Spanish Tiara

The Spanish tiara was a papal tiara given to Pope Pius IX by Queen Isabella II of Spain in 1854. Though of similar overall shape to the usual tiara, the Spanish tiara was different in that its decoration was primarily of jewels, rather than of gold inset with jewels. Its three crowns bore striking similarities in terms of design to standard tiaras worn by women, giving the tiara a distinctly feminine look. It contained 18,000 diamonds, pearls, ru... more

The Spanish tiara was a papal tiara given to Pope Pius IX by Queen Isabella II of Spain in 1854. Though of similar overall shape to the usual tiara, the Spanish tiara was different in that its decoration was primarily of jewels, rather than of gold inset with jewels. Its three crowns bore striking similarities in terms of design to standard tiaras worn by women, giving the tiara a distinctly feminine look. It contained 18,000 diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Isabella's motive for giving the tiara is not publicly recorded, but it may have been an attempt at a rapprochement between the Roman Catholic Church and Spain, since during Isabella's reign the Spanish government had dissolved Catholic religious orders including the Jesuits and seized their property. It may also have been an attempt by Isabella to win conservative Catholic support away from the rival Carlist cause and boost support for her own reign. If the intent was a rapprochement with the papacy then it... less