There are many striking antique Jewels coming up for Auction this Autumn, with a Diamond Flower Tiara from a Duchess of Portland, Lady Hesketh’s Ruby Necklace, Jewels from an Italian Noble Family, and a Brooch and Ring from Princess Neslişah Sultan among the spectacular Royal & Noble Jewels on Auction at Sotheby’s in Geneva next month!
Diamond Tiara
Estimate: 100,000 – 170,000 CHF
Jewels from a Royal Family in Asia
A Diamond Tiara designed as a garland of wild roses, each flowerhead centring a stamen set en tremblant with an old mine-cut diamond framed by rose-cut diamond pistils, the petals, leaves and rose buds pavé-set with similarly shaped diamonds, each element detachable, five brooch fittings, two pairs of later added ear clip fittings, additional later added tiara frame; circa 1840.
Originates from Henrietta Scott, Duchess of Portland (1774 – 1844). Thence by descent to the great-granddaughter Margaret Greenhalgh,Countess of Norbury before being sold at Christies’ London, 14 December 1953
Diana Scarisbrick, Ancestral Jewels, London, 1989, pp. 169 and 170 and plate 248, for this tiara which was sold by the Countess of Norbury who had inherited it from her great-grandmother Henrietta Scott (1774 – 1844) who married the fourth Duke of Portland in 1795. The tiara was sold at Christie’s London on 14 December 1953.
The Tiara later sold at Auction at the Magnificent Jewels Sale, Sotheby’s St. Moritz, 21 and 22 February 1996, lot 566.
Pink Diamond Ring
Estimate: 260,000 – 430,000 CHF
Formerly in the collection of Princess Neslişah Sultan, Princess Abdel Moneim of Egypt
A Light Pink Diamond and Diamond Ring, set with an old mine brilliant-cut Light Pink diamond weighing 13.86 carats, the mount embellished with old mine- and rose-cut diamonds, size 541/2; mid-19th century, with the Pink Diamond originating from Empress Catherine I of Russia.
Provenance
Empress Catherine I (1684-1727)
Sultan Ahmed III (1663-1736)
Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918)
Princess Emina Ilhamy (1858-1931)
Princess Khadija Hanim
Princess Neslişah Sultan (1921-2012)
Thence by descent
Van Cleef & Arpels Sapphire and Diamond Double-Clip Brooch
Estimate: 17,000 – 26,000 CHF
Formerly in the collection of Princess Neslişah Sultan, Princess Abdel Moneim of Egypt
A Van Cleef & Arpels Sapphire and Diamond Double-Clip Brooch of scroll design, set with circular-cut sapphires, accented by circular-cut and baguette diamond.
The stunning Ottoman Princess who married an Egyptian Prince, becoming an accomplished cultural icon as the First Lady of the Court during the short-lived Recency of King Fuad, Princess Neslişah Sultan was a noted Fashion icon, and her illustrious jewels included a spectacular Ottoman Diamond Parure originating from Empress Catherine I of Russia.
This collection of jewels belonged the Ottoman Princess Neslishah Sultan (1921-2012) who was married to Muhammad Abdel Moneim (1899-1979), heir apparent of the Mohammed Ali dynasty whose father Abbas Hilmi II ruled as the last Khedive of Egypt from 1892 to 1914. Neslishah Sultan in many ways embodied the end of an era, both in her native Turkey and in Egypt. Her life was characterised by several periods of exile and many lasts. She faced the difficulties and challenges that life threw at her with unshakable grace and dignity.
When Neslishah was born in Istanbul in 1921, her birth entry was the last made into the palace register of Ottoman dynasty members before the fall of the once-mighty Ottoman Empire in 1922. This also signified that she was the last person to be officially bestowed with the title of ‘Sultan’ or Princess of the Imperial Blood. Her paternal grandfather was the last Ottoman Caliph Abdulmejid II (1868-1944), while her maternal grandfather was the last Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI Vahideddin (1918-1926). She grew up in exile in France together with her two sisters Hanzade (1923-1998) and Necla (1926-2006). Just before World War II, the family settled in Egypt where their three beautiful young daughters did not fail to make an impression.
