Tiara

For the crown worn by Popes, seePapal tiara.For other uses, seeTiara (disambiguation).

For the K-pop girl group, seeT-ara.For other uses, seeTiara (disambiguation).

Atiara(fromLatin:tiara,fromAncient Greek:τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Iran, which was then adapted by Greco-Romans. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions. The basic shape of the modern tiara is a semi-circle, usually made of silver, gold or platinum and richly decorated with precious stones, pearls orcameos.

Tiara made for the French princessMarie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême,1820

Tiaras were extremely popular during the late 19th century and were worn at events where the dress code waswhite tie.After World War I, wearing a tiara gradually fell out of fashion, except for official occasions at a royal court. Interest in tiaras has increased again since the beginning of the 21st century. The word "tiara" is often used interchangeably with the word "diadem".

Description

The basic shape of the modern tiara is a semi-circle, usually made of silver, gold or platinum. Tiaras have also been made fromtortoiseshell,coralandquartz,and in the 20th century unusual materials such ashornand aluminum were experimented with.

Tiaras are usually richly decorated with precious stones, pearls orcameos,often arranged in symmetrical patterns. Common elements in these patterns are arcs, garlands, circles, stars, and stylised flowers or leaves. Occasionally, flowers, ears of corn, dragonflies or butterflies are depicted more or less "true to life" by using gemstones in different colours. A tiara can contain hundreds to thousands of gemstones of different sizes andcuts;almost always, tiaras incorporate a large number of diamonds. This puts tiaras among the most expensive and spectacular pieces of jewelry.

Tiaras come in different models, including:

• the bandeau, a tiara in the shape of aribbonor hairband,
• the kokoshnik, a tiara that usually consists of a massive wall of gemstones; the shape is based on the traditional Russianheaddresswith the same name,
• the circlet, a tiara that extends around the circumference of the head,
• the fringe, afringedtrim of diamonds that can often also be worn as a necklace.

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  Bandeau tiara(worn by princessStéphanie of Luxembourg)
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  Kokoshnik tiara(worn byGrand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia)
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  Circlet tiara(worn by queenNazliof Egypt)
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  Fringe tiara(worn by queenElizabeth II- in her role as monarch of New Zealand )

Tiaras are worn on the head, but also around the forehead; this depends on the model of the tiara and the fashion of the day. Wearing a tiara can lead to headaches. To make it more comfortable to wear, a large tiara is often attached to a supporting frame that is cushioned by wrapping it with velvet ribbons.

Some tiaras can be disassembled into elements that can be worn individually as a necklace orbrooch.Tiaras are sometimes part of aparure:a matching set of, for example, tiara, necklace, earrings, brooches and bracelets.

Etiquette

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in 'white tie' dress code, with tiara.

It is sometimes thought that only titled women are allowed to wear a tiara, but that is not true. Any woman can wear a tiara to events where the dress code "white tie"applies. However, events in hotels are excluded.

Traditionally, young women do not wear a tiara until they are married. On their wedding day, they would wear a tiara owned by their birth family. Once a woman was married, she should only wear tiaras that were owned by her husband's family, or her own personal property. There was an exception for unmarried princesses who were allowed to wear tiaras from the age of eighteen. In the 21st century, these rules are no longer strictly applied.

There are special black tiaras made ofjet,onyx,glass or steel to be worn withmourning clothes.For the later stages of mourning (second mourning and half mourning), tiaras with purple stones (amethyst), white stones (diamond andmoonstone) or pearls were also considered appropriate.

History

ThisFayum mummy portraitshows a woman wearing a golden wreath,c.100–110 AD.

Pre-18th century

The words "tiara" and "diadem" both come from head ornaments worn in ancient time by men and women to denote high status. AsGeoffrey Munnnotes, "The word 'tiara' is actually Persian in origin—the name first denoted the high-peaked head-dresses of Persian kings, which were encircled by 'diadems' (bands of purple and white decoration). Now, it is used to describe almost every form of decorative head ornament."Ancient Greeks and Romans used gold to make wreath-shaped head ornaments, while theScythians'resembled a stiff halo that would serve as the inspiration for later Russian kokoshniks. The use of tiaras and diadems declined along with the fall of theRoman Empireand the rise of Christianity.

From the early Middle Ages onwards, European princesses and queens were known to wear crowns, and brides wore special bridal crowns on their wedding day. In the 17th and 18th centuries, reigning queens began to wear head ornaments to indicate their special status. This custom did not catch on widely, partly because the enormous ladies' hairstyles of the eighteenth century made wearing a tiara difficult.

18th and 19th century

Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden'spearl-and-diamond tiara, made circa 1830 and currently in the museum atMannheim Palace.

In the late 18th century,Neoclassicismgave rise to a revival of tiaras, but this time it was a solely female adornment. Jewelers taking inspiration from Ancient Greece and Rome created new wreaths made from precious gemstones.Napoleonand his wifeJoséphine de Beauharnaisare credited with popularizing tiaras along with the newEmpire style.Napoleon wanted the French court to be the grandest in Europe and gave his wife manyparureswhich included tiaras. A number of tiaras made for Napoleon's first wife Joséphine are still in the possession of European royal houses, such as the Swedish cameo tiara.

