Showing posts with label Smithsonian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smithsonian. Show all posts

Friday, November 17, 2017

Mystery Surrounds the Hope Diamond


The Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond is the most famous diamond in the world. But fame comes at a cost … more than a dozen owners of the diamond lost fortunes, attracted suspicious circumstances, or suffered tragic deaths, all supposedly due to the diamond’s curse.

Jean Baptiste Tavernier
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
It was originally called the Tavernier Blue Diamond and came from India in 1666. French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier sold the 112-carat diamond to King Louis XIV in 1668. Legend has it that marauding dogs killed Tavernier as part of the curse. It seems Tavernier acquired the diamond through deception and murder, and in retaliation; a curse was put upon the stone.

King Louis XIV
King Louis XIV and Louis XV
Ten years later, King Louis XIV had the court jeweler recut the stone into a 67-carat diamond that became known as The Blue Diamond of the Crown. In 2009, it was discovered that the gem had been specially cut to create an effect of a sun in its center. The jewel was then displayed on a gold background to heighten the sun effect. Louie gave the stone to his mistress, who he later abandoned - but kept the diamond.

Kind Louis XV
In 1749, Louis XV had the diamond set in an elaborate pendant to be worn as a ceremonial piece for the Order of the Golden Fleece. Louis XVI died of gangrene.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
After Louis XV’s death, his grandson Louis XVI inherited what was now called the French Blue. Rumor has it that Marie Antoinette may have worn the diamond; although historians say the king would have worn the diamond, just as his grandfather had with the Golden Fleece. Regardless of who wore the jewel, it was said that their beheadings in 1793 were a result of the cursed stone.

The Recut Diamond
Daniel Eliason
Stolen in 1792, the diamond was never seen again in its original shape. But in 1812, a blue diamond surfaced in England owned by diamond merchant Daniel Eliason. Although it had been recut, it appeared to be the same stone. Speculation was that King George IV may have owned the stone but at his death in 1830, everything of value was sold to pay off his debts. 

Henry Philip Hope
The Hope Family
London banker, Thomas Hope, purchased the stone from Eliason in the 1830s. It then became known as the “Hope Diamond.” Henry Philip Hope was the next owner, followed by his nephew Henry Thomas Hope, and the gem eventually went to Lord Francis Hope.

May Yohe
Lord Francis Hope and May Yohe
 Lord Hope married actress May Yohe in 1894. Yohe, who performed in musical theatre, divorced Hope eight years later; the same year he sold the stone to pay off his debts.  Yohe also died penniless. Part of the Hope diamond curse?

Selim Habib
Death at Sea
Turkish diamond collector, Selim Habib purchased the diamond in 1908. The next year he sold his collection of gems due to financial trouble. Habib died at sea -  contributing to the diamond’s curse.

Pierre Cartier
Pierre Cartier
Paris jeweler Pierre Cartier was the person who gave the curse some sparkle. When he talked to people about the stone, he always mentioned that it was cursed. When he sold the diamond to the owner of the Washington Post, Cartier included a statement that read, “Should any fatality occur to the family of Edward B. McLean within six months, the said Hope diamond is agreed to be exchanged for jewelry of equal value." The "curse" became famous.

Evalyn Walsh McLean
Edward B McLean and Evalyn Walsh
When McLean purchased the stone in 1911, his wife, Evalyn Walsh had it made into the diamond pendant necklace that exists today. Newspapers carried headlines linking the McLean’s to the “sinister” diamond. Evalyn was fascinated with the story and believed that what brought bad luck to others would bring her only good. Then, in 1919, their nine-year-old son Vinson Walsh McLean was killed by an auto outside the family residence.  Edward left Evalyn for another woman and the couple divorced. But in 1933, Edward was declared legally insane. He died eight years later of a heart attack. Evalyn’s 25-year-old daughter died of a drug overdose, and Evalyn was eventually forced to sell The Washington Post. She continued to own the stone until her death in 1947 when diamond merchant Harry Winston purchased all of her jewels, including the Hope Diamond, to settle her debts.

Harry Winston
Harry Winston
Once Harry Winston had the diamond, it was put on display in the “Court of Jewels” exhibition for over a decade. The diamond was exhibited at charity events throughout the world. Then, in 1958, Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution. But he didn't take it to the Smithsonian, instead he sent the diamond through regular mail, insuring it for roughly $150.

