Hardware at HILLWOOD, & Ladies of the Club

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knock knock?


& more about Hillwood- It is impressive. It is FABULOUS! As I mentioned in a previous post- when I go through these grand houses I like to find things I can take home-that is to say IDEAS I can take home.

An Emerald?

1929 Giulio De Blaas
this portrait of MMP & her daughter Nedinia hangs in the upstairs hall

Why Yes- I will, thank you-I admit it to be one of my favourite stones & NO I don't have any-YET.

Have a look at Mrs Post's:

this breathtaking photograph is from the November Town & Country
click to Enlarge the images to see the incredible detail

I am woefully inadequate to talk about emeralds-any kind of jewel. I turned to the expert- Debra Healy. She is a fine jeweler,an authority on & a historian of jewelry & launched two blogs in the Summer. Her books include : Tiffany et les Joialliers Americains, American Jewelry: Glamour & Tradition, Hollywood Jewels: Movies, Jewelry & Stars. Her absolutely wonderful blogs are Diamonds & Rhubarb (here)- and Paris Originals (here). Neither will disappoint.

Debra said:

From ancient Sanskrit sources it is known that emeralds have be valued and used for over 1500 years in India. After Pizarro’s ruthless conquest of the Incas, even new world emeralds found there way into royal Indian collections. The princely states of India were ready recipients for any fine large stones found throughout the world .

The Large Central Stone In Mrs. Post’s brooch has a carved Mughal floral motif . It is roughly dated from its inscription “The servant of Shah Abbas” it is not known weather it was Shah Abbas I (1557-1629) or Shah Abbas II (1633-1667). It is known that large emeralds were coveted by Shah Jahan, a contemporary of Shah Abbas II. The other emeralds in this piece were probably carved in the 19th century.

This Brooch was originally made by Cartier London for stock in 1923. It was altered by Cartier New York for Mrs. E.F. Hutton ( Marjorie Merriweather Post) in 1928. It was later altered again in 1941 to its present shortened form.

I love these Mughal emeralds they were handled so deftly by Cartier during this period. The carved emeralds give an exotic orientalist flair to these large sumptuous jewels. They are set off so perfectly by the hard edges of the brilliantly cut diamonds and black enamel.

(Can you imagine that it was shortened in 1941 to its present form of 8 inches? The brooch is made up of eight hundred round diamonds & 250 carats of emeralds.)

Jewelry history is a fascinating study through which we can see the financial status and aspirations of a nation, and its wealthy elite. The migration of great gems from European royal treasuries in the 19th century. Into the hands of the new wealth of America tells us a lot. Families like the Vanderbilts, the Walsh-McLeans, the Dukes, and the Huttons acquired some of the most famous gems in History.

Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Collection is an outstanding example illustrating this time in history- an American entrepreneurial fortune, Russia’s misfortune, and their desperate need for cash. Mrs. Post-Davies personal fortune, and her yacht the, Sea Cloud, in Leningrad harbor shopped the country. Cash is king.

The Russia and India treasuries were transported to Europe in 1917-1950. Gems are indeed a form of flight capital. Many were then sold to Americans. Now we are coming full circle- who are the clients? Newly minted Indian Billionaires, Russian Oligarchs, Central Asian and Saudi petroleum princes. The gems are changing hands yet again. America is no longer the great buyer. This tells us even more.

It is impossible to determine the origin of a sapphire or a ruby with out a laboratory. Examination with a jewelers loupe can be helpful, but a certificate is essential to establish the true value in the marketplace today. By microscopic and other laboratory tests the source of origin is established through analysis of the trace elements within the crystal.

...and ladies of the club

Mrs. Ronald Tree or as we refer to her- Nancy Lancaster & her rubies, pearls & diamonds. Mrs. Tree, always innovative-commissioned Cartier in 1930 for this sautoir necklace could be worn as a long necklace, or transformed into a bracelet & shorter necklace. Made up of 450 carats of charged fiery rubies, 90 pearls and 21 sparkling diamonds, it must have especially have done so on Mrs. Tree at Ditchley.

more from a conversation with Debra:

I once read several books on Vedic Astrology, I was interested in use of precious gems to augment unfavorable aspects of ones chart. Books with titles like,“ Gems and Astrology a guide to health and prosperity” - I was prescribed a yellow sapphire by a Brahman astrologer. I could not wear it. Apart from that, I love all exquisite gems. I remember the first time I saw a sizable Kashmir Sapphire, I felt as if I had a weight on my chest, as if I could not breathe, it literally took my breath away.

A unique cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire weighing 42.88 carats

Similarly the first time I saw a true Burma ruby, it has a quality of light like no other . If you put a UV light over it, it fluoresces (Lights up) like the tail light of a Ferrari.

There are very few Burma rubies over 5 carats this 19.41 carat stone is exceptionally rare. It is set in a ring, surrounded with diamonds.

Image Christie’s

Having spent some of my formative years in Iran, as the daughter of a diplomat, I love Persian turquoise.

Here-Persian turquoise, engraved and inlaid with pure gold inscriptions of sacred text from Iran. These stones are still on the lapidary sticks on which they were cut and engraved.( 19th century)

My tastes are diverse, and every jewel has a story-



Our Darling Duchess WWW & her Indian style bib necklace of turquoise, 294 carats of royal amethysts & diamonds. Cartier's 1947 exotic concoction of color and mix of precious and semiprecious stones was daring & made way for the hippie chic gypset style icons of the 1960's and today. Would the Duchess be amused?
( oh & yes the necklace had a matching set of ear clips.)

