Mellerio Peacock Aigrette

Decorative peacock headpiece made from gold, diamonds and enamel. The peacock's tail is curved to the side. The feathers are studded with diamonds but the eyes of the feathers are enameled in blue, yellow and gold. The body of the peacock is also enameled in shades of green and blue. The beak is golden.

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Today I'm bringing you this beautiful piece created by the Mellerio jewelers in 1905. I've seen it referred to most often as an aigrette but also as a tiara and a brooch. In that last case, Mellerio also made a very famous peacock feather brooch and I think people are confusing the two because this piece is not able to be worn as a brooch. But is it really a tiara or an aigrette? When I think of an aigrette, I think of a tiara designed to hold a spray of feathers. In fact, the Court Jeweller website has this to say about aigrettes:

"...aigrettes were a popular part of gala attire, especially for women being presented at court. The ornaments, usually set with diamonds, pearls or other gems, were used to secure the trio of ostrich feathers that towered over the heads of debutantes. They were also worn alone, without the feathers during the same era." source

Here's an example of a 1914 Cartier pearl and diamond aigrette, with and without feathers:

Side by side images of an aigrette tiara, with and without a spray of white feathers. The aigrette is a thin platinum band with a centerpiece of overlapping diamond twists. Within the twists are 2 natural pearls set above and below a large round diamond. The top pearl is a brownish color.

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But Christie's, the auction house, says that in addition to being made to hold feathers, aigrettes also depict gem-set feather motifs and they further point out that the name itself comes from French for egret, the birds whose feathers were often found in aigrettes. source. Well, who am I to argue with Christie's? I guess we can safely call it an aigrette!

Decorative peacock headpiece made from gold, diamonds and enamel. The peacock's tail is curved to the side. The feathers are studded with diamonds but the eyes of the feathers are enameled in blue, yellow and gold. The body of the peacock is also enameled in shades of green and blue. The beak is golden.

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One thing I think we all can agree on calling it is gorgeous! It's made of gold, set with 1,742 small diamonds and embellished with various shades of blue and green enamel on the body and eyes of the feathers. It was purchased directly from Mellerio by Jagatjit Singh, Maharaja of Kapurthala. He initially used it as a turban decoration (and according to this slightly sketchy site the jewellers were surprised as they never expected a man to buy such a piece. I mean, doesn't everyone want to look fabulous?). He didn't keep it though - he ended up giving it to his fifth wife, Anita Delgado.

There are 3 different links down in the rabbit hole that go over her story and each one has a little bit of information the others don't have, so take a look at all of them. She was a Spanish flamenco dancer and he fell in love with her when he saw her dancing. She sounds like she was a fascinating person who I would have liked to sit down and have tea with. (Maybe she would've let me wear her aigrette for a hot minute.)

Decorative peacock headpiece made from gold, diamonds and enamel. The peacock's tail is curved to the side. The feathers are studded with diamonds but the eyes of the feathers are enameled in blue, yellow and gold. The body of the peacock is also enameled in shades of green and blue. The beak is golden.

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Most of Anita Delgado's jewels were lost at sea. When she died, her son sold 8 pieces to Christie's, one of them being our lovely peacock. At auction, it sold for $735,000 USD and now is in the Qatar royal family's Al Thani Collection. In 2017, it was part of the From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas: Jewels from the Al Thani Collection exhibition. And, in 2022, it was seen on Princess Inayatinder Kaur of Patiala at the Le Bal des Débutantes (a yearly debutante ball and fashion event held in Paris). She wore her hair in a low bun and used it as a wrap.

2 photos showing a young woman wearing a golden peacock headpiece. Her long dark hair is styled in a low bun and and she is using the piece to wrap around it. The peacock headpiece is made from gold, diamonds and enamel. The peacock's tail is curved to the side. The feathers are studded with diamonds but the eyes of the feathers are enameled in blue, yellow and gold. The body of the peacock is also enameled in shades of green and blue. The beak is golden.

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image of a white rabbit popping out of his rabbit hole, looking around, and going back in. His rabbit hole is surrounded by grass and some carrots in the ground.

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