Christie’s Auctions Jewels from Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen

It is not every day one can stand a chance to own jewelry that once belonged to royalty. If it isn’t enough that Shirley Temple’s blue sapphire ring, the Queen of Albania’s Coronation tiara and jewels owned by the Duchess of Windsor are all up for bids next month. On May 18, auction house Christie’s will give you that opportunity with the sale of exquisite jewels that include several from the private collection of H.S.H Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen.

The princess (born merely wealthy, she was first married to the Prince of Leiningen before marrying the Aga Kahn in 1998), received many of the jewels as gifts from her second husband.

Gabriela was previously married to Prince Karl-Emich zu Leiningen and later, May 1998 she married to his Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, 49th Imam of the Ismaili, international entrepreneur, horse-breeder and founder of the Aga Khan Development Network, and became Princess Inaara Aga Khan.

During their 16-year marriage, the Princess held the tittle Begum Inaara Aga Khan and received superb and unique Jewels from her then husband, a great art connoisseur, furthering her already extensive collection. Several of them are to be presented in the Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale in May. Before the sale however, the jewels will be on display in Geneva from May 13; the collection is currently making its way to New York as part of a tour.

Sophisticated and classically beautiful, H.S.H Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen’s extensive collection is a true reflection of its owner. A woman of charisma, wisdom, elegance and above all joy. Each jewel represents a special moment in her life and the happiness she experienced at the time.

The 46 lots set to go under the hammer in Geneva are estimated to be worth over $15 million. Bidders can expect to see spectacular items from Cartier, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany & Co.

We highlight several key pieces that will certainly excite any avid jewelry collector.

Cultured pearl and diamond fringe necklace, bangle and pair of earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels.

 

 

A significant piece on auction is the pearl and diamonds necklace the Princess inherited from her grandmother in law, the Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan (1906 – 2000), wife of Sultan Mohammed Aga Khan III. When it was given to the Princess, she commissioned Van Cleef & Arpels the creation of complementary bracelet and earrings to wear with the necklace. On several occasions, Princess Gabriele has been photographed wearing the stunning set.

The necklace, whose yellow-gold flowers contain small diamond clusters, has 15 cultured pearls and multiple white gold clusters. The necklace comes with a similarly set bangle and pair of ear pendants. Estimate: $200,000 to $300,000

Aside from their beauty, many of these jewels bare a compelling history of their own. To me they embody wonderful and loving personal memories as well as exciting chapters of my life, full of color, travel and encounters. They have brought me great joy and happiness. Now I wish their journey to continue, bringing joy and happiness to their new owners.

H.S.H Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen

Other highlight in the collection is the cultured pearl and diamond fringe necklace. Its owner before coming into the possession of the princess was her former husband’s grandmother, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan. When it entered the collection of Princess Gabriela, a matching pair of ear pendants and a bangle were commissioned from Van Cleef & Arpels in order to wear them as a complete parure.

Cultured pearl and diamond necklace and pair of earrings

The necklace designed as a double strand of cultured Pearls, to the circular and retangular-cut diamond cluster clasp, together with a pair of earrings, each cultured pearld set within a baguette-cut diamond undulating surround, with four circular-cut diamond accents. Mounted in gold, the necklace is 46 cm, the earrings are 2 cm in diameter.

Provenance H.H. Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan.

A ruby, emerald and diamond flower brooch by Robert Pouget.

The rose flowerhead and rosebud set with calibré-cut rubies, to the similarly-set emerald leaves and baguette-cut diamond stem, 8.5 cm. With French assay marks for platinum and gold, signed Robert Pouget. Estimate: $40.000 – $60.000

Provenance H.H. Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan.

Emerald and diamond necklace and earrings by Cartier

The necklace features a detachable, cushion-shaped emerald pendant weighing approximately 39.7 carats; there are five more emeralds in the necklace weighing more than 16 carats in total. Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.5 million

This creation by Cartier that would make any woman swoon. The diamond and emerald necklace features an almost 40-carat Colombian emerald. The necklace with the matching earrings was worn at the official dinner that followed the wedding of Prince Felipe of Spain and Letizia Ortiz back in 2004.

 

Persepolis necklace and paire of Persane earrings by Cartier

The necklace, set with emeralds, sapphires, and rose-cut diamonds, is paired with a pair of emerald, diamond, and pearl earrings. The necklace was a gift from the princess’s mother, Renate Thyssen. Estimate: $700,000 to $1 million.