In the late 1930s, Egypt was ruled by King Farouk (1920-1965) of the Mohammed Ali dynasty. During the 19th century, the Mohammed Ali dynasty governed Egypt as vassals or Khedive of the Ottoman Empire. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 made Egypt a highly strategic economic centre. However, its costly construction was financed by European financial institutions. To save his country from bankruptcy, the Khedive sold Egypt’s controlling shares in the Canal to the British Government. Thus a multi-layered situation occurred where Egypt’s self-governance was hollowed out, nominally by the Ottoman Empire and de facto by the British Empire. In 1914, when Khedive Abbas Hilmi II sided with the Ottomans at the start of World War II, the British immediately established a protectorate, deposed the last Khedive and replaced him with his nephew Hussein Kamel who was given the title of Sultan. Hussein Kamel was in turn succeeded three years later by his brother Fuad who styled himself as King of Egypt in 1922 to underline Egypt’s fragile independence.
In the late 1930s, the Egyptian court was the most dazzling in the world. King Farouk was an avid art collector, while his mother Nazli Sabri (1894-1978) and his four glamorous sisters, the Princesses Fawzia, Faiza, Fathia and Faika, each possessed highly important jewellery collections. In 1939, when Princess Fawzia married the Iranian heir to the throne, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, her mother placed one of the most illustrious orders in the history of Van Cleef & Arpels: for both the bride and herself she commissioned a sumptuous suite of diamond jewels including a tiara, a bib-style necklace and a pair of pendent earrings. Princess Faiza, moreover, possessed some of the most iconic jewels ever created Van Cleef & Arpels including an emerald drop and diamond necklace and a pair of mystery-set ruby and diamond brooches designed as peonies. During World War II Egypt was a neutral country. Paradoxically, delegates from all over the world congregated in Cairo and Alexandria where they enjoyed many glamorous social functions, while in the desert, only a few kilometres to the West, the armies of Rommel and Montgomery met. Thus in 1940, when Neslishah Sultan married the King’s cousin and heir apparent, Muhammad Abdel Moneim, she found herself in an environment marked both by great luxury as well as great uncertainty.
One week before her wedding, the groom’s aunt, Princess Khadija Hanim, presented the bride with a historical and highly important parure comprising of a necklace, a pair of earrings, a brooch and a ring set with rare and important old mine-cut coloured diamonds which Empress Catherine I, widow of Tsar Peter the Great, had gifted to the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III during negotiations for the Treaty of the Pruth in 1711. These diamonds remained in the Ottoman treasury for generations until Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918) gifted them to his cousin Princess Emina Ilhamy (1858-1931), the mother of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II. Neslishah Sultan wore necklace from this suite on her wedding day. During the 1940s and 1950s, she frequently wore the parure at the many glamorous events attended by the Egyptian Royal family. She also wore the necklace as a tiara mounted on a detachable frame. Amongst her wedding gifts featured two brooches, one given by the Queen Mother Nazli Sabri and the other given by King Farouk’s first wife Queen Farida.
King Farouk was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, lead by Gamal Abdel Nasser. As the King went into exile, Neslishah’s husband was appointed as nominal Regent until the official abolition of the monarchy one year later. Thus for a few short months, she served as first lady of Egypt. Sensing the impending danger, Muhammad Abdel Moneim and Neslishah had sent their two children to live with one of her sisters in France. They stayed on in Egypt until 1959, however, under increasingly hostile circumstances. In November 1953, all property of members of the former Egyptian Royal family was confiscated. Neslishah hid her jewellery in her riding clothes and deposited them with a trusted friend under the pretext of going for her habitual morning of horseback riding. Further acquaintances were entrusted with other valuables including jewellery, gold boxes, plate and furs. They all loyally returned them to her in exile a few years later. The couple was eventually allowed to remain in their Cairo residence, but were now charged rent for the rooms they occupied. In 1957, Muhammad Abdel Moneim and Neslishah were placed under house arrest and charged with plotting against the government.
Following two exhausting years of legal proceedings, both were acquitted on all charges and left Egypt for good. At first, they settled in Montreux as Muhammad Abdel Moneim had been educated in Switzerland. Neslishah reluctantly sold the historical coloured diamond parure at Christie’s in London on 22 May 1963. Fortunately, she was able to retain the ring from this suite for her family. In 1964, she and her husband chose to move to Istanbul after the Turkish government had revoked the laws forbidding members of the former Ottoman dynasty to enter the country. In 2012, Neslishah’s funeral became something of national event in Turkey as she had grown into a beloved link to the country’s history, the last Ottoman Princess.