In the 19th century, the tiara quickly became popular among royal and noble women as a way of expressing status and attracting attention. The tiara became an essential part of women's attire for court ceremonies, balls, dinners and other gala occasions. Often, a bride received a tiara as a gift from her husband or father on her wedding day.

The height of the tiara's popularity lay between 1890 and 1914. Women from the highest — and richest — social classes often had several tiaras to choose from. Wearing a tiara was no longer something just for the nobility. In the United States, too, tiaras were common at gala occasions, especially in New York upper social circles.Great jewelry houses likeGarrard,Fabergé,Chaumet,CartierandVan Cleef & Arpelsall produced tiaras for their clientele.

In Paris great aigrette balls were organized by aristocratic families who were proud of their name and their past, such as the Duchesse de Gramount with her "Crinoline Ball" and Princess Jacques de Broglie with her "Gemstone Ball" of 1914. In distant New York, Philadelphia and Newport on the other hand, Mrs. William Astor, Mrs. George J. Gould, Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt and Eva (Mrs. Edward) Stotesbury entertained with a degree of magnificence which made European balls appear almost insignificant. The moneyed classes of the United States, who had originally raised themselves above their bourgeois origins through their own hard work, set out to rival the historical aristocracy of Europe. In friendly competition with her rivals, the well-to-do American women refused to forgo any of the attributes sanctioned by society. These accessories included country houses imported from Europe complete with ancestral portraits and furnishings, as well as tiaras order from Cartier's in Paris and later New York.

— CartierBy Hans Nadelhoffer

20th and 21st century

Diadem designed byRené LaliqueinArt Nouveaustyle

With the advent ofJugendstilandArt Nouveau,the line between jewellery and art became blurred. Artists such asRené Laliqueand the British architect and jewellery designerHenry Wilsoncreated artistic tiaras that could not easily be worn in real life.

After theFirst World War,it became less fashionable to wear a tiara. This was due to social and economic changes (ostentatious display of wealth was considered less acceptable) but also to the fact that women cut their hair short and — after the introduction ofshampoo— washed their hair more often. Clean hair is smooth and soft, offering less 'grip' for a tiara. During theArt Decoperiod between World War I and World War II, tiaras were made using the rigid geometric patterns associated with this style; these were also often designed to be easy to wear with short hair. In the 1960s, the tiara briefly reappeared when the high-croppedbeehivehairstyle became popular.

Since the end of the twentieth century, tiaras are worn almost exclusively at state banquets, royal weddings and coronations.At 'white-tie' occasions a tiara is no longer required. However, tiaras are still being made and some auction houses and jewellers are seeing an increased interest in tiaras since the beginning of the 21st century.Fashion designerVersacemade a tiara which was worn by pop starMadonna.The Danish royal family has a tiara on loan that was designed in 2009 for an exhibition of classic and modern tiaras.

Collections

Queen Elizabeth IIwas said to have had the largest and most valuablecollection of tiarasin the world, many of which are heirlooms of theBritish royal family.She was often seen wearing them on state occasions. The Queen inherited many of them, especially fromQueen Alexandra.She also inherited a number of tiaras designed byPrince AlbertforQueen Victoria.Queen Marypurchased the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara in the 1920s. It consists of numerous interlockingdiamondcircles.Pearldrops oremeraldscan be attached inside the circles. Queen Mary had a tiara made for theDelhi Durbarheld in 1911 in India. It is now on loan for wearing byQueen Camilla,wife ofKing Charles III.Queen Elizabeth II commissioned arubyand diamond tiara. A gift ofaquamarinesshe received as a present from the people ofBrazilwere added to diamonds to make a new tiara.

Other queens, empresses, and princesses regularly wear tiaras at formal evening occasions. TheSwedish Royal Familyhave acollectionas do theDanish,theDutch,andSpanish monarchies.Many of theDanish royal jewelsoriginally came into the collection when PrincessLouise of Swedenmarried the future KingFrederik VIII of Denmark.TheRomanov dynastyhad acollectionup until therevolution of 1917.The Iranian royal family also had a large collection of tiaras. Since theIranian Revolution,they are housed at theNational Jewelry Museumin Tehran.

On rare occasions, usually when the actual tiara is exceptionally old and valuable due to its history and gemstones, realistic copies may be made and worn in place of the original due to insurance considerations.

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  Queen Mary of the United Kingdom wearing the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara
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  Tiara of empressFarah Pahlaviof Persia (Iran)
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  The 'midnight tiara' was made in 2009. Worn by crown princessMary of Denmark.
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  Cameo tiara originally made for Josephine de Beauharnais, now in the possession of the Swedish royal family, worn bycrown princess Victoria.

See also

• Aigrette
• Circlet
• Civic crown
• Coronet
• Crown
• Diadem
• Headband
• Laurel wreath
• Liangbatou
• Military tiara
• Mural crown
• Papal tiara
• Jewels of Elizabeth II
• Jewels of Diana, Princess of Wales
• Jewels of the Swedish royal family
• Tainia

External links

• The Royal Collectiontiaras of Queen Elizabeth II