Thursday, August 15, 2013

Mastery of Design: The Hull-Grundy Forget-Me-Not Tiara

Tiara
From the Hull Grundy Gift at The British Museum

Click image for detail.









Another brilliant piece from the Hull-Grundy Gift to The British Museum, we see this French-made tiara which was constructed of three-color gold.  The gold has been worked into elaborate swags of leaves and flowers.  These are surrounded by a large crest of forget-me-nots mounted in turquoises with diamond-set centers.


Originally, this piece was worn as a frontlet ornament.  In 1805, the French jewel was altered, probably in Italy, into its present form as a tiara.




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