To Die For: Madame du Barry's Jewels

Born as an illegitimate commoner, Madame du Barry's rise through the ranks allowed her to dedicate some of her immense fortune to her passion: jewels. And who was better to furnish her with both the means and the object itself than the king?

Throughout her tenure as the royal mistress, Madame du Barry was showered with jewels, gemstones, parures etc. The most famous piece made for her was never seen by Louis XV himself but caused irreparable harm to his predecessor. In 1772, Louis XV commissioned Auguste Boehmer and Paul Bassange to create a superb necklace whose design was considered lavish even by the standards of the time. That very necklace would later become the focal point of the infamous Affair of the Diamond Necklace.

Such a large piece required the very best diamonds and thus it took the two jewellers years to complete their task. Sadly for them, when they finally did the king was dead and the intended recipient banished from court. It was estimated that the necklace had cost the pair 2.000.000 livres - it is hardly a wonder that they desperately tried to sell it to the new queen.

A reconstruction of the necklace designed
by Bassange and Boehmer - it would later
cause the public downfall of Marie
Antoinette

While the tale of the infamous diamond necklace is well-known it is far from the only worthwhile addition to the ci-devant favourite's collection. Even after the death of her royal lover, Madame du Barry continued to amass diamonds from the funds left to her by the king. Still, there can be no doubt that her glory days were between 1769-1774. For instance, in 1772 alone Aubert furnished her with jewels amounting to 91.000 livres. She would later return to Aubert in 1775 when she purchased a magnificent parure worth 390.000 livres.

According H. Welschinger, the accounts left by the leading jewellers in Paris reveal that in the years 1768-1774, she "only" spent 2.000.000 more on jewels than previously. 

Once she had become the king's official mistress, there was little to stem her passion for gemstones. She ordered bejewelled shoe-buckles in various colours so that they would always match her gown. Madame du Barry appears to have used her jewels to literally dazzle the court - especially when she was nervous or eager to show off her position. For instance, when she arrived (unexpectedly) at La Muette she was glittering in brilliants. On another occasion, she received a hitherto unheard-of honour by being allowed to dine with the royal family. Taking advantage of the occasion to further demonstrate both her beauty and influence, she arrived in a gown of cloth-of-gold and jewels allegedly worth 5.000.000 livres.

Besides the staggering number - and price tag - of her jewels, Jeanne knew how to make herself noticed. Before her, the ladies of Versailles had stuck to one colour at a time; as such, it was unthinkable for one to wear more than one colour. Yet, Madame du Barry openly flaunted this unwritten rule and happily matched rubies with emeralds, grey and pink pearls etc.

Madame du Barry

After the death of Louis XV, Madame du Barry continued to have a court income as stipulated by the late king's will. However, her extremely high expenditure soon meant that she was obliged to sell off some of her beloved jewels to keep her creditors at bay. For instance, she parted with two magnificent parures of diamonds and rubies which were so grand that they could only be worn at court - a place she was not likely ever to return to.

It was not just in her accessories that Jeanne's expensive hobby was channelled. She would order gowns with gemstones sewn into the fabric - Rose Bertin supplied her with one which also sported golden sheaves embroidered on blue satin.

Of course, the entire extent of the jewelry collection can hardly be estimated precisely. However, here and there the historical records handed down to us gives an insight into the type of jewels that Jeanne Bécu bought and received as gifts. One of the most valuable documents comes from the lady herself. Upon the theft of her jewels in 1791, Madame du Barry drew up an immense and detailed list - with the help of her jewellers - of the pieces that had been stolen. The list was long and described a collection of such lavish wealth that it understandably invoked anger in a country devastated by extreme poverty. Even today, more than two centuries after the fact, the list shows an impressive collection. Given the sheer length of the list, the various pieces have been grouped (the original list was published by the Goncourt-brothers):

Rings:

• 1 ring of white brilliants with a large diamond
• 3 other rings with brilliants 
• 1 ring with a large, square sapphire stone on which was engraved a cupid; it also had two brilliants 
• 20-25 unspecified rings
• 1 onyx ring with the portrait of Louis XIII with sardonyx details 
• 1 ring of Caesar surrounded by brilliants
• 1 ring with a large, square emerald
• 1 puce-coloured ring
• 1 ring with burnt cornelian on which an image of Bacchus was engraved
• 1 ring with an image of Louis XIV on yellow sardonyx 
• 1 heart-shaped sapphire surrounded by diamonds 

Earrings:

