Portrait of Queen Therese of Bavaria

Description Queen Therese (1792-1854) was the wife of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and mother or eight children, including the later Kings Maximilian of Bavaria and Otto of Greece. Her splendid dress and sumptuous jewelry reflect her royal status. Her white gown is embellished with gold embroidery, and an ermine cape or shawl is loosely draped over her left shoulder. The large rectangular buckle of her gold mesh belt is adorned with brilliant-cut diamonds arranged around a large central sapphire. Her extravagant headdress combines a crown and a large diamond tiara with floral decoration in the front. The crown, set with diamonds, gemstones, and pearls, surmounted by a diamond cross, was made for her in 1806 by the goldsmith Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1746-1843) in Paris. Large pearl girandole earrings and an impressive pearl necklace complete her regal appearance.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
7/02/1979	Treatment	cleaned; repaired; loss compensation; coated
7/24/1979	Examination	examined for exhibition
8/17/2006	Examination	examined for condition

Exhibitions

• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2006-2009.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. 2010.

Provenance William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Inscription] In pencil on the reverse of the stretcher: Maria Theresa [Queen] of Bavaria Wife of Ludwig I

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters