Lot Essay
This minaudiére was reputedly a wedding gift from the Shah of Iran to his wife Empress Soraya on the 12th of February 1951. Empress Soraya is recorded as having worn this minaudière on many official state occasions including a lunch with President Eisenhower in December 1954 and to welcome King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia to Tehran in August 1955. For images of the Empress carrying this, please see page 207 and the image illustrated right.