Sotheby’s Selling Jewelry That Belonged to a Bulgarian Tsar

Geneva—As part of its Royal & Noble Jewels sale in Geneva next month, Sotheby’s will auction a collection of jewels that once belonged to Ferdinand I, the first king of modern Bulgaria.

“A Tsar’s Treasure: Ferdinand of Bulgaria (1861-1948),” will feature 114 lots that span a century and were part of the history of the family of Tsar Ferdinand of Saxe-Coborg-Gotha.

These pieces, which have not been seen publicly in nearly 100 years, are making their debut at auction, where the collection is estimated to fetch $1.2 million to $1.8 million. 

The offering comprises Tsar Ferdinand’s personal jewels and heirlooms from his mother, as well as pieces passed down through members of his immediate lineage and pieces made for his children. 

His personal items “gloriously elevate” typically masculine and practical personal items, like cufflinks and cigarette cases, into works of art, the auction house said.

According to queer history education platform Making Queer History, the tsar was a “boldly effeminate bisexual ruler” who had a passion for opulent fashion.

“Around his neck, Ferdinand wore a gem-encrusted cross on a silver chain, and was mocked across Europe for being the leading monarch in history to cram the most jeweled pins, metals, and brooches on his tunic to a point where Kaiser Wilhelm II once described Ferdinand as ‘festooned with decorations like a Christmas tree,’” the site says.

The piece expected to be the sale’s top lot is a yellow gold tie pin with a fleur-de-lis motif set with a 2.08-carat pear-shaped fancy gray-blue diamond and four other colored diamonds.

The piece, made in the early 20th century, is estimated to sell for $500,000 to $700,000.

The jewelry auction, said by Sotheby’s to have a “distinct, sophisticated, and international nature,” also features pieces by several Austro-Hungarian jewelers, as well as the leading jewelers of that time, such as Bapst, Eugène Fontenay, Froment-Meurice, and Castellani.

A colored gemstone and diamond bracelet by Eugène Fontenay is estimated to sell for $40,000 to $60,000.

Tsar Ferdinand’s eldest daughter, Princess Eudoxia of Bulgaria (1898-1985), owned the bracelet. 

It was passed down from her mother (the ruler’s first wife), Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Consort of Bulgaria (1870-1899), who likely inherited the piece from her mother, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Parma (1849-1882).

While the pieces exemplify the importance of high jewelry for the most prominent European royal houses across the 19th and early 20th centuries, they are also a testimony to the tsar’s “exquisite taste,” said Sotheby’s.

His sense was likely inspired by his mother, Princess Clementine of Orleans (1817-1907), who was an avid jewelry collector.

A ruby, sapphire, and diamond bracelet, attributed to Bapst circa 1880, from her collection is also on offer. 

It is estimated to sell for $30,000 to $50,000. 

The sale also features tiaras, brooches, bracelets, and objects of vertu, Sotheby’s said, together reflecting a century of evolution in tastes and designs created for the most influential ruling families in Central Europe from the mid-19th century forward.  

 
Ferdinand I was elected prince of Bulgaria in 1887, and in 1908, he assumed the title of Tsar after Bulgaria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. 

He abdicated the throne in 1918 and left for Coburg, Germany, where he lived until his death in 1948.

This past summer, his remains were repatriated to Bulgaria. 

While his youngest child Princess Nadejda already was in Germany, Ferdinand’s remaining family endured the Red Army’s invasion of Bulgaria in the 1940s. 

His two sons, including his successor Tsar Boris III, died during the war, leaving only Princess Eudoxia, who was being held prisoner in her home.

When the invaders allowed her a chance to leave the country, she escaped to Germany, taking with her bags of the family’s jewels, which were deposited into a bank vault in 1946.

The tucked away jewels were rediscovered last year and, in November 2023, were offered in the largest collection of imperial and royal jewelry ever put up for auction at Sotheby’s white-glove sale of “Vienna 1900: An Imperial and Royal Collection.”

This upcoming sale is an extension of that story.

A diamond bandeau that Princess Nadejda wore in her wedding is on offer, estimated to sell for $80,000 to $120,000. 

The tiara likely was created by Viennese jeweler Rothe & Neffe for her mother, Sotheby’s said.

Another highlight is Princess Eudoxia’s diamond rivière necklace, which has a pre-sale estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.

She inherited the late 19th-century piece from her mother, Princess Marie Louise.

When Princess Marie Louise married Ferdinand I in 1893, her father Robert, Duke of Parma (1848-1907), gave her two rows of diamonds as a wedding gift, and this necklace likely contains one of the rows, according to Sotheby’s. 

To bring this collection to auction, Sotheby’s collaborated with the Philipp Württemberg Art Advisory GmbH, which also worked with the auction house on “Vienna 1900: An Imperial and Royal Collection.”

Founder Philipp Württemberg said, “This collection of jewels has never left the family of Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria. It is a very intimate ensemble. Some pieces belonged to Tsar Ferdinand’s wife or mother, but many of others show his personal choice and taste, like the fabulous colored diamond pin or the extraordinary collection of cufflinks.”

Sotheby’s said the offering is among the most important collections of royal and noble jewels from the courts of Central Europe ever to come to auction.

“‘A Tsar’s Treasure: Ferdinand of Bulgaria’ is a unique continuation of ‘Vienna 1900: An Imperial and Royal Collection,’ offering us a privileged glimpse into the tsar’s refined lifestyle, comprising jewels and objects that were illustrative of his personal life,” said Andres White Correal, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry Europe and Middle East and head of Noble Jewels.

“His collection is a confluence of the most prominent Central European Royal families’ passion for extraordinary objects. Here, excellence, taste and superlative craftsmanship are the common thread. It is an honor for Sotheby’s Royal and Noble Jewels to bring such bring such a rare collection to the market for the first time.”

Sotheby’s Royal & Noble Jewels sale will take place Nov. 13 at the Mandarin Oriental during Sotheby’s Luxury Week in Geneva.

Prior to the auction, “A Tsar’s Treasure: Ferdinand of Bulgaria,” along with a rare 18th-century diamond necklace also on offer, will be exhibited at Sotheby’s locations around the world, starting with New York on Oct. 9-10, followed by Singapore, Taipei, London, and Dubai.