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Nicolas De Harlay, Seigneur De Sancy
Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy (1546–1629) was a French soldier, diplomat, and gem collector. Life Although de Harlay belonged to the Protestant branch of the family of Harlay, he adopted the Catholic religion in 1572 during the massacres of the Huguenots. In the second half of the 16th century, de Harley served as the French ambassador at the court of Sultan Selim II in Constantinople, where he acquired a number of diamonds that had been mined near Golconda, now in the Indian state of Telangana. Among these jewels were some of the largest diamonds ever seen in Europe, such as the Sancy and its smaller sibling the Beau Sancy. In 1589 he obtained in Geneva and Bern sums sufficient to raise an army of mercenaries for Henry III, partly by the sale of a number of his jewels. Henry IV of France made him superintendent of his finances in 1594, but in 1599 he was replaced by Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully. Meanwhile he had been a second time converted to Catholicism, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie De' Medici
Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent legally expired in 1614, when her son reached the age of majority, but she refused to resign and continued as regent until she was removed by a coup in 1617. Marie was a member of the powerful House of Medici in the branch of the grand dukes of Tuscany. Her family's wealth inspired Henry IV to choose Marie as his second wife after his divorce from his previous wife, Margaret of Valois. The assassination of her husband in 1610, which occurred the day after her coronation, caused her to act as regent for her son, Louis XIII, until 1614, when he officially attained his legal majority, but as the head of the ''Conseil du Roi'', she retained the power. Noted for her ceaseless political intrigues at the French court, her extensive artisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamond Cutting
Diamond cutting is the practice of shaping a Diamond (gemstone), diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. Cutting diamonds requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment, and techniques because of its extreme difficulty. The first guild of diamond cutters and polishers (Diamantaire) was formed in 1375 in Nuremberg, Germany, and led to the development of various types of "cut". This has two meanings in relation to diamonds. The first is the shape: square, oval, and so on. The second relates to the specific quality of cut within the shape, and the quality and price will vary greatly based on the cut quality. Since diamonds are one of the hardest materials, special diamond-coated surfaces are used to grind the diamond down. The first major development in diamond cutting came with the "Point Cut" during the later half of the 14th century: the Point Cut follows the natural shape of an octahedral rough diamond crystal, eliminating some waste in the cutting process. Diamond cut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the List of cities proper by population density, 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2022. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, culture, Fashion capital, fashion, and gastronomy. Because of its leading role in the French art, arts and Science and technology in France, sciences and its early adoption of extensive street lighting, Paris became known as the City of Light in the 19th century. The City of Paris is the centre of the ÃŽle-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 inhabitants in January 2023, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arrondissement (district or ward) and home to some of the most Western canon, canonical works of Art of Europe, Western art, including the ''Mona Lisa,'' ''Venus de Milo,'' and ''Winged Victory''. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II of France, Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in 1546 Francis I of France, Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French kings. The building was redesigned and extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his househ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galerie D'Apollon
The Galerie d'Apollon is a large and iconic room of the Louvre Palace, on the first (upper) floor of a wing known as the Petite Galerie. Its current setup was first designed in the 1660s. It has been part of the Louvre Museum since the 1790s, was completed under the lead of Félix Duban in the mid-19th century, and has housed the museum's collection of the French Crown Jewels since 1887. History The Petite Galerie of the Louvre was first built in the 16th century. A second storey with a long room for the display of art was added during the reign of Henry IV. Known as the , it was decorated by artists of the Second School of Fontainebleau, including Toussaint Dubreuil, Jacob Bunel and his wife Marguerite Bahuche, according to designs by Martin Fréminet. After a fire in the small gallery destroyed much of it on 6 February 1661, Louis XIV ordered this part of the Louvre to be rebuilt. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded toward the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest. The White Tower (Tower of London), White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was initially a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new Normans, Norman ruling class. The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham) until 1952 (the Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric ring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great H Of Scotland
The Great 'H' of Scotland was a jewel belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots comprising a large diamond, a ruby, and a gold chain. Also known as the Great Harry, it was broken up in 1604 and made into the Mirror of Great Britain for James VI and I. Inventories of Mary Queen of Scots The "Great H" appears listed in inventories of jewels belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots. Two of its stones are usually mentioned, a large facetted lozenge diamond, and, hanging or set below, a large cabochon ruby. Mary's inventories refer to "Le Henri", and it was described in French as:Une grosse bague a pendre facon de .h. en laquelle y a ung gros diamant a lorenge taille a face et dessoubz ung gros rubiz chabochon garniz d'une petitte chesne''A large pendant jewel made as an "h" in which there is a large diamond lozenge facet cut and beneath a large cabochon ruby, fitted with a small chain''. Wedding at Notre-Dame The Great H may have been the pendant of "incalculable value" which Mary wore at her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirror Of Great Britain
The Mirror of Great Britain was a piece of jewellery that was part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom during the reign of King James VI and I. It was pawned in 1625 and is considered lost. Description The jewel was described in a 1606 inventory as follows: The National Galleries of Scotland collection includes a 1604 portrait by John de Critz of James wearing the ''Mirror of Great Britain'' as a hat jewel. He wore and was painted wearing other jewels in a similar fashion, such as the The Three Brothers (jewel), ''Three Brothers'', and a "feather" of gold set with diamonds. History When Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 after a 45-year reign, she was the last direct descendant of King Henry VIII, and the 'virgin queen' had been unmarried and childless. King James VI of Scotland seemed to have the best claim on the throne through his great-grandmother Margaret Tudor, and from as early as 1601, English politicians had maintained a Secret correspondence of James VI, secret cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Écu
The term ''écu'' () may refer to one of several France, French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the ''écu'' varied considerably over time, and silver coins (known as ''écu d'argent'') were also introduced. ''Écu'' (from Latin ''scutum'') means shield, and the coin was so called because its design included the coat of arms of France. The word is related to the Catalan language, Catalan ''escut'', Italian language, Italian ''scudo (other), scudo,'' or Portuguese language, Portuguese and Castilian language, Castilian ''escudo''. In English, the ''écu'' was often referred to as the crown, or the French crown in the eras of the crown (English coin), English crown, crown (British coin), British crown, and crown (currency), other crowns. History Origin When Louis IX took the throne, France still used small silver French denier, deniers (abbreviated ''d''.), which had circula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James VI And I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until Death and funeral of James VI and I, his death in 1625. Although he long tried to get both countries to adopt a closer political union, the kingdoms of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of England, England remained sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, ruled by James in personal union. James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII of England, Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland, and thus a potential successor to all three thrones. He acceded to the Scottish throne at the age of thirteen months, after his mother was forced to abdicate in his favour. Although his mother was a Catholic, James was brought up as a Protestant. Four regents gove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