Pearl and Diamond Jewel and a Brooch
Estimate: 340,000 – 500,000 CHF
Property of a European Noble Family
A Rare and Historically Important Natural Pearl and Diamond Jewel and a Brooch comprising: a transformable jewel designed as a graduated garland of vines set throughout with old cushion-shaped diamonds, accented by rose-cut diamonds, suspending a series of drop-shaped and slightly baroque drop-shaped natural pearls each element detachable, various fittings including links connecting the detachable elements, two brooch fittings, six hairpin fittings and two tiara fittings, one pearl pendant deficient, nine small diamonds deficient; and a brooch of ribbon design set with old cushion-shaped diamonds, centring a button-shaped natural pearl.
This rare and historically important jewel was created around 1840 as a face-framing hair ornament adapted to the fashionable hairstyles of the romantic period. It stands as perhaps the last known surviving example of this extravagant, but short-lived style of bejewelled hair ornament. Thanks to later alterations and the use of fittings, it is transformable for wear as a necklace, devant-de-corsage, tiara and as a set of hairpins. According to family tradition, the important collection of natural pearls suspended from the jewel and its accompanying brooch belonged to Kunigunde of Saxony, Marchesa di Montoro (1774-1820).Thence by descent
In 1951, the jewel was worn by the wife of a descendant of Kunigunde of Saxony, herself born a Princess Odescalchi, at a ball held in honour of Princess Elizabeth, who would become Queen Elizabeth II the following year. In 1980, during another state visit of Elizabeth II the jewel was worn again. On both occasions the Queen expressed words of admiration for the jewel.
Kunigunde of Saxony (1774-1820) was the daughter of Prince Franz Xaver of Saxony (1730-1806). He in turn was the second son of Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (1896-1763), who simultaneously held the elective Polish crown as King Augustus III, and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1699-1757).
Franz Xaver’s grandfather Augustus the Strong (1670-1733) had greatly expanded the influence of the ancient Saxon Wettin dynasty by becoming King of Poland. He was well aware that representation was crucial at the baroque courts of the early 18th century and thus set out to make his court at Dresden one of the most magnificent in Europe, on a par with Versailles. Augustus the Strong and his son Frederick Augustus II assembled one of the most significant art collections of their day, including Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, Vermeer’s The Procuress and Jean-Étienne Liotard’s The Chocolate Girl. Today, Dresden’s Grünes Gewölbe museum, the former Royal Schatzkammer, still houses the Electors’ superlative collection of jewels, including the epaulette set with the world-famous Dresden Green Diamond.
Prince Franz Xaver grew up surrounded by the grandeur and culture of the Dresden court at its height. The prestige enjoyed by the Wettins at this point in time, brought them to the forefront of European Royal dynastic relations. Franz Xaver’s sisters Marie Josèphe (1731-1767), Maria Amalia (1724-1760) and Maria Anna (1728-1797) were married to the French Dauphin, the King of Naples and the Elector of Bavaria respectively, while his brother Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen (1738-1822) was the husband of Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, the favourite daughter of Empress Maria Theresa. This Golden Age for Saxony came to a crashing halt with the Seven Years War (1756-1763) that saw Prussia invade and occupy their neighbour, which subsequently never regained its place amongst Europe’s major players.
In 1763, Franz Xaver’s brother Frederick Christian passed away after a reign of only 73 days. Therefore, Franz Xaver fulfilled the role of regent during the minority of his nephew Elector Frederick Augustus III (1750-1827). In 1765, he secretely married the Italian Countess Maria Chiara Spinucci (1741–1792), a lady-in-waiting to his sister-in-law, the Electress. As she was not of Royal birth, the marriage was considered morganatic, meaning that the couple’s offspring was considered legitimate, but forfeited its place in the line of succession.
Following the conclusion of his regency in 1768, Franz Xaver moved his family to France where he lived discretely under the title Graf von der Lausitz. His daughter Kunigunde was born at Chaumot in France in 1774, during the reign of his ill-fated nephew King Louis XVI, the son of his sister Marie Josèphe. When the French Revolution broke out, the family relocated to Rome. There Kunigunde married the Marchese Montoro in 1795. She passed way in the eternal city in 1828. Her descendants created this magnificent jewel, with accompanying brooch, during the 1840s using pearls that originally belonged to her.
