Sotheby’s auction house will sell the diamonds and pearls that once belonged to French King Louis XVI’s Queen Marie-Antoinette, The Local reported on Wednesday. This unique jewellry have never been seen in public are to go on sale. The sale will include jewels from other royal families up to the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire, all owned by the Bourbon-Parma family.
The tragic life and death of the French royal family, King Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette and their children, became a legend. In 1791, when royals tried to flee the French Revolution, their jewels were smuggled out of the country into the trust of a confidant in Brussels. In 2018, Marie Antoinette’s exquisite jewels up for auction in Geneva.
Prior to fleeing, King Louis XVI sent the French Crown jewel on to her nephew the Emperor of Austria who later gave them to Marie Antoinette’s only surviving child Marie Therese of France.
“Most of the jewels in the collection were given to Robert I (1848-1907), the last sovereign Duke of Parma and Piacenza, by his mother, Louise of France (1819-1864), grand-daughter of King Charles X of France and great niece of Marie Antoinette,”
Sotheby’s told and added that this extraordinary collection offers a fascinating glimpse of the life of this family in centuries gone by.
Unique Marie Antoinette’s jewels come to the market
The royal jewels have never been seen in public are to go on sale in Geneva, Sotheby’s said the auction of more than 100 lots, all owned by the Bourbon-Parma family, will be held in Geneva on November 12th. According to Daniela Mascetti of Sotheby’s Europe,
“This is one of the most important collections of royal jewellery ever to come to market.”
Marie Antoinette’s diamond pendant with an exceptional natural pearl is expected to fetch up to $2 million while Queen’s necklace of more than 300 natural pearls has been valued at up to $300,000 and a pair of pearl drop earrings 50,000 dollars.
“Renowned for her extravagance and the splendour and lavishness of her court, Marie Antoinette is very often portrayed wearing pearls,”
Sotheby’s Europe explained.
