Antonia's Adornment.

This piece is from Cynthia Rutledge's latest workshop, which she calls Antonia's Adornment. She gives a little history about the inspiration behind the piece as well:

The year was 1770. The Archduchess of Austria, Maria Antonia, stepped off of the royal barge to begin her new life in France. Her new name from this day forward will be Marie Antoinette.

Most people today remember Marie Antoinette’s demise, but otherwise know very little about her. For instance, she never said, “If they have no bread, then let them eat cake”. That remark was by another Queen of France, the wife of Louis XIV, not Louis XVI. A 100-year difference in time!

Known to family and friends as “Antonia”, she was renowned at court for her marvelous taste in clothing, adornments and decorating. She raised the bar of style to a new level, from jewel-encrusted garments, to beautiful garden designs. In a time when the Nobility and Gentry of Europe vied with each other for every luxury and extravagance, the Court Jewelers and Embroiderer’s were kept busy with the desires of the wealthy.

Antonia’s Adornment is reminiscent of the glorious gem encrusted trims that were handmade to adorn men’s waistcoats, frock coats and ladies gowns.

Most of the time I purchase kits from Cynthia because we have similar tastes in color palettes. I think the colors in this particular kit are perfect for the time period.

It was great fun to work on. I'm trying to decide if I want to do another one in my own colors. The kit was just for the bracelet, but I had enough materials left over to create a pair of earrings.

My mom and my cousin Amy both made this also. I'll try to get photos of theirs to share. They both have different colors than mine. My mom also bought a kit in other colors and I'm working on that one right now for her.