This rare and historically important jewel is perhaps the last known surviving example of an elaborate type of hair ornament that saw a very brief flowering of popularity during the 1840s. The hairstyles of the late 1830s to the 1850s consisted of swoops of hair covering each ear, combined with a middle part and smooth crown, tied into an elaborate bun at the back. For formal events, floral decorations, either natural or silk flowers, were used as decoration. This period was the height of the romantic movement which fostered a deep-rooted fascination for nature, folkloric myths and the supernatural. In jewellery these themes were translated into highly articulated floral and foliate sprays that gave women the air of sylphs when gliding through a candle- or gas-lit ballroom.
The high point of this style was found in elaborate floral and foliate hair ornaments or coiffures, intended to be worn across the crown of the head and draping over the ears. They were supreme showcases for the jeweller’s virtuosity and created a mesmerizingly ethereal, yet dramatic effect when worn. Vever’s perennial standard work La Bijouterie Française du XIX siècle features several illustrations of variations on this type of jewel. The archives of the former Viennese court jeweller Köchert also contain a number of sketches for intricate examples of the style, which did not survive long past 1850.
Such extravagant jewels were usually remounted when they went out of fashion. This example, however, survived because it was rendered transformable with ingenious alterations and the use of numerous fittings. Together with its accompanying brooch, the jewel is a truly rare and magnificent artifact that recalls the beauty and splendour of a bygone era.
Ruby and Diamond Necklace
Estimate: 40,000 – 60,000 CHF
Formerly in the collection of Christian, Lady Hesketh
A Ruby and Diamond Necklace centring oval and cushion-shaped rubies within old cushion-shaped diamond borders.Formerly in the Collection of Christian, Lady Hesketh, it was sold in the Noble Jewels Sale at Sotheby’s Geneva, 17 May 2007, lot 329.
Christian Mary McEwen, The Dowager Lady Hesketh, universally known as Kisty Hesketh, was the only daughter of Sir John McEwan of Marchmont and Bardrochat and his wife Brigid Lindley, daughter of the Ambassador, Sir Francis Lindley. She was brought up in the Scottish Lowlands surrounded by six brothers in whose company she became a fine sportswoman and a passionate Scot. In 1949 she married the second Lord Hesketh at the age of 20, leaving the Adamesque splendours of Marchmount for the baroque exuberance of Easton Neston House. During this period her home was shared with her reclusive American mother-in-law, who occupied an apartment on the first floor attended by three nurses, who refused to meet strangers including her new daughter-in-law, demanding that the whole of Easton Neston be kept quiet. It was only after her husband’s death in 1955, that Lady Hesjeth approached her mother-in-law for the first time, aged just 25. When the old Lady Heketh died the following year, Easton Neston finally became the home to Kisty and her three young sons.
Under the new Lady Hesketh’s management Easton Neston was decorated and a new library installed by David Hicks, all celebrated in The Connoisseur, Country Life and Architectural Digest. The house was reawakened, and during the 1960s and 70s became famous for its eclectic mix of guests. It was during this period that Kisty involved herself in politics, becoming and ardent Tory, following her father who had been a conservative M.P for Berwickshire. Even personal tragedies such as the loss of four of her six brothers and a car crash that resulted in the loss of an eye when she was only 33 did not diminish her zest for life. In the late 1970s, following the death of her eldest son she finally left the great house and moved to the dower house Pomfret Lodge where she continued her energetic life, writing books and articles and containing a lively social life, until the last year of her life when she moved to London.
Sotheby’s Noble & Private Collections | 5 December 2024
Phillips Geneva Jewels | 11 November 2024
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels | 12 November 2024
Sotheby’s Royal & Noble Jewels | 13 November 2024
Sotheby’s Important Jewels | 16 November 2024
Christie’s Jewels | 20 November 2024
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Vladimir Tiara
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara
Belgian Sapphire Tiara
Burmese Ruby Tiara
Brazilian Aquamarine Tiara
Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara
Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara
Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara
Follow