 

Pieces that will certainly get your attention, include a suite of emerald, diamond and pearl jewelry from Cartier, as well as the ‘Persepolis’ necklace and pair of ‘Persane’ earrings. With graduated emerald bead drops and a larger emerald beat pendant suspended, the suite also features a briolette-cut diamond and oval cabochon emerald surmount. With emeralds, diamonds and sapphires of several cuts, the ‘Persepolis’ neckalce and ‘Persane’ earrings are a set that certainly cannot be missed.

 

Suite of emerald, diamond, and pearl jewelry by Cartier

 

 

The necklace is a fringe of emerald beads interspersed with diamonds and pearls, suspended on a larger emerald and diamond pendant. The necklace is matched with a similarly-set pendant clasp, bracelet, and pair of ear pendants. Estimate: $500,000 to $700,000.

 

The Pohl diamond by Cartier

Pohl Diamond. What makes this 36-carat diamond so special is that it was the very first significant diamond that was polished in America (most diamonds are polished in Europe, India or Israel) before it was sold in 1943 to Bernice Chrysler Garbisch of the Chrysler Family. Having been mined nearly a decade earlier as a 287-carat rough stone, the diamond was acquired in 1998 for the Princess at Cartier.

This massive 36.09 carat diamond, flawless D color, is mounted on platinum and tapered by baguette-cut schoulders. Estimate: $3.8 million to $5.5 million.

 

Sapphire and diamond ring by Cartier

The sapphire weighs a massive 21.06 carats and is set in platinum between baguette-cut diamond shoulders. Estimate: $600,000 to $800,000.

 

A magnificent diamond and sapphire necklace by Cartier

 

A detachable pendant set with a cushion-shaped sapphire, weighing approximately 55.61 carats, a pear-shaped diamond weighing approximately 6.05 carats, and a cushion-shaped sapphire surmount, weighing approximately 3.48 carats, to the necklace set with a continuous line of graduated pear-shaped diamonds. The nacklace is 37 cm and is dated 1998, Signed Cartier, with French assay marks for platinum and gold. It comes in its original Cartier red leather box. Estimate: $2.000.000 – $3.000.000.

Accompanied by report no. 16030063/1 and 2 dated March 2016 from the Gübelin GemLab stating that the orgin of the sapphires is Burma, with no indications of heating.

Report 1176529998 dated 15 March 2016 from the GIA Gemological Institute of America stating that the 6.05 carat diamond, VVS1 clarity: also with a working diagram indicating that the clarity of the diamond is potentially internally flawless, and the Diamond Type Classification letter stating that the diamond has been determined to be type IIa.

Further the necklace is accompanied with by a copy of an invoice dated 18 November 1998 from Cartier.

 

Pair of diamond and sapphire earrings by Cartier 

The two sapphires, weighing 24.69 and 25.63 carats are detachable; the diamonds are set in platinum. Estimate: $600,000 to $800,000

 

Ruby and diamond Novelty brooch watch by Cartier

 

This ‘novelty’ brooch, so-called because one side opens to reveal a watch with a circular dial, was once owned by Begum Sultan Mohamed Shah Om Habibeh Aga Khan III (the princess’s ex-husband’s grandmother).

The violin was one of Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan’s – and Princess Gabriele’s – favorite instruments. The brooch, modelled as a violin, has calibré-cut ruby belly with diamond fingerboard and tailpiece, with pavé-set diamond ribs. A one side opening to reveal a watch with circlar dial, Roman numerals and quartz movement. Together with its bow, its dated 1989. The violin, 6,8 cm, and bow, 8 cm, are mounted in platinum and gold. The violin is signed Cartier, no.001: the bow is unsigned. Estimate: $10,500 to $15,000.

Provenance H.H. Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan.

 

Mystery set ruby and diamond brooch and pair of earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels

This ‘Mystery Set’ flower brooch comprises rubies and a diamond-cluster pistil and is mounted in platinum and gold. Estimate: $150,000 to $250,000

Each ‘Mystery Set’ ruby-set poppy flower has a circular-cut diamond pistil and two diamond-set leaves set in platinum. Estimate: $100,000 to $150,000.

 

H.S.H Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen

Born to an entrepreneurial and philanthropic German family, Princess Gabriela, a trained lawyer, has been involved in educational, health and cultural development programs throughout her life.

