Today marks the centenary of the Birth of Countess Ruth of Rosenborg, who was born on this day in 1924! The wealthy commoner married a Danish Prince that gave up his succession rights and became a Count, Princess Viggo’s Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara was a favourite of Countess Ruth but was sold off at Sotheby’s a decade ago!
Princess Viggo’s Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara | Princess Ingeborg’s Turquoise Star Tiara | Opal Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Lava Parure | Diamond Floral Brooch
Created by Aage Dragsted in the 1930s, the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara is of a floral and foliate design, set with garnets, a central natural pearl, cultured pearls and cushion-shaped, circular-, single-cut and rose diamonds. The diamond rivière surmount can also be worn separately.
The kokoshnik style, in which this tiara was created, evolved from a variety of traditional Russian headdresses worn by women in the northern regions of Russia from the 16th to 19th centuries. The term kokosh derives from old Slavic word for hen or rooster which first appeared in 16th century documents. Over time, the term kokoshnik came to be associated with tall, crescent or nimbus shaped headdresses which tied at the back of the head with a thick ribbon in a large bow. These were often embroidered with pearls or gold work, and decorated with floral and foliate motifs. With the revival of Russian national culture in the early 19th century, tiaras became official court dress for royal and aristocratic women. The new kokoshnik tiaras were as much inspired by authentic Russian kokoshniks, still worn by the working class, as they were by Tudor English, French hoods and the Italian Renaissance fashions.
This garnet and diamond tiara illustrates the Russian kokoshnik influence in West European royal courts at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, through its crescent shape, use of pearls, and floral, foliate and ribbon motifs.
The Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara commissioned by Prince Viggo of Denmark for his wife, Princess Viggo, a wealthy American Heiress for whom Prince Viggo gave up his place in the line of succession. Princess Viggo notably wore the Garnet Kokoshnik for the Wedding Ball of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Princess Ingrid of Sweden at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1935.
Princess Viggo possessed several Tiaras but the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara was worn on several occasions, including the Dutch State Visit to Denmark in 1953 and a series of official portraits in the 1950s.
In 1957, Princess Viggo loaned the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara to her niece-in-law, Princess Anne of Denmark for a Return Banquet on board the Royal Yacht Britannia during the British State Visit to Denmark.
Princess Viggo continued to wear the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara in her latter years, with it making a notable appearance at the Wedding of Princess Astrid of Norway in 1961.
After the childless Princess Viggo’s death in 1966, her Jewels were divided between family members. Her Opal Tiara went to her nephew, Count Flemming of Rosenborg to be worn by his wife Countess Ruth, while the Diamond Scroll Tiara was inherited by his brother, Prince George, who had no children and left it to Princess Anne’s daughter, Lady Elizabeth Anson. A Diamond Spike Tiara was inherited by another nephew, Count Christian of Rosenborg, while a Sapphire Parure was left to another niece, Queen Anne of Romania. The Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara was inherited by her sister-in-law, Princess Margaretha of Sweden and Denmark, who left it to her son, Count Flemming, in 1977.
Count Flemming and his wife, Countess Ruth, were close the Danish and Norwegian Royal Families, and the Countess wore the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara at many prominent events, including the Norwegian State Visit to Denmark in 1974, Wedding of her daughter, Countess Désirée of Rosenborg, King Olav’s Birthday in 1983, Crown Prince Harald’s 50th Birthday in 1987 and Crown Prince Haakon’s 18th Birthday in 1991.
The Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara was also worn by Countess Ruth for Queen Margrethe’s 60th Birthday in 2000 and the Wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway in 2002, who usually alternated it with Princess Ingeborg’s Turquoise Star Tiara.
In 2004, Countess Ruth loaned the Garnet Kokoshnik to her daughter-in-law, Countess Jutta of Rosenborg, for the Wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson in Copenhagen.
Countess Ruth last notably wore the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara with Princess Margaretha’s Diamond Floral Brooch for King Harald’s 70th Birthday Banquet in 2007.
After Countess Ruth’s death in 2010, the Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara was inherited by one of her younger sons, and after it failed to sell at Bukowskis in Stockholm in 2012, the Tiara was eventually sold it at auction at Sotheby’s in Geneva in 2014 for 245,000 CHF.
Princess Viggo’s Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara | Princess Ingeborg’s Turquoise Star Tiara | Opal Tiara | Diamond Tiara | Lava Parure | Diamond Floral Brooch
Princess Viggo’s Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara
Princess Ingeborg’s Turquoise Star Tiara
Diamond Tiara
Opal Tiara
Lava Parure
Diamond Floral Brooch
Garnet Kokoshnik Tiara
Diamond Scroll Tiara
Diamond Spike Tiara
Opal Tiara
Sapphire Parure
Floral Tiara
Turquoise Star Tiara
Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara
Khedive of Egypt Tiara
Pearl Poiré Tiara
Napoleonic Emerald Brooch
Diamond Floral Brooch
Emerald Parure
Boucheron Pearl Circle Tiara
Turquoise Star Tiara
Gold Bandeau Tiara
