Arya News - The Louvre Museum in Paris announced it will begin restoration work on a crown that was damaged during the October heist of the French crown jewels.
Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The Louvre Museum in Paris announced it will begin restoration work on a crown that was damaged during the October heist of the French crown jewels.
The crown belonged to Empress Eugénie de Montijo, who lived from 1826 to 1920. She was born in Spain and married Emperor Napoleon III.
The damaged headpiece was found at the foot of the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, a press release from the Louvre said. The alleged thieves took it from its case, but apparently dropped it. A fragment of a bejeweled palmette from the crown was also found near the display case that housed it.
Police have traced the stolen jewels" movements as far as a suburban parking garage, but the items are still missing. Police have arrested four suspects .
"While the crown suffered crushing damage and was significantly deformed, it retained its near-complete integrity, allowing for its full restoration," the release said.
The crown of Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Emperor Napoleon III of France, is shown as it looked before it was damaged in the October Louvre Museum heist. The restoration of the crown will begin soon. Photo courtesy of Thomas Clot/Louvre Museum
Police kept the crown for the investigation then the next day sent it to the Department of Decorative Arts to assess its condition.
The report noted: "The crown, whose mount is flexible and lightweight, suffered deformation, initially probably due to the stress it experienced during its removal from the display case through the relatively narrow slot made by the angle grinder. This stress caused the crown"s hoops to detach, one of which has already been lost in the gallery. Subsequently, a violent impact most likely crushed the crown."
The crown had eight palmettes and eight gold eagles that alternated around it. One of the eagles is missing, but all the palmettes are there, though some are damaged. The diamond and emerald globe that sits on top is fully intact.The crown still has all 56 emeralds, and of the 1,354 diamonds, only about 10 very small ones along the perimeter of the base are missing and nine are detached but have been preserved.
The crown can be restored without having to reconstruct or recreate it.
There will be a competitive bidding process, and only an accredited restorer can do the task. There will also be an advisory committee of experts to give advice on the restoration choices and proposed methodology. Laurence des Cars, president-director of the Louvre Museum, will chair the committee, made up of historians, mineralogists and artists.
There will also be invitations to representatives of the five historic houses of French jewelry: the houses Mellerio, Chaumet, Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Empress Eugénie"s crown was commissioned by Napoleon III for the 1855 Universal Exhibition. It was designed and created by Alexandre Gabriel Lemonnier, the emperor"s official jeweler. He also made one for the emperor.
When the empire fell in 1870, money was owed to the emperor who had grown the collection of crown jewels with his own money. So, the crown was returned to Eugénie in 1875. It was acquired by the Louvre in 1988. The emperor"s crown did not survive.
The crown was never used for coronation and was likely never worn. It is one of only three crowns of sovereigns preserved in France.