Daisy Fellowes posed by Cecil Beaton in 1937-wearing the HINDU necklace created for her in 1936. Here it seems all the elements merged into a rarefied riot of stones, shapes and colors that became known as a Cartier signature look known as Tutti Fruitti. The necklace is featured in T&C as modified by Fellowes' daughter in 1963. Here again are all the emeralds, rubies and nearly 250 carats of sapphires- a stunning pile of rocks!

Town & Country features 9 of "the Lucky Ladies of Cartier" in the November issue. Bruce Weber has a new book chronicling the spectacular jewelry of Cartier and the women that loved wearing them, CARTIER: I LOVE YOU.

Of course Debra did a Fabulous post of the Bruce Weber book earlier in the year- Cartier 100 Years in America here.

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Sir Salman, the Enchantress and جلال الدین محمد اکبر

Akbar and Tansen visit Haridas

I heard Sir Salman Rushdie speak recently ("Public Events, Private Lives: Literature and Politics in the Modern World") and after reading The Enchantress of Florence- it all fascinates me. The author, the book, the history.

Rushdie began by saying- why assume a writer can speak? Rushdie CAN speak: his topic rarely strayed- but he spoke just as he writes in a multifaceted and complex context.

"One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable." SR

"A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return." SR

"It is very, very easy not to be offended by a book. You just have to shut it."SR

"Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their own images; they fight for the same territory." SR

Sir Salman Rushdie

The Enchantress of Florence, its story - imagined by Rushdie, is interwoven into several stories, each story lapping and undulating into one another. The novel is poetry and storytelling. Though Rushdie barely touched on the novel in a sense the lecture covered one of the novel's topic- Power.

ITS' TRUTH: The story is set in the court of Akbar, third Mughal ruler, from 1556 to 1605. He is
generally considered the true founder of the Mughal empire.

The Characters- They really lived:

Akbar

Akbar holds a religious assembly in the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) in Fatehpur Sikri; the men dressed in black are the Jesuit missionaries Rodolfo Acquaviva and Francisco Henriques illustration to the Akbarnama, miniature painting by Nar Singh.

Akbar as a boy

Birbal was a courtier in the Mughal court. Akbar's confidant and one of the navaratnas (Sanskrit-nine jewels) who constituted Akbar's inner committee of advisors. His wit and wisdom made him a close friend to Akbar.

Machiavelli

Simonetta Vespucci

Lorenzo Medici

Giovanni Medici

review of "the Enchantress of Florence" Trying to describe a Salman Rushdie novel is like trying to describe music to someone who has never heard it--you can fumble with a plot summary but you won't be able to convey the wonder of his dazzling prose or the imaginative complexity of his vision. At its heart, The Enchantress of Florence is about the power of story--whether it is the imagined life of a Mughal queen, or the devastating secret held by a silver-tongued Florentine. Make no mistake, it is Rushdie who is the true "enchanter" of this story, conjuring readers into his gilded fairy tale from the very first sentence: "In the day's last light the glowing lake below the palace-city looked like a sea of molten gold." At once bawdy, gorgeous, gory, and hilarious, The Enchantress of Florence is a study in contradiction, highlighted in its barbarian philosopher-king who detests his bloodthirsty heritage even while he carries it out. Full of rich sentences running nearly the length of a page, Rushdie's 10th novel blends fact and fable into a challenging but satisfying read. --Daphne Durham (Amazon Review)

TRUTH: THE 16th century Hamzanama Manuscript Illustrations made during the Mughal period (1526-1858) is an epic fantasy commissioned by the progressive and eclectic Akbar. A remarkable set of 1400 paintings-today only 200 survive. The manuscript and illustration tell the story of Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet, who traveled the world spreading the teachings of Islam. The stories are the likes of the magical Arabian Nights, fantastical stories of love, conquest, celebration and deception.

a spy scaling the fort of Qimar using a lasso

The architecture in the Hamzanama was based on the palaces that Akbar built during his reign

Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri, meticulously carved in pink stone-the glorious capital of the Indian Emperor Akbar. Built by Akbar in 1570, as his administrative seat.(Photograph by Charmian Smith)

Akbar's palace-Agra

Akbar's Royal Bathing Chamber

The art of the Hamzanama produced a flowering of Mogul art. It is said William Morris studied the illustrations and found inspiration in them for his textile and wallpaper design. Morris the “Father of Arts
and Crafts.”(1834-1896) was an architect, artist, poet and social critic.

Patterns designed by Morris with decided influences from Mogul art:

CRAY- designed by 1884

Willow Bough, designed 1887

morris tiles

Illustrations from the Hamzanama:

Enchantress? the Enchantress in Rushdie's novel is illusive-but as the story unfolds in the later half of the book it is clear she does exist in the flesh. Padma Lakshmi could be that Enchantress. She is the author's former and fourth wife. There is a passage in the novel where the Enchantress tells one of her lover's that he has had great fame and her star is just rising-she must follow her destiny. Perhaps again the author's own Enchantress- Padma Lakshmi is the model for this central character— she was so in Rushdie's novel,
FURY, (a novel dedicated to her as well). Lakshmi is a model, actress, chef and host of the Food Network's TOP CHEF.

Padma Lakshmi

BEST of ALL- Rushdie said-and I am paraphrasing: No one owns History or THE Story-Each person has something to add to it- most appropriate for those that daily slog at the blog.