A rare 18th century diamond Golden Fleece bracelet

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus bu… Read more

Details

A rare 18th century diamond Golden Fleece bracelet
Designed as an old-cut diamond neck badge of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece to four rows of old-cut diamond oval links to the three- line diamond clasp, closed back setting, mounted in silver and gold, circa 1770, 18.0 cm. long

Provenance

The Thurn and Taxis Collection, Sotheby's Geneva, 17 November 1992, Lot 272

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

The Order of the Golden Fleece was founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in commemoration of his marriage in 1429 to the Infanta Isabella, daughter of King John of Portugal. It was from the legend of Jason and the Argonauts that the symbols of the Order originate.

The Order was awarded by the Dukes of Burgundy and later on the Kings of Spain but after the male line of the Spanish Habsburgs became extinct in 1700 the rights to the Order reverted to the Austrian branch.

The argument over entitlement ended in 1748 when the Order was divided between Austria and Spain.

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