Hardware at HILLWOOD, & Ladies of the Club

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knock knock?


& more about Hillwood- It is impressive. It is FABULOUS! As I mentioned in a previous post- when I go through these grand houses I like to find things I can take home-that is to say IDEAS I can take home.

An Emerald?

1929 Giulio De Blaas
this portrait of MMP & her daughter Nedinia hangs in the upstairs hall

Why Yes- I will, thank you-I admit it to be one of my favourite stones & NO I don't have any-YET.

Have a look at Mrs Post's:

this breathtaking photograph is from the November Town & Country
click to Enlarge the images to see the incredible detail

I am woefully inadequate to talk about emeralds-any kind of jewel. I turned to the expert- Debra Healy. She is a fine jeweler,an authority on & a historian of jewelry & launched two blogs in the Summer. Her books include : Tiffany et les Joialliers Americains, American Jewelry: Glamour & Tradition, Hollywood Jewels: Movies, Jewelry & Stars. Her absolutely wonderful blogs are Diamonds & Rhubarb (here)- and Paris Originals (here). Neither will disappoint.

Debra said:

From ancient Sanskrit sources it is known that emeralds have be valued and used for over 1500 years in India. After Pizarro’s ruthless conquest of the Incas, even new world emeralds found there way into royal Indian collections. The princely states of India were ready recipients for any fine large stones found throughout the world .

The Large Central Stone In Mrs. Post’s brooch has a carved Mughal floral motif . It is roughly dated from its inscription “The servant of Shah Abbas” it is not known weather it was Shah Abbas I (1557-1629) or Shah Abbas II (1633-1667). It is known that large emeralds were coveted by Shah Jahan, a contemporary of Shah Abbas II. The other emeralds in this piece were probably carved in the 19th century.

This Brooch was originally made by Cartier London for stock in 1923. It was altered by Cartier New York for Mrs. E.F. Hutton ( Marjorie Merriweather Post) in 1928. It was later altered again in 1941 to its present shortened form.

I love these Mughal emeralds they were handled so deftly by Cartier during this period. The carved emeralds give an exotic orientalist flair to these large sumptuous jewels. They are set off so perfectly by the hard edges of the brilliantly cut diamonds and black enamel.

(Can you imagine that it was shortened in 1941 to its present form of 8 inches? The brooch is made up of eight hundred round diamonds & 250 carats of emeralds.)

Jewelry history is a fascinating study through which we can see the financial status and aspirations of a nation, and its wealthy elite. The migration of great gems from European royal treasuries in the 19th century. Into the hands of the new wealth of America tells us a lot. Families like the Vanderbilts, the Walsh-McLeans, the Dukes, and the Huttons acquired some of the most famous gems in History.

Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Collection is an outstanding example illustrating this time in history- an American entrepreneurial fortune, Russia’s misfortune, and their desperate need for cash. Mrs. Post-Davies personal fortune, and her yacht the, Sea Cloud, in Leningrad harbor shopped the country. Cash is king.

The Russia and India treasuries were transported to Europe in 1917-1950. Gems are indeed a form of flight capital. Many were then sold to Americans. Now we are coming full circle- who are the clients? Newly minted Indian Billionaires, Russian Oligarchs, Central Asian and Saudi petroleum princes. The gems are changing hands yet again. America is no longer the great buyer. This tells us even more.

It is impossible to determine the origin of a sapphire or a ruby with out a laboratory. Examination with a jewelers loupe can be helpful, but a certificate is essential to establish the true value in the marketplace today. By microscopic and other laboratory tests the source of origin is established through analysis of the trace elements within the crystal.

...and ladies of the club

Mrs. Ronald Tree or as we refer to her- Nancy Lancaster & her rubies, pearls & diamonds. Mrs. Tree, always innovative-commissioned Cartier in 1930 for this sautoir necklace could be worn as a long necklace, or transformed into a bracelet & shorter necklace. Made up of 450 carats of charged fiery rubies, 90 pearls and 21 sparkling diamonds, it must have especially have done so on Mrs. Tree at Ditchley.

more from a conversation with Debra:

I once read several books on Vedic Astrology, I was interested in use of precious gems to augment unfavorable aspects of ones chart. Books with titles like,“ Gems and Astrology a guide to health and prosperity” - I was prescribed a yellow sapphire by a Brahman astrologer. I could not wear it. Apart from that, I love all exquisite gems. I remember the first time I saw a sizable Kashmir Sapphire, I felt as if I had a weight on my chest, as if I could not breathe, it literally took my breath away.

A unique cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire weighing 42.88 carats

Similarly the first time I saw a true Burma ruby, it has a quality of light like no other . If you put a UV light over it, it fluoresces (Lights up) like the tail light of a Ferrari.

There are very few Burma rubies over 5 carats this 19.41 carat stone is exceptionally rare. It is set in a ring, surrounded with diamonds.

Image Christie’s

Having spent some of my formative years in Iran, as the daughter of a diplomat, I love Persian turquoise.

