Mastery of Design: The Cory Bow Brooches, c. 1760

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Set of three Russian Diamond and Silver Brooches
From the Collection of Lady Cory.
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This set of three bow brooches once belonged to Lady Cory whose fascinating collection of jewels was bequeathed to the V&A.

These brooches were designed around 1760 and were made to be worn together in a variety of arrangements, but especially with the largest bow at the center of the bodice with the two smaller bows pinned near to the shoulders.

That these diamond bodice ornaments have survived since the mid-Eighteenth Century is nothing short of a miracle since most similar examples were either sold in pieces or broken apart so that the diamonds could be re-set in a more contemporary style in the Nineteenth Century.  The diamonds, set in silver, are especially fine early examples of the emerging brilliant cut.

The set was made in Russia, perhaps by Duval of St. Petersburg. It is known that these brooches were among the Russian Crown Jewels sold by the Bolshevik government after the Russian Revolution.

The V&A values the suite at a whopping £1,100,000.  This value includes the remaining six pieces of the parure--a set of three small matching dress clips which were designed to be worn in a variety of ways--either at the corners of the bodice, on the shoes, at the shoulders, on a bag or as connectors between the three bows (see below).