The Ducal hat of Liechtenstein (German: ''Herzogshut'') is the crown of the Princes of Liechtenstein, who were also Dukes of Troppau and Jägerndorf. It went missing in the 18th century and was recast in the 1970's as a gift of the people of Liechtenstein to their prince.

History

The ducal hat of Liechtenstein was commissioned in 1623 by Prince

Karl I of Liechtenstein Karl I (30 July 1569 – 12 February 1627), was the first member of the Liechtenstein family to become a Prince of Liechtenstein, thus he was the founder of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. Karl was the elder son of Hartmann II, Baron of ...

and completed in 1626. It was discovered to be missing in 1781,Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections Metropolitan Museum of Art, Middle Village, New York, U.S.A., 1985. following the death of Prince

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

, and it remains lost to the

House of Liechtenstein The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's ...

since that time. In 1976, the people of Liechtenstein presented a replica of the crown to Prince Franz Josef II on his 70th birthday. The replica is based on the only drawing of the crown, a 1756

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...

painting that is kept in the Liechtenstein Museum. The circlet of the crown was modeled on the circlet of the

Imperial Crown of Austria The Imperial Crown of Austria (german: Österreichische Kaiserkrone) is a crown formerly in use by the monarchs of the Habsburg monarchy. The crown was originally made in 1602 in Prague by Jan Vermeyen as the personal crown of Holy Roman Emperor ...

, while eight jeweled acanthus leaves, alternately large and small, rested on the rim of the circlet. As with the imperial crown of Rudolf II, the precious stones used in this crown were white (diamonds and pearls) and red (rubies or red spinels), which may have had some alchemist significance. Inside the crown was a red velvet cap topped with a large jeweled button. The gems used on the crown were chosen in accordance with the alchemical principles subscribed to in the Rudolphine Court, with the crown apparently being designed to protect its possessor against evil.Gemmarum et lapidum historia (Hanau, 1609) According to Emperor Rudolph's physician, Anselmus de Boodt (1550–1632), diamonds have an inherent power that wards off evil spirits, rubies protect against illness and poison and will warn the wearer when danger threatens by turning dark, and pearls strengthen the health of the wearer and counter the effects of poison.Quellenband, , Böhlau 1983

References

Literature

* Wilhelm, Gustav:
Der historische liechtensteinische Herzogshut
'. in: Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein, 1960, Volume. pp, S. 5-20. (in German) Crown jewels History of Liechtenstein Lost works of art Individual crowns {{Liechtenstein-stub de:Herzogshut der Fürsten von Liechtenstein