Crown (regalia) I INTRODUCTION Crown (regalia), headdress symbolizing sovereignty, or other high rank or special condition. The word is also used to refer to a monarchy as an institution. II ANCIENT CROWNS Silver Nubian Crown Numerous powerful kingdoms rose and fell in Nubia between 5,000 and 1,500 years ago. This silver royal crown dates to the 3rd or 4th century ad. It was crafted in Nobatia, a Nubian state that succeeded the kingdom of Meroë.
Giraudon/Art Resource, NY Crowns have been worn since ancient times, some in the shape of a helmet, some in the form of a band or fillet around the brow, and some a combination of the two. Egyptian pharaohs, for example, wore a double crown consisting of a high white helmet, symbolizing rule over Upper Egypt, and an open bandlike red crown, high in back, symbolizing rule over Lower Egypt. Persian kings wore a stiff helmet shape, or tiara, with a broad band, or diadem, of fabric tied around the base with the ends hanging in back. The Greeks bestowed crowns in the form of garlands, wreaths of leaves or flowers, on the winners of sports and poetry contests and on citizens for outstanding public service. Such crowns were also worn at weddings and funerals. These traditions were continued by the Romans, who also gave wreaths to soldiers who saved the lives of Roman citizens in battle. Most highly prized was the wreath bestowed by a beleaguered garrison or army on the general who rescued them. Early Roman emperors wore a gold version of the military victor's laurel wreath in preference to a diadem, which would have signified sovereignty. In the 3rd century, however, Roman emperors adopted, along with other symbols of Eastern royalty, a jeweled diadem tied in the back, with two hanging ends. III MEDIEVAL AND MODERN CROWNS
Crown of Saint Stephen This crown was worn by Stephen I, who became the first king of Hungary in 1001. He was also known as Saint Stephen. The helmet-style crown is made of gold and set with pearls and other gems. It is especially notable for its detailed enamel work, called cloissonné, in which thin partitions of gold create separate areas that are filled with powdered enamel and then fired. Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York Byzantine emperors wore a broad band of gold or, later, a hemispherical gold crown, set with gems. Both types had gold wires or chains, often jeweled, hanging from the sides in place of the fabric ends of the Roman diadem. The 11th-century helmet crown of St. Stephen of Hungary was on the late Byzantine model, as were the Russian crowns, such as the sable-bordered Cap of Monomakh.
Lombard Crown The Iron Crown (9th century, in the Basilica Treasury in Monza) is an outstanding work by goldsmiths from Lombardy. It is made of six golden plates encrusted with gems and joined by an iron ring that is hidden inside. According to legend, this ring is made from a nail from the cross of Christ. The crown was later worn by the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1805 it was worn by Napoleon when he was crowned king of Italy. Agenzia LUISA RICCIARINI MILANO An early form of Western European crown was a diadem of hinged metal plaques, which could be taken apart for storage. Examples are the 9th-century so-called Iron Crown of Lombardy and the jeweled, enameled crowns of the Holy Roman emperors, which had a hoop or arch from front to back and were worn over a soft cap. Other medieval crowns were flared circlets of bejeweled gold, often with projecting trefoils. By about the 15th century, French and English kings were wearing circlet crowns crossed with a pair of hoops at right angles, on top of which was an orb (a sphere surmounted by a cross). Such crowns were worn over a soft velvet cap. Some kings owned many crowns, which could be pawned. Nobles wore simpler versions of the circlet and cap, without the royal hoops.
Crown of the Holy Roman Emperor The imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire is a masterpiece of goldsmith s art from the 11th century, when it was first used at the coronation of Conrad II. The crown is made of eight arched pieces of gold (two large and six small) that are decorated with pearls, precious stones, and enamel. Conrad was crowned by the pope in 1027. The crown is in the Art History Museum in Vienna, Austria. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria/Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York The French crowns were destroyed during the French Revolution. The medieval English crowns were broken up after the English Revolution in the 17th century. A new one, St. Edward's crown, was made in gold in the late medieval style for Charles II in 1661. It has been used since then for all English coronations except Queen Victoria's. The imperial state crown, in diamonds and other gemstones, made for Victoria's coronation (1838), is worn by the monarch for the opening of Parliament and other state occasions.
IV OTHER CROWNS The Roman Catholic popes have traditionally worn white crowns, or tiaras, of the helmet type, derived from the Byzantine model, as symbols of their sovereignty over the church. Since the 13th century, these crowns have been banded by three jeweled circlets. Pope John Paul II, at his coronation in 1978, refused to wear a tiara, as being out of keeping with the more democratic spirit of his papacy. Crowns are still worn by, or held over the heads of, both bride and bridegroom in Orthodox church weddings.