Lovely miniature antique French paste or glass 'jeweled' tiara, crown or diadem, a Catholic canonical coronation piece but great as a costume or decorative display crown, or to wear (size adjusts). Set with multi-colored clear & green and red 'gems' with a large 20mm oval in pink at center top - and wonderful condition! This elegant antique French gilded brass jeweled religious crown, tiara or diadem dates from the mid 19th century, circa 1850-1890 roughly. Richly decorated with faceted paste or glass 'jewels' in the base and throughout most of the crown. Gilt brass or bronze filigree holding it all together beautifully! Full measurements noted on photos.
The crown is an emblem of royalty and victory. A canonical coronation is a pious institutional act of the Pope, duly expressed in a Papal Bull, in which he bestows an ornamental crown, diadem or halo to a Marian, Christological, or Josephian image or statue that is widely venerated in a particular diocese or locality. During the 17th century, Alessandro Sforza, to show his piety towards the Mother of infant Jesus, sent gold crowns to the most famous Virgin statues at the time. Since 1631, the date of this initiative, this gesture of piety by Sforza became the custom as evidenced by this style of crown. This is also one of four in various sizes that we're adding this week, all surely made and employed as described above but they also make wonderful accents to an opulent doll house or scene and, of course, they're just lovely decorative accents!
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. There are no missing 'jewels', as you can see in the images. There are tiny bends to the bottom border of the pressed heavy brass body of crown, visible in photos. There is just some very very slight wear or aging to the gilded finish with some verdigris hue showing in places, and a few of the paste gems might be replacements (I see a few with flat back from backside, and those would be replacements). See pictures for measurements.
