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| Chaumet Ice Frost (Stalactite) TIara |
The tiara consists of stalactite-shaped fringes; some are pointed, while others resemble melting stalactite with drops of water (in the form of pear-shaped diamonds) hanging from them. The diamond stalactites are suspended from two-rows of brilliants, which itself hang from a base of round diamonds.
For quite a while, I wasn’t sure whether it would be right to post an entry on this one for a very simple reason: virtually no information exists on it. Nevertheless, I was quite determined to include this work of art among the posts here, and embarked on a real detective work.
The tiara was created in 1904 by Chaumet for Louis Cesar, Marquis de Lubersac. The Marquis was a highly popular Senator of the 3rd republic and held the office from 1920 until his death in 1932 (he had been re-elected twice). He was also Secretary of the Senate from 1930 until his death.
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| Louis Cesar, Marquis de Lubersac |
The Marquis bought is lovely jewel as a wedding present for his daughter-in-law Constance Livermore-Seilliere, on the occasion of her marriage to his only son and heir, Odon de Lubersac. Twenty-three years later, Constance gave the tiara to Jeanne Marie Le Gras du Luart, upon her 1927 marriage to her eldest son, Raoul de Lubersac.
That’s where the tiara’s known history ends. Raoul and Constance had no surviving children so perhaps the tiara was sold at some point.
Either way, this is a breathtaking work of art, in my opinion I can’t really call it a jewel because I am not sure whether it can actually be worn unless you want to end up with scratches all over your face and no eyes. But by itself, it is amazing.
Credit: Chaumet with special thanks to Denoit and Pinon whom I tortured mercilessly for information.
Credit: Chaumet with special thanks to Denoit and Pinon whom I tortured mercilessly for information.
i keep coming back to this one..it's sooooo pretty...
ReplyDeletebut i'd love to see someone give it a try... maybe with some reaaly big tiara hair!
Glad to see I'm not the only one who is obsessed with this beauty. Although to actually wear it, one would need REALLY big tiara hair not to require an eye patch later.
DeleteSadly, I fear this tiara has been dismantled a long time ago.
I was thinking maybe it could have been worn the wrong way round, so at the back of the head (with really lavish tiara hair or a construction of braids or something...
Deletebut if it's been dismantled..we'll never know... sigh ;-)
Doesn't seem like it would scratch, those lovely icicles aren't threaded on like beads! they're set in ... well, settings, that are connected. so, smooth metal backings are what would be against the skin. including the melting-drops. If you look really closely, you can see open space above the pear-shaped drops, where you can also see little bitty marks that are connecting metal. Also, I bet the danglies come about to the eyebrows, like on many, many types of folk headdresses, which of course, I can't find any examples of at the moment! oh my, there is a BOOK about Chaumet tiaras! see http://www.amazon.com/Timeless-Tiaras-Chaumet-1804-Present/dp/284323347X
ReplyDeleteYou could be right. After all, it would have been unreasonable to create a tiara that couldn't be worn.
DeleteThanks for the book on Chaumet tiaras: I am so going to buy it!