Portrait of Princess Juliana painted in 1930 by the Amsterdam artist Lizzy Ansingh. Queen Wilhelmina commissioned this portrait for her daughter’s 21st birthday, when Juliana was still studying in Leiden. It was the Queen’s favorite portrait and has always hung in the salon at Het Loo Palace. The title is also very fitting: Spring Princess.
On her spring dress, adorned with pink and white flowers, Princess Juliana wears a sautoir of likely platinum, entirely set with diamonds. These necklaces paired well with the dresses of the ‘roaring twenties,’ which were characterized by low waistlines. And because these loose-fitting, flowing evening gowns often featured an open back, these necklaces also looked beautiful on the back. The long necklaces were designed so that you could take them apart with clips or small springs. You could turn them in a choker and a bracelet, or multiple bracelets; sometimes you could also attach the pendant to another type of bracelet, or you could wear them as earrings. Multifunctional, in other words.
When I was still working for an auction house, we received a similar necklace brought in by a client from Belgium. This necklace was very delicate; you could take it apart to create four bracelets or a short necklace and one bracelet. Unfortunately, the pendant was missing. Perhaps it had been sold separately at some point? We will never know. But to create a cohesive picture nonetheless, I asked our goldsmith to make a black onyx pendant for it. This choice also fit well with the spirit of the 1920s. The white of the diamonds contrasting with the black of the onyx were favorite combinations inspired by the Ballet Russes. Monochromatic contrasts included combinations of platinum, jade (green), and diamond, or combinations of the red tones of coral and the white of rock crystal. The pendants could also consist of a tassel of strung pearls or a diamond tassel. Sometimes they also featured a large stone, such as an aquamarine or emerald. I hope that both sautoirs remain preserved in their original form. The Belgian sautoir was sold for €26,000. A beautiful piece of jewelry history to cherish.
1910s 1960 Advies Art Deco Artist jewellery Bert Nienhuis Cartier cultured pearls diamonds George Braque juwelenadvies natural pearls New Style Pearl necklace Pearls platinum Retro period Sautoir Taxateur/Waardeschatter/Appraiser Up for auction Van Cleef & Arpel workshop pearls
multifunctional necklace