Jewel__A_Celebration_of_Earth_s_Treasures

109

U

nlike many treasures held

by Europe’s royal families, the

19th-century parure owned

by Queen Desideria of Sweden

and Norway is made from something quite

common – an inexpensive green stone

called malachite.

Despite its lowly status as a gemstone,

malachite became the height of fashion in

the early 1800s, due in part to the era’s

obsession with new geological discoveries.

It was often set into jewellery, and was even

used to inlay entire rooms. Malachite is not

transparent and is not cut into facets like

diamonds; rather, it is formed into smooth

cabochons or carved into detailed shapes.

Queen Desideria’s parure is something

of a mystery. Although it appears on an

official list of the queen’s jewels, there is no

record of her wearing it. There are some

clues, however, as to its origin. The back

of the tiara bears the initials “SP” and the

French assay mark 1819–39, almost

certainly indicating it was made by high-

society Parisian jeweller Simon Petiteau,

probably during the 1820s and 1830s

when the queen was living in Paris.

Decades earlier, Désirée Clary – as she was

known – the daughter of a wealthy French

merchant, was engaged to Napoloen

Bonaparte, who abruptly left her to wed

Josephine de Beauharnais. Two years later,

Désirée married General Jean-Baptiste

Bernadotte, who, possibly at Napoleon’s

suggestion, was elected Crown Prince of

Sweden. While Bernadotte spent much of his

career on military campaigns, the queen lived

mostly in Paris, where she is

thought to have acquired the

parure. Adding to the intrigue,

Napoleon’s wife Josephine also

owned a malachite parure set

with carved cameos.

QUEEN DESIDERIA’S MALACHITE PARURE

Queen Desideria’s

malachite parure

Malachite Hall, Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russia,

designed in the 1830s by the architect Alexander Briullov

and named after its malachite columns and fireplaces

△ One of the malachite stones featuring carvings of classical scenes

Malachite carvings

set in gold

Key dates

1777–1954

1750

1800

1850

1900

1950

2000

1795 Napoleon Bonaparte

becomes engaged to

Désirée, but soon breaks

off the engagement

1798 Désirée marries

Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte,

Napoleon’s most

accomplished general

1871 When Josephine

dies, the necklace goes

to Sofia, wife of Oscar II

1954 Jean Simmons plays

Désirée Clary opposite

Marlon Brando in the

film biopic Désirée

1829 Désirée is crowned

Queen Desideria of

Sweden and Norway

The film Désirée, based on

the best-selling novel by

Annemarie Selinko

1810 Jean-Baptiste

Bernadotte is elected Crown

Prince of Sweden; Désirée

becomes Crown Princess

1820–30 Parisian jeweller

Simon Petiteau creates

the malachite parure

for the queen

1777 Désirée Clary is

born in Marseille, France, to

wealthy merchant François

Clary and his second wife

1860 On Desideria’s death,

the parure is inherited

by Josephine, wife of

Desideria’s only son, Oscar I

1913 After death of Sofia,

her family donates

the necklace to the

Nordic Museum

in Stockholm.

Queen Desideria’s parure, with malachite carvings

featuring classical scenes from antiquity

It was my destiny to

be attractive to heroes

Queen Desideria

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