In 2004, the Princess founded the Princess Inaara Foundation. This aid organization is committed to supporting projects in both Germany and in developing countries, striving to protect and ameliorate the rights of women and children in need, often through microcredit projects. She campaigns for greater understanding and tolerance across diverse cultures, whilst also being committed to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and continues to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for the German AIDS Foundation.

The sale will be held on May 18, 7pm at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. For more information on the auction, visit Christie’s.

 

 

 

 

 

Long Reign Ends

In the early afternoon of 11 July, 1957, after an Imamat spanning seventy-two years, the 48th Imam, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, passed away in Geneva.

In a leading article published the following day, The Times of London offered condolences “to the millions distributed over the length and breadth of the Islamic world”, recognizing the Imam as “a great force working for understanding and harmony between east and west”; the obituary in The Times was titled: The Aga Khan: A Citizen of the World.

On July 12, 1957, the will of the 48^th Imam was read at Villa Barakat in Geneva with the whole family present. In his will, the Imam stated:

I appoint my grandson Karim, the son of my son, Aly Salomone Khan, to succeed to the title of Aga Khan and to be the Imam and Pir of all my Shia Ismailian followers.

The Aga Khan III mausoleum in Aswan by the Nile. In the foreground is the villa, Noor al-Salaam (Click photo to enlarge).

Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah’s Burial in Aswan

Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah had expressed a wish to be buried in Aswan in Egypt. The Imam had a special place for Egypt ever since his first visit to the country in 1935. In his Memoirs, the Imam writes:

On my way home to India I visited Egypt for the first time. Those who have not experienced it, who have not been lucky enough to fall under Egypt’s spell, will find it difficult, I suppose, to realize the sheer magic of the first sight of Egypt. And that my first sight was on a perfect early winter day, and need I say that all my life since then I have had a special corner in my heart for Egypt, and that I have returned there as often as I could.

Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III and Begum Om Habibeh ‘Mata Salamat’ Aga Khan (Click photo to enlarge).

In an interview with the Al-Ahram Weekly (23-29 April, 1992), Mata Salamat, the Begum Om Habibah explained the choice of Aswan:

“…We had been coming here since 1935, when the place was not a touristic location at all but a health retreat and resort. We used to come for one or two months and stay at the Cataract Hotel and have lovely promenades on the Nile. We did not come to be cured of asthma or such things, it was just to enjoy the good weather and good air of Aswan”.

“During these visits to the hotel, one day my husband said: ‘I would like to be buried in Aswan”.

“He used to say ‘Egypt is the flag of Islam.’ And he wanted to be buried here. Then we looked around and one day while on the Nile in a felucca with the Director, who said: ‘But why do you insist on finding somewhere to be buried? You see that house?’ It was absolutely closed and neglected. ‘It is on sale. Why don’t you buy it and enjoy yourself here?’ My husband replied: ‘But I agree. Provided I have the permission to build a mausoleum behind.’ And we bought it”.

The villa was named Noor al-Salaam.

“He put the house entirely in my hands saying: ‘You will choose the mausoleum. The style and everything else – do as you like. I want to be buried here”.

The Begum Describes the Task of Building the Mausoleum

“Now building the mausoleum was a great task for me. I was not sure of which style. But my husband had told me to see one of his friends at the American University, a British professor specializing in Islamic architecture. He took me all over Cairo and finally I made my choice, but if you see what I chose to copy, what inspired me, you may not see a resemblance.”

“It is the Al-Juyushi mosque. It is Fatimid and that is why I chose it; the piece that inspired me the most was the mihrab.”

“And something that maybe nobody knows is that this monument was made entirely by hand. Most of the marble is carved from one piece. It is the only thing, coming from abroad Carara marble, a very special and rare pure kind of Carara. The remainder, granite and sandstone from Aswan”.

First Burial Ceremony at Aswan in July 1957

On July 19, 1957, the Imam was laid to rest in a temporary place created in the grounds of the villa. A special service was held at a mosque in Aswan attended by Prince Aly Khan, Prince Sadruddin, Prince Amyn and the newly-appointed Imam, Shah Karim.

The Final Burial Ceremony at Aswan in the Mausoleum in February 1959

On 19 February 1959, the 48th Imam was finally laid to rest in the mausoleum which had taken over 18 months to construct. A special tent was raised on the outskirts of Aswan and more than 2,500 people, including Ismailis from all parts of the world, attended the ceremony.