• 1 pair of white brilliants
• 1 pair of chandelier earrings with large brilliants worth 120.000 livres
• 1 pair of chandelier earrings mounted on two shafts of a column of gold and enameled in lapis-lazuli surmounted by two silver turtledoves 
• 1 pair of pearl-shell earrings with the portrait of Louis XIV

Necklaces & Pendants: 

• 1 necklace of 24 brilliants finely mounted
• 1 cross with 16 brilliants
• 1 double-row of pearls containing about 200 pearls and 1 large brilliant at the front; below the brilliant hung a tassel with fringes and knots - all set in brilliants

Watches:

• 1 bejewelled watch
• 1 gold watch by Romilly
• 1 more, but smaller, watch by Romilly surrounded by four diamond hoops with a coat-of-arms on the other side

Bracelets:

• 2 bracelets of unspecified design
• 2 bracelets of six rows of pearls; each bracelet had a large emerald. On one the initials "D B" (du Barry) was engraved, on the other two "Ls" (Louis). The clasps were set with brilliants
• 2 bracelets with four diamonds each

Gemstones & Loose Pearls:

• A heart shaped sapphire originally owned by Louis XIII
• 5 white brilliants
• 2 pendant-shaped brilliants
• 1 large and square brilliant
• 17 diamonds "entirely out of shape" - one had been mounted as a pendant
• 1 long, pin-shaped brilliant
• 1 row of 104 stringed pearls
• 40 diamonds
• 1 lozenge shaped brilliant

Miscellaneous:

• A rose "finely mounted" with no less than 258 brilliants and a large stone in the centre 
• 8 pieces of ribbon in puffs, each with 21 brilliants 
• 1 pair of shoe-buckets of 84 brilliants
• 1 purse of blue silk with brilliants on the clasp and tassel
• 2 portraits of Louis XV
• 1 pair of sleeve-buttons formed of an emerald, sapphire, a yellow diamond and a ruby, all of which were surrounded by rose-coloured brilliants
• 2 strings of watch-guards of 16 links with 3 stones, one being an emerald and two brilliants
• 1 cap with a very large and square brilliant and three large emeralds underneath and a brilliant on each side
• 2 opera glasses with the portrait of Louis XV on the sides; one was enamelled in blue, the other in red, and both had been mounted in gold 

Despite this extensive list, the whole is rounded up with the rather vague "... and many other jewels of very good value".

In all, she had jewels worth 1.500.000 livres stolen which included over 140 large diamonds, 300 large pearls, 3 large sapphires, 7 large emeralds, 700 brilliants - and countless other onyxes, rubies etc. Madame du Barry had often been critisiced for been somewhat indiscriminate when it came to the quality of her jewels. The above-mentioned list does hint that something of the kind was the case. For instance, the official list specifically mentions that 40 of her diamonds were not cut in a good shape - yet she had purchased them.

The inventory of the stolen jewels, 1791

Jeanne Bécu's very love of jewels shone through in her attempt to reach out to the dauphine Marie Antoinette. After the newly-arrived Austrian dauphine had publicly snubbed the king's mistress, the latter decided to try and woo the future queen by sending her diamond earrings. However, she was unsuccessful.

Besides the jewels stolen in 1791, Madame du Barry had had a good deal more. Over the years following the king's death she had often had to sell some of her jewels to pay off debts - either her own or those of her relatives. Yet, we do know that she owned several other pieces including:

• A ring of arborized agate surrounded by brilliants worth 480 livres was delivered to her in 1769 and paid for by the king
• A watch adorned by diamonds worth 5.400 livres and made by Lepaute 

Once she had been sentenced to death, she allegedly confessed to having buried several chests of valuables in the grounds of Louveciennes. Besides diverse plates and silverware, the condemned lady claimed that the following could be found in the ground:

• A chain of diamonds with two tassels
• Two earrings of diamonds; each had 9-10 stones of which the front ones were very large
• A ruby ring with white diamonds
• A necklace with five pearls set in gold
• A collar of pearls 
• A diamond ring
• A "beautiful" engraved stone mounted on chains of gold to make a necklace
• Two necklaces of coral, one of which was mounted on gold
• An emerald ring with white diamonds

... And a portrait of Louis XV in a gold frame.

Following her execution, the remnants of her collection was sold at auction by Sothesby's in 1795. The auction fetched what amounts to 1.281.210,99 euros (1.093.302,26 pounds 1.502.251,88 US dollars). This alone goes to show the sheer size and value of her original collection.