Jeweled Collar

Description This splendid piece of jewelry, which we would call a necklace, could have been worn without or with a pendant, around the neck or (in the case of a woman) the waist. The pendant might be a large mounted jewel or an insignia of office or an order. In the 19th or early 20th century, the collar was repaired. Apparently at that time, someone added to the bottom of the pendant a tiny enameled figure of a white sheep-symbol of the great Habsburg military Order of the Golden Fleece. This presumably added to the collar's value by introducing an exclusive historical association. An American buyer would not have known that the presentation of the historical elements is incorrect. Some of the gems have been replaced.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
6/16/1982	Examination	examined for technical study
2/17/1988	Treatment	examined for exhibition; mounted

Exhibitions

• World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1971-1972.
• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Objects of Adornment: Five Thousand Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. 1984-1987.
• Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1987.

Provenance Raoul Heilbronner, Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1909, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters