
2)
Catherine the Great Emerald and Diamond Necklace
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References
1.V&A's jewelry collection - website of the V&A Museum.
2.V&A's
new jewelry gallery : rocks of ages -Telegraph.co.uk 11-5-2008.
3.V&A
jewelry : treasures brought to sparklinglife - Telegraph,co.uk 20-5-2008
4.V&A
to open William and Judith Bollinger Jewelry Gallery - artdaily.org October
2, 2008.
5.Victoria and Albert Museum -From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
6.Stephanie
de Beauharnais - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
7.Encyclopedia
Britannica - 2006
