THE TASTE OF THE JEWELRY

The taste for ornaments, the jewels in the paintings.

It is the Centre des monuments nationaux and the Château de Versailles that take us to the Château d’Angers for this wonderful exhibition. The taste for the finery. Portraits of the Palace of Versailles

A lover of jewelry and art, Esprit Joaillerie wanted to share this exhibition with you: a look at the jewelry from the painters’ perspective. It is a moment where the historical dimension meets the artistic dimension. So, the painter shows his virtuosity through the brilliance of stones, pearls and diamonds, the taste for adornment.

 Thus, from Louis XIV to the Second Empire, we discover necklaces, rings, earrings pendants, shoelace loops, or stones sewn into the costume itself.

It is also the opportunity to appreciate the history of the Crown jewels. The portraits of the kings and queens are a valuable source of iconography. For, enriched by each sovereign, this treasure has partially traversed history. Let us together explore the evolution of the uses and forms of jewelry, the tastes of a particular era.

Passionate about the stones he saw as a child, with the help of
Cardinal Mazarin or his mother Anne of Austria, Louis XIV significantly enriched the collection of jewels of the Crown. The diamond of Guise or the great sapphire that belonged to the Ruspoli collection, as well as the Grand Sancy, sum up quite well this opulent period. It should be noted that this enrichment of the Crown was also accompanied by new techniques for enhancing gemstones.

First of all, the sizes are diversifying. Thus, the pointed size (simply polished octahedron) is transformed and we can see the evolution in the pendeloque, oval or rose-shaped sizes with multiple facets.
Then the jewels and stones worn as ornaments adorn the dress. For to wear one’s wealth is to participate in the spectacle given in Versailles, and therefore it pleases the King-Sun.

In the 18th century, taste evolved significantly. The century of the Enlightenment saw the reputation of Parisian jewellers grow. French jewellery was then a model of quality, refinement, and elegance for all of Europe.

The sumptuous portrait of the young Louis XV attracts the eye by the abundance of stones adorning his habit. Sapphires, diamonds, and garnets come from the Crown jewels. A diamond brooch adorns his tricorne. Wearing the blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, Louis XV also wears the red knot and the diamond cross of the Knights of Saint Louis.

It was during Louis XV's reign that the Royal Treasury was enriched with an exceptional stone, the Régent, a 140-carat diamond from the Indian province of Golconde.

In addition to a gold crown, Louis XV wore a lighter, vermeil crown on the day of his coronation.
The pleated frame, composed of a band and eight arches, was adorned with a polychrome decoration, characteristic of the taste of the time, of diamonds, pink diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and topaz.
Several famous diamonds were set in it, including the Sancy that adorned the top of the crown and the Régent. With 282 diamonds, 64 colored stones, and 200 pearls, it is the richest crown ever made.

This opulent portrait testifies to the queen’s pronounced taste for diamonds that adorn her attire. A cascade of pearls runs down her hair.

During the reign of Louis XVI and at the end of the 18th century, Queen Marie-Antoinette succumbed to antique fashions. The jewelry was more discreet. The Rocaille style under Louis XV was refined to make way for a sensibility that tended towards a certain naturalness.

Marie-Antoinette's passion for jewelry is well known. However, the queen's famous necklace, to which her name is attached, never belonged to her. The jewelers Charles-Auguste Boehner and Paul Bassenge created an exceptional necklace, composed of 550 diamonds and a hundred pearls, and tried to convince the queen to purchase it.
This was refused because of its exorbitant price. The Countess of Valois’s plot to have the jewelry purchased by Cardinal de Rohan, his interview with a Queen’s lookalike in a grove of trees at the Château de Versailles, his arrest following the mass of 15 August 1785, and the dispersal of the stones from the broken necklace gave the episode a novel air, which had real political consequences as the queen’s reputation was deeply tarnished.
This engraving, made after the scandal, allows us to imagine the missing necklace.

At the time of the Revolution, most emblematic jewels disappeared. While famous stones sometimes reappear on the market, many of the Crown jewels are no longer known except by their inventory records, or even by paintings that still remember them.

After the Revolution, the taste for jewelry revived, but the Royal Treasury was dispersed after the sale of part of the Crown Jewels and the looting of the Jewel House in 1792.
Napoleon the Emperor ordered jeweler Marie-Etienne Nitot to make jewelry for Empress Joséphine. During his divorce in 1809, the Emperor had the state jewelry made for his new wife, Marie-Louise. Nitot the son subsequently gained a monopoly on the numerous orders for jewelry made of diamonds, pearls, and colored stones.

All the trends and techniques born from the end of the Ancien Régime are thus still highly appreciated, such as beads, camouflages or micro-mosaic.

The Duchess of Angoulême and the Duchess of Berry crystallize the enrichment of the Crown jewels with the reign of Louis XVIII.

The jeweler Paul-Nicolas Ménière dismantles the entire jewelry collection to remove the imperial symbols and make it more fashionable.
The Restoration period’s acquisitions reveal a pronounced taste for the rich garnishes of diamonds, but also a marked interest in stones of colors, turquoise, opals, and amethysts, which were relatively rare. This is the golden age of romantic jewelry.

Upon the arrival of Napoleon III, the Crown jewels were again put on display for Empress Eugénie. Although the style remained classic, it also featured fantasies inspired by Greek and naturalistic motifs, bouquets, garlands, and chandeliers of flowers adorned with diamonds.

A superb exhibition to rediscover the history of France, the history of jewelry, «The Taste of the Jewelry».

Exhibition until January 15, 2017

Château d’Angers
2, promenade du Bout du Monde
49100 Angers