Grand Duchess Maria-Ana’s Pearl Négligée Brooch

Today marks the 160th Anniversary of the Death of Grand Duchess Maria-Ana of Luxembourg, who was born on this in 1861! Born Infanta Maria-Ana of Portugal, daughter of the deposed King Miguel of Portugal, she grew up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire before marrying the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and having six daughters, two of whom became Grand Duchesses, among them Grand Duchess Charlotte. After serving as Regent of Luxembourg between 1908 to 1912, Grand Duchess Maria-Ana lived mainly at Schloss Hohenburg in Bavaria, before joining the Grand Ducal Family when they fled Europe into exile in the United States, where she passed away in 1942. To mark the anniversary, we are featuring one of Grand Duchess Maria-Ana’s most splendid heirlooms, her Pearl Négligée!

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A small diamond bow with two large pear-shaped pearls suspended at different asymmetric lengths in the négligée style that was popular in the first decade of the 20th century, this piece is of unkown provenance but was notably worn by Grand Duchess Maria-Ana at the Wedding of her daughter, Princess Antonia, to Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria in 1921, suspended on a fine chain alongside a two-row pearl necklace and a diamond riviere.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

The Pearl Négligée was soon given to Grand Duchess Charlotte, who wore it as a pendant for a portrait with the Grand Duchess Adélaïde Tiara in the 1920s, and much later, following the tribulations of the Second World War, the piece was worn as a brooch at the Wedding of her son, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium in 1953, as well as on a State Visit to the United States in 1963.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

In 1956, Grand Duchess Maria-Ana’s Pearl Négligée Brooch was worn by Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg, the eldest daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte, for her Wedding to the Duke of Hohenberg. After Grand Duchess Charlotte’s death, the piece entered the Grand Ducal Collection, and Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte notably wore the Pearl Négligée Brooch at the Wedding of her nephew, Crown Prince, now King, Philippe of Belgium in 1999.

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Grand Duchess Maria-Ana’s Pearl Négligée Brooch also also been worn numerous times by the current Grand Duchess Maria Theresa, including at a Public Mass during a visit to the Vatican in 2005, King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 60th Birthday Gala in 2006, and National Day in 2010.

More recently, Grand Duchess Maria-Ana’s Pearl Négligée Brooch was worn by Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria for the Funeral of her father, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, in 2019. There is no doubt we will continue to see this spectacular Heirloom for hears to come!

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2 thoughts on “Grand Duchess Maria-Ana’s Pearl Négligée Brooch

  1. Great post as usual. It must be a cherrished heirloom, because it has been worn at some rather important events. Grand Duchess Charlotte for instance wore it to the wedding of her son, the late Grand Duke Jean and Josephine-Charlotte in 1953. And, I am afraid I have to contradict your post on this point but I hope you don’t mind, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte has actually also been seen wearing this brooch. And it was to a rather important event too; the wedding of the now King Philip of Belgium to Mathilde. Adding the link to the GettyImage photo here (hopefully it will open if you press the link):
    https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/prince-philippe-of-belgium-and-mathilde-dudekem-wedding-in-brussels-picture-id115158979?s=2048×2048

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