Bulgari

Attractive gold and diamond vanity case, circa 1960

VAT applies to hammer price and buyer's premium

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 CHF

Lot Details

Description

Of tonneau design, decorated with an engine-turned wavy pattern, the sides and push piece set with circular-, brilliant- and single-cut diamonds, the hinged lids opening to reveal two compartments, one fitted with a mirror, a fluted lipstick holder and a powder compartment, signed Bulgari, numbered, Italian assay marks for gold, pouch.

Sotheby's Geneva, 15 May 1985, lot 647.

King Umberto II of Italy (1904-1983)

The May King and Queen

Umberto II (1904-1983) and Marie-José (1906-2001) of Italy

When King Umberto II was deposed from the Italian throne following a referendum in 1946, the Savoy family’s almost millenary rule over the Duchy of Savoy, the Kingdom of Piemont and Sardinia and finally the Kingdom of Italy came to a close. The King and his consort, the stylish and popular Queen Marie-José, known as the May Queen since her husband ruled for only 35 days from 9 May to 13 June 1946, went into exile. First they lived in Portugal, but later the Queen settled in Switzerland.

After the King passed away, a number of highly important jewels from his estate were sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in 1985, including this fine gold and diamond vanity case by Bulgari. The case was most likely used by Queen Marie-José at the many glamorous, international, Royal functions which the pair attended during the 1950s and 60s.

King Umberto II was the son of King Vittorio Emmanuelle III (1869-1947). As Crown Prince, he was much liked by the Italian population. In 1930, he married Princess Marie-José of Belgium in a brilliant wedding ceremony at the Quirinal Palace in Rome. The bride was the daughter of King Albert I of Belgium and the artistically inclined and forceful Elisabeth in Bavaria. Through her mother she was a granddaughter of Carl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria.

Though Umberto and Marie-José shared a lot of mutual respect and affection, theirs was never an easy marriage. However, both found common ground in their cultural interests and deeply rooted distaste for the fascist government which held Italy in its iron grip during the interbellum. They had four children: Princesses Maria Pia (1934), Maria Gabriella (1940) and Beatrice (1943) and Prince Vittorio Emmanuele, Prince of Naples (1937-2024). In exile, the Queen dedicated her time to researching the early history of the Savoy dynasty.