The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (German: Reichskrone) was the hoop crown (German: Bügelk
The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (German: Reichskrone) was the hoop crown (German: Bügelkrone) of the Holy Roman Emperor from the 11th century to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The crown was used in the coronation of the King of the Romans, the title assumed by the Emperor-elect immediately after his election. It was made in the late 10th or early 11th century. Unlike many other crowns, it has an octagonal rather than a circular shape, and is constructed from eight hinged plates. The plate in the front of the crown is surmounted by a cross, with a single arch linking it to a plate at the rear of the crown. The crown is kept in the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria.Each plate of the crown is made out of a high carat gold, around 22 carats, which gives the crown a “buttery” colour, and is studded with pearls and precious stones. The stones are not cut into facets (a technique still unknown when the crown was made), but rather polished into rounded shapes. This technique is an ancient one and gemstones like this are described as being “en cabochon”, which are still made to this day. The pearls and the stones were put into openings that were cut into the metal, and fastened with thin wires. The effect was that when the light shone in, the stones looked as if they would shine from within.The crown is decorated with 144 precious stones (including sapphires, emeralds and amethysts) (green and blue precious stones being proper to emperors in Byzantine imperial protocol) and about the same number of pearls. -- source link
Tumblr Blog : sartorialadventure.tumblr.com
#crowns#fashion#medieval fashion#medieval