Jennifer Tonkin
Co-Head of Department UK
Lot 9
A GOLD AND ENAMEL PENDANT, CIRCA 1830
28 April 2021, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £6,375 inc. premium
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Marina Vieira
Specialist
A GOLD AND ENAMEL PENDANT, CIRCA 1830
Heart-shaped pale blue enamel locket decorated on one side with fleur-de-lys amongst floral and foliate motifs, the reverse inscribed in gilt ICI ELLES FLEURIRONT TOUJOURS (here they will always bloom), surmounted by the French royal crown in polychrome enamel, opening to reveal a glazed compartment containing a lock of hair against a pale blue silk ground, small area of enamel damage, length 4.6cm
Footnotes
Accompanied by a handwritten note worded 'Hair of H.M. King Charles XII of France given, in locket by him to Miss Shaw-Stewart' (presumably XII is a mistake)
Provenance
Margaret (née Shaw-Stewart), Duchess of Somerset (died 1880)
Margaret, Duchess of Somerset, was lady-in-waiting to H.M. Queen Victoria, and second wife of Edward St. Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset, (married 1836) and daughter of Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart, 5th Baronet.
Charles X (1757-1836) was King of France from 1824 to 1830. He was the last monarch from the senior branch of the House of Bourbon.
This lot was inherited by the current owners from various lines - both male and female - of their family. The majority of jewels in this collection were owned by members of the Surtees family; a prominent family from County Durham whose ancestry may be traced back to William the Conqueror. The surname Surtees, is derived from "sur-Tees" or "sur-Tays", in reference to the rivers Tee or Tay, near where the family anciently settled. The Surtees' family home was the 17th century Jacobean manor house, Redworth Hall, sold in the mid 20th century and now a luxury hotel. Some of the jewels in this collection, notably the three pendants with Royal connections, were owned by the Shaw Stewart family of Scotland, descended via the male line from Sir John Stewart, illegitimate son of Robert III of Scotland. The ownership of the jewels by individuals is stated where possible.
