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Lot Essay
In December 1905, before heading to the royal wedding of King Alfonso XIII and Princess Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg in Madrid, the Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala went to Paris to prepare for the event. A great connoisseur of the French art de vivre and culture, the Maharaja was an important client of the jewelry houses of Place Vendôme and Rue de la Paix. Looking for spectacular jewels, worthy of a royal wedding, he entered the Mellerio boutique on December 7th, where he discovered the perfect jeweled ornament.
A multi-century old French jewelry house dating back to 1613, Mellerio’s destiny had constantly been linked with royal families. European queens, starting with Queen Marie-Antoinette, bought jewelry from the firm, as well as many writers, composers, bankers, industrialists and all the great families of the French and foreign aristocracy, as well as the upper-middle class. Fashion icons ordered jewels that became emblematic of their time, avant-garde even.
On his quest for an appropriate jewel, the Maharaja of Kapurthala found at Mellerio a magnificent enamel and diamond peacock aigrette. The peacock, that mythical animal venerated by numerous civilizations and especially by India, had been a favorite of Mellerio ever since Empress Eugenie had commissioned a peacock feather brooch in 1868. Emblematic of their artistic repertoire, the bird motif justified the combination of blue and green, which was unconventional in the jewelry of the day. The aigrette purchased by the Maharajah presented the perfect combination of Indian influence with a Western vision.
The Maharaja probably wore the aigrette on his turban at the royal wedding at the end of May 1906, where, during the same visit, he incidentally met a young Spanish flamenco dancer, Anita Delgado. She would become his fifth wife less than two years later. The peacock aigrette, linked to their first encounter, was later seen worn by Anita Delgado, known as the Maharani Prem Kaur Sahiba after their marriage.
A multi-century old French jewelry house dating back to 1613, Mellerio’s destiny had constantly been linked with royal families. European queens, starting with Queen Marie-Antoinette, bought jewelry from the firm, as well as many writers, composers, bankers, industrialists and all the great families of the French and foreign aristocracy, as well as the upper-middle class. Fashion icons ordered jewels that became emblematic of their time, avant-garde even.
On his quest for an appropriate jewel, the Maharaja of Kapurthala found at Mellerio a magnificent enamel and diamond peacock aigrette. The peacock, that mythical animal venerated by numerous civilizations and especially by India, had been a favorite of Mellerio ever since Empress Eugenie had commissioned a peacock feather brooch in 1868. Emblematic of their artistic repertoire, the bird motif justified the combination of blue and green, which was unconventional in the jewelry of the day. The aigrette purchased by the Maharajah presented the perfect combination of Indian influence with a Western vision.
The Maharaja probably wore the aigrette on his turban at the royal wedding at the end of May 1906, where, during the same visit, he incidentally met a young Spanish flamenco dancer, Anita Delgado. She would become his fifth wife less than two years later. The peacock aigrette, linked to their first encounter, was later seen worn by Anita Delgado, known as the Maharani Prem Kaur Sahiba after their marriage.