James Todd
Rumor has it that the mailman who delivered the package bearing the diamond had his share of cursed luck. James Todd suffered a crushed leg in an accident soon after. He also sustained a head injury in another accident, and his house burned down.

Smithsonian Institution
Embracing Hope
Once the gem arrived at the Smithsonian, the “curse” appeared to end. The Hope Diamond has remained at the institution, leaving the premises only four times in the past sixty years. Today, the diamond has its own room. In 2009, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diamond’s arrival to the Smithsonian, “a modern design consisting of three ribbons set with baguette-cut diamonds wrap around the Hope Diamond in an exquisite embrace.” Known as "Embracing Hope," the necklace was displayed for more than a year before the stone was returned to its original setting. 

Hope Diamond Today
Once again, the Hope Diamond is surrounded by 16 white diamonds on a necklace chain of another 45 white diamonds. The cut of the diamond is described as “cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion.” The diamond itself is 45-carats: about the size of a walnut, and worth an estimated $250 million dollars.
~ Joy


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Friday, May 17, 2013

The Black Aggie




Agnus Statue - Black Aggie
The Black Aggie is a cemetery statue surrounded by myth and legend.  When it was placed upon the grave of General Felix Agnus in Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, Maryland, the statue immediately stirred controversy and superstition among the locals.


Felix Agnus was a Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General and owner/publisher of the Baltimore American newspaper.  Agnus was also one of the original members of the Associated Press. He died on Halloween - October 31st, 1925 and was buried under the petulant gaze of what became known as 'Black Aggie.' But Agnus was not the first to have this image guard his grave. 


Marian 'Clover' Adams
The original sculpture was created by the famous American artist, Augustus St. Gaudens.  He was commissioned to create a statue for the grave of Marian ‘Clover’ Hooper Adams by her husband, Henry.  Adams wanted a sculpture that embodied the Buddhist concept of nirvana: “release from the cycles of life and death, desire and pain.”  It was to memorialize his wife who had committed suicide in 1885. Six years later, in 1891, the statue was placed on her grave in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.


Adams Memorial - 'Grief'
St. Gaudens sculpted a shrouded figure in bronze, sitting, eyes closed, with its back against a granite wall. He called the work “The Mystery of the Hereafter and the Peace of God that Passeth Understanding.”  Henry Adams wanted it known as the Adams Memorial. The public simply called it “Grief.” 

The Face of 'Grief'
The sculpture has been described as mysterious, beautiful, moody, and haunting. The result of the shadows cast by the changing light during the day make the face inside the cowl appear to take on different expressions.







American Art Museum
Replica of Adams Memorial
The Adams Memorial is said to be one of St. Gaudens most original and beautiful works.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.  A replica of the Adams Memorial – the life-sized, genderless statue, was cast in 1969 for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  It can be seen on the second floor, in the east wing of the museum.


Agnus Copy
The Agnus statue was an unauthorized copy of the Adams Memorial, created by sculptor Eduard L.A. Pausch. General Agnus purchased the unauthorized copy of “Grief” in 1906.  He had it erected on the family’s plot in Druid Ridge Cemetery after his mother’s remains were shipped from France and buried there in 1907.





Grass Would Not Grow...
Black Aggie
While there is little in the way of legend that surrounds the Adams Memorial, the Agnus sculpture is rife with superstitions.  Tales abound of the Black Aggie walking Druid Ridge Cemetery at night; legend has it that grass would not grow in the statue’s shadow, and that the menacing eyes glowed red at the stroke of midnight.  Many said that the spirit of Marian Adams inhabited the statue.

Smithsonian Institution
The urban legends grew and visitors flocked to the cemetery, mainly after hours, to see the Black Aggie. Some tried to spend the night sitting on 'her' lap, others were said to have been found dead near the statue.  Vandalism grew rampant and the Agnus statue had to be removed from the cemetery.  The Agnus family decided to donate it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1967. 


Back of Agnus Pedestal
Agnus Pedestal Today
Today, the Agnus plot retains the empty granite pedestal.  All that remains is a faint outline where the Black Aggie once rested. A bronze sculpture of Felix Agnus’s face hangs on the back of the granite stone.





Dolley Madison House
The Smithsonian placed the Agnus statue in storage where it remained for years before being given to the General Services Administration.  In 1987, it was placed on display in the rear courtyard of the Dolley Madison House on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.

Black Aggie Today
Black Aggie remains there today, now looking more serene than menacing as 'she' contemplates life and death from a seat among the trees, with a shrouded point of view.

~ Joy