February 1959: The villa, ‘Noor al-alaam’, Aswan, where the body of the 48th Imam lay temporarily buried before it was moved to its final resting place in the mausoleum (Photo privat collection © Motani Collection, Ottawa) (Click photo to enlarge).

February 1959: The Aga Khan’s body being carried by Karim Aga Khan and Sadruddin Aga Khan from the villa ‘Noor al Salaam’ to its final resting place (Photo privat collection © Motani Collection, Ottawa) (Click photo to enlarge).

February 1959: Like the men, all dressed in white, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, followed by group of women, walking from the villa ‘Noor al Salaam’ following her husbands to his last resting place (Photo privat collection).

February 1959: Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, followed by group of women, walking from the villa ‘Noor al Salaam’ to up the mausoleum (Photo privat collection).

February 1959: Prince Sadruddin and Prince Amyn walking back to the villa ‘Noor al Salaam’, behind Prince Karim Aga Khan, successor to Aga Khan III (Photo privat collection © Motani Collection, Ottawa) (Click photo to enlarge).

February 1959: The 49th Imam, Shah Karim Aga Khan IV, is followed by his uncle, Prince Sadruddin (on left), and Prince Amyn (on right) at Aswan (Photo: Jehangir Merchant collection) (Click photo to enlarge).

by Jean Amr

Aga Khan announces Om Habibeh Foundation grant for Aswan

His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, in Cairo, Egypt, December 2003.

His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims today announced a grant of US$ 320,000 for medical equipment by the Om Habibeh Foundation established by the Aga Khan’s late step-grandmother, Om Habibeh, the Begum Sultan Mahomed Shah.

Following a meeting with the Governor of Aswan, H.E. Samir Hassanin, the Aga Khan announced the grant as part of a series of new development initiatives to benefit the people of Aswan. These included a plan for a social development training centre to have national reach, and programmes in the areas of nursing education, pre-school education and the strengthening of civil society organisations. The new initiatives in Aswan will complement an extensive social and urban development programme underway on the edge of the historic city of Cairo.

Aswan and the people of Aswan, have a place of deep affection in my heart and within my family.

His Highness the Aga Khan IV

The Aga Khan went on to state that the Aga Khan Foundation (Egypt) which was in the process being established as a national entity would work in Aswan through the Om Habibeh Foundation which is an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network.

The programmes announced today intend to both continue, and also to build significantly on, the work begun by Begum Sultan Mahomed Shah. Our objective, is to strengthen civil society at the grassroots by helping to improve community development organisations and by bringing to bear on critical needs in this area, the panoply of experience and resources of the Aga Khan Development Network.

His Highness the Aga Khan IV

Governor Hassanin expressed sincere gratitude on behalf of the people of Aswan and pledged to extend the Governorate’s full cooperation and support to the new initiatives which he said both responded to immediate and long-term needs, and reinforced the warm and close historic links that bound the Aga Khan, his family, and his community to Aswan and to Egypt.

Begum Om Habibeh ‘Mata Salamat’ Aga Khan in Aswan

It is hoped that the Aga Khan University will be invited to provide the planned support for nursing education. The University operates programmes in this field in six countries in Africa and Asia. It also supports training in the healthcare field in Syria and its teaching hospital handles referral services through a presence in the United Arab Emirates. Early childhood education has been an area of expertise for the Aga Khan Education Services for many decades now. Besides facilitating and providing pre-school education on four continents, the Aga Khan Education Services has just announced that it will establish an Early Learning Centre in Dubai to offer broad, holistic, early childhood education on a secular and non-denominational basis at the highest international standards of excellence. The Aga Khan Foundation is active in a number of countries in promoting an ‘enabling environment’ for the emerging non-profit citizen sector, by providing advice and related institutional strengthening services and by helping to forge new models for partnerships involving government, business and citizen organisations to extend, improve and sustain health, education and welfare services for underprivileged populations.

The Om Habibeh Foundation is an Egyptian, not-for-profit organisation of long-standing that has been contributing to, and supporting, a number of institutions in the Aswan area involved in healthcare, education and income generation for disadvantaged communities. The Foundation will draw on the support and technical expertise of the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network to advance the newly announced initiatives.

