French Jewel Heads Home

In 1855 the Parisian jeweler François Kramer created a diamond bow brooch for the beauteous tastemaker Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. But on May 12, 1887, the French crown jewels were sold at public auction in the Louvre by order of the Third Republic. The buyer, for $135,000, was the jeweler Emile Schlesinger acting for Caroline Astor of New York. The brooch, above, remained in the Astor family but after 121 years was to be offered for auction at Christie’s in New York on April 15. Then the Louvre and the Friends of the Louvre decided the jewel belonged in France. So when the auction sale was canceled for legal reasons, the Louvre was able to negotiate a private sale with the agreement of the owner, the jeweler Ralph O. Esmerian, Christie’s announced on Tuesday. François Curiel, president of Christie’s Europe, expressed pleasure that “a French crown jewel has reclaimed its position among the museum’s royal collections.” The brooch was recently estimated by Christie’s to be worth $6 million to $8 million.
Source: nytimes