Here-Persian turquoise, engraved and inlaid with pure gold inscriptions of sacred text from Iran. These stones are still on the lapidary sticks on which they were cut and engraved.( 19th century)

My tastes are diverse, and every jewel has a story-



Our Darling Duchess WWW & her Indian style bib necklace of turquoise, 294 carats of royal amethysts & diamonds. Cartier's 1947 exotic concoction of color and mix of precious and semiprecious stones was daring & made way for the hippie chic gypset style icons of the 1960's and today. Would the Duchess be amused?
( oh & yes the necklace had a matching set of ear clips.)

Daisy Fellowes posed by Cecil Beaton in 1937-wearing the HINDU necklace created for her in 1936. Here it seems all the elements merged into a rarefied riot of stones, shapes and colors that became known as a Cartier signature look known as Tutti Fruitti. The necklace is featured in T&C as modified by Fellowes' daughter in 1963. Here again are all the emeralds, rubies and nearly 250 carats of sapphires- a stunning pile of rocks!

Town & Country features 9 of "the Lucky Ladies of Cartier" in the November issue. Bruce Weber has a new book chronicling the spectacular jewelry of Cartier and the women that loved wearing them, CARTIER: I LOVE YOU.

Of course Debra did a Fabulous post of the Bruce Weber book earlier in the year- Cartier 100 Years in America here.

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Hillwood Where FABULOUS Lives

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MRS. POST & head gardener Earl Loy
photograph from LIFE by Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1965

It is all true. HILLWOOD is where Fabulous lives. I walked into the Visitor's Center at Marjorie Merriweather Post's famed HILLWOOD & said just that-or something close.

photograph from Architect Design here

What does One do when faced with all that Fabulous?

Walking through the gardens on the estate was less dauntingly Fabulous. I have Nature, a Garden, Flora, Fauna & Statuary. Yes-even I've got some of that- though not on the grand scale. It was easy to snap photos of a few of my favourite MMP Garden things. The gardens are beautiful, perfectly scaled for the estate and kept in the very style of the lady of the house. A guided tour by one of the docents- Carol- was interesting, informative and amusing. The amusing part came from the Mother and two daughters ( Names Unknown). As my friend said-Well Mother (Names Unknown) does seem to know her history. Yes-in a fashion. Oh, but One of the Daughter's of Mother etc. etc.- Heaven help. Good advice- Don't speak- listen and learn- "Don't talk, Just Look." But more about that later.

One of the more amusing stories Carol told was about MMP's Japanese Garden. After Mrs. Post suggested Colorado Blue Spruce for the Garden, landscape architect Shogo Myaida informed the lady of the fact that this would make the Garden- Well-Not Japanese. I can only think MMP nodded & the Japanese- American Hybrid Garden was born. Mrs. Post was a woman after my own heart- Knows what she wants and gets it & in the nicest way. Witness the Friendship Walk. Four of Mrs. Post's friends came up with the perfect gift for the Woman with Everything (MMP)- an English Garden with statuary of the Four Seasons forming a circular overlook. An inscription on a center stone reads:

Friendship outstays the hurrying flight of years and aye abides through laughter and through tears.

Here is a look at things I spied in the Gardens. To say it was something quite fabulous is understatement. For me in a practical sense- after seeing the FABULOUS- I look for things I can use. Things I can fall in love with.



Things I will remember when working with clients or editing or adding to my own objet d'art.

I am fascinated with the Sphinx, just review my posts on Heart of Stone and you will see. This one rests in the small French Parterre where MMP's very French bedroom overlooks. Along with the Sphinx, my take away is All must be in Proportion. Though it isn't stated, Ms.Post must have believed this axiom. This formal Garden is in perfect scale to the mansion. Hillwood is a mansion in the truest sense- from Old French-mansio- the act of remaining or staying. Indeed. This suits Hillwood. The looming grotesques of the 21st century should take note and scale down. Though is quite large-I don't know the square footage-It remains comely, intimate & personal. Yes, it is extravagant & Fabulous-but it is all in proportion.


I latched onto the Sphinx & found two others residing along the walkways. These dears are said to be modeled after dazzling French ballerinas of the 18th century.







Perhaps Marie Salle ?




Another wonderful thing I noted in the garden was this iron railing. Yes, yes of course the design is heavenly- the very simple turned down to a point end of the handrail & the repeating circular design. I like that the handrail is raised from the main part of the rail as well. It is a gorgeous design- but Don't you love the color? I do- I think this is an easy takeaway from Mrs. Post. Don't settle for black, deep green (all good) but if you fancy a different shade-Here it is.




I really can not believe this design for an umbrella hasn't been copied- I don't know what this one is made of but the color and design are so deluxe. This lawn umbrella- original to Mrs. Post's day, as are the not so enviable- lawn chairs, was my favourite garden object. I love the pronounced hard molded shape and the overlapping of the petalled shapes. What do you think?




the putting green with the Post umbrella & lawn chairs.



& the front terrace as it was in Mrs. Post's heyday 1964.

from LIFE , by Alfred Eisenstaedt

MORE from FABULOUS HILLWOOD"S interiors in a future post.

follow Architect Design on his Hillwood Garden Tour in May 2009 here

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