Enrica Medugno
Senior Sale Coordinator
Lot 300
A group of replicas of historic diamonds including the Koh-i-Noor in its former and current state Europe, first half of the 20th Century
22 May 2025, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £2,816 inc. premium
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Oliver White
Head of Department
A group of replicas of historic diamonds including the Koh-i-Noor in its former and current state
Europe, first half of the 20th Century
Europe, first half of the 20th Century
comprising fifteen glass diamond replicas, each with printed label with title and carat weight of the original, in fitted case
the case 28.9 x 21 x 4.4 cm.
the case 28.9 x 21 x 4.4 cm.
Footnotes
The replicas include the Grand-Mogul, Orloff, Regent, Florentine, South Star, Koh-i-noor (old cut), Koh-i-noor (new cut), The Shah, Piggot, Nassack, Sancy, Pasha of Egypt, Blue Diamond and the Eureka.
Replica gem sets of this kind were created for diamond promotion purposes and for gemmological education. The present set contains a replica of the famous Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light) diamond. The stone is known to have been in the possession of Shah Jahan, where it was set into his Peacock Throne. The name is said to have been given to the stone by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah after he captured Delhi in 1739, and it came to symbolise supreme power in the region. Maharaja Ranjit Singh wore the stone in his turban, and later as a bazuband, and it came into the possession of his son, Duleep Singh, after his death. Following the Punjab being proclaimed part of the British Empire in 1849, and the Treaty of Lahore, the Koh-i-Noor was surrendered to Queen Victoria, after which time it was re-cut by Prince Albert, resulting in the loss of forty per cent of the stone's weight. Both the original and the re-cut versions of the diamond are replicated in this set. For further discussion on the stone, see D. Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London, 2018, p. 235.
For similar replica gem sets sold in these rooms, see Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 25 October 2021, lot 336, and India in Art, 7 June 2022, lot 86.