Om Habibeh, the Begum Sultan Mahuhammad Shah was born Yvette Blanche Labrousse in 1906, of a father who was a tramway driver and a town councillor for Le Cannet and a mother who was a seamstress. Nothing in her modest upbringing told anything of the glorious destiny that was to be hers. After bieng elected Miss Lyon in 1929, then Miss France in Paris in 1930, she joined the Miss Europe 1930 pageant in Paris, won by Miss Greece. She started to travel around the world and settled in Egypt.

There Yvette Labrousse met her future husband, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III, 48th Imam of the Nizari Shia Ismaili community (the present Aga Khan’s grandfather and predecessor as Imam), whom she married on 9 October 1944 in Switzerland, and took the name of Om Habibeh (Little Mother of the Beloved) and became Begum, fully Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan. In 1954, Om Habibeh was given the title of ‘Mata Salamat’, which literally means serene or peaceful mother. She was the foutyh women in Islamic history with that title! They settled in the villa Yakymour at Le Cannet, above Cannes, on a hillside wich she had once looked on to from the flat in the Rue d’Antibes, for which planning permission applications had been submitted in 1937.

She and her husband, Sir Sultan Mahuhammad Shah Aga Khan spent also many happy times at their home Noor El Salam by the banks of the Nile at Aswan. When her husband died in 1957, Om Habibeh started building at Aswan, on top of the hill above there house, a mausoleum to her husband, immediately after his death, while finishing it took 16 months. After the death of her husband, she continued to live at Yakymour, le Cannet, France, though she always spent three months a year in the villa at Aswan, at the site of her husband’s mausoleum.

Begum Om Habibeh ‘Mata Salamat’ Aga Khan in Aswan on the river Nile.

As a widow, she travelled widely both for charity and for pleasure. She was dearly loved by her people because of her generosity to the poor, childern, women and the elderly, and, by her own husband as well. She had a big heart for everybody. Also for people outside the Shia Ismaili community. No matter what kind of religion, man or women, or even sexual oriantation, she was véry openminded, Yakymour was an open house.

Every person and every animal should be loved, we are all creations from Allah. When a person is not good for animals, he can not be good to humans’. ‘We should take care of eachother, everybody should be loved!, We are here on earth to do good, and not to harm or judge people, so lets love’….

Begum Om Habibeh ‘Mata Salamat’ Aga Khan

And that’s what she did! Beauty was not only on the outside. It came from the heart. Highly popular, Her Highness La Bégum showed great generosity throughout her life. She made many donations to schools (‘education is the most impotant thing in life after being loved’ and ‘The highest result of education is tolerance’ she always said) and hospitals. But also donations to women’s shelters, Alzheimer foundation, and… Aids foundation.

For over forty years, banquets were offered to the town’s elderly inhabitants. The Begum also ran a charitable foundation, the Om Habibeh Foundation, which tackled poverty in Aswan, Egypt. At home in Cannes, she established a home for the elderly. It was not in her nature either to forget, or to try to hide, her humble origins. In the last years of her life, she made an outstanding donation to the town, enabling it to renew its school property. Begum Om Habibeh ‘Mata Salamat’ aka Yvette Labrousse died on 1 July 2000, in Le Cannet, near Cannes, at the age of 94 years, and is buried alongside to her beloved husband at the Aga Khan’s sandstone mausoleum in Aswan in whose design she was closely involved.

The family’s historic connections with Egypt go back to the Aga Khan’s ancestor, the Fatimid Caliph-Imam al Mui’zz who founded the city of Cairo in the 10th century.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is currently engaged in an extensive range of cultural, social and urban development projects on the edge of the historic city . They encompass: the creation of the 33-hectare Azhar Park that will be the city’s largest green space; community leisure and recreational areas; rehabilitation of the 12th Century Ayyubid Wall; restoration for re-use of selected historic buildings and monuments; and social development projects that include the provision of microfinance and microenterprise support in the Darb al Ahmar district.

The Aga Khan’s visit to Egypt comes at the end of an extensive tour covering Pakistan and the Middle East, including visits to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

For further information about the and the Om Habibeh Foundation, please contact:
The Information Department
Aiglemont
60270 Gouvieux, France
Téléphone: +33 3 44 58 40 00
Fax: +33 3 44 58 42 79
E-mail: amyn.ahamed@aiglemont.org
Website: www.akdn.org