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
108-109_STO_Queen_Desideria_Final.indd 109 18/05/2016 11:36