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Laurel Wreath of Honor
Possibly designed by: Paul Gillot (American (born in France), died 1949)
Made for: Sarah Bernhardt (French, 1844–1923)
Made for: Sarah Bernhardt (French, 1844–1923)
American
About 1896
Medium/Technique
Silver gilt
Dimensions
Diameter and length (Laurel wreath of honor): 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Lender accessory (Mount): 34.9 × 14 cm (13 3/4 × 5 1/2 in.)
Lender accessory (Base): 4.1 × 15.2 cm (1 5/8 × 6 in.)
Lender accessory (Framed image of Sarah Bernhardt): 26.7 × 21 cm (10 1/2 × 8 1/4 in.)
Lender accessory (Mount): 34.9 × 14 cm (13 3/4 × 5 1/2 in.)
Lender accessory (Base): 4.1 × 15.2 cm (1 5/8 × 6 in.)
Lender accessory (Framed image of Sarah Bernhardt): 26.7 × 21 cm (10 1/2 × 8 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
H.E. Bolles Fund, Arthur Mason Knapp Fund, Edwin E. Jack Fund, Lucy Scarborough Conent Fund, John Wheelock Elliot and John Morse Elliot Fund, Benjamin Pierce Cheney Donation, Otis Norcross Fund, and Frederick Brown Fund
Accession Number2018.370
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Diadems
DescriptionGolden tiara with laurel leaves, round buds, and a bow at the center front. This piece was commissioned for presentation to Madame Sarah Bernhardt by Maurice Grau on December 9, 1896.
Marks
None
Inscriptions“A Madame Sarah Bernhardt/9 Decembre 1896/Maurice Grau.”
ProvenanceDecember 9, 1896, presented by Maurice Grau (b. 1849 – d. 1907) to Sarah Bernhardt (b. 1844 – d. 1923), Paris; June 11-13, 1923, Bernhardt estate sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris. By 1976, Michel de Bry (dealer), Paris [see note 1]. By 1994, Albert Benamou (dealer), Paris [see note 2]. April 23, 1997, anonymous sale (Sarah Bernhardt et son époque), Chayette et Cheval at Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 168, to Patrick Serraire (dealer), Paris and Brussels; 2015, sold by Serraire to Sinai and Sons, London, on behalf of a private collection, England; April 18, 2018, anonymous (“international private collection”) sale, Sotheby’s, New York, lot 28, unsold; 2018, sold by this private collection, through Sinai and Sons, to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 19, 2018)
NOTES: [1] He lent the crown to “Sarah Bernhardt,” L’Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris (March 31 – May 30, 1976), cat. no. 177. [2] Claudia Balk, Theatergöttinnen Inszenierte Weiblichkeit, (Berlin, 1994), p. 232, cat. no. 158.
NOTES: [1] He lent the crown to “Sarah Bernhardt,” L’Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris (March 31 – May 30, 1976), cat. no. 177. [2] Claudia Balk, Theatergöttinnen Inszenierte Weiblichkeit, (Berlin, 1994), p. 232, cat. no. 158.