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| Reliquary in Crown Form ca. 1250-1300 silver-gilt panels set with rock crystal, pearls and gems Musée du Louvre |
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| L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit ca. 1740-50 diamonds and ruby mounted in silver (membership badge) Musée du Louvre |
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| Anonymous French Jeweler Dragon ca. 1600-1615 baroque pearl mounted in enameled gold Musée du Louvre |
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| Châtelaine elements acquired and assembled by several users ca. 1640-1850 gold, enamel and gems Musée du Louvre |
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| La Côte de Bretagne spinelle of 108 carats inherited by François I, 1524 carved into dragon-shape for Louis XV, 1749 Musée du Louvre |
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| Anonymous French Jeweler Brooch ca. 1830 diamonds and sapphires set in gold (restored Bourbons resetting Napoleonic gems) Musée du Louvre |
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| Anonymous Italian Jeweler Ring 16th century partly-enameled gold, cabochon sapphire Musée du Louvre |
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| Anonymous French Jeweler Mirror ca. 1630-35 rock-crystal mirror purchased by Louis XIV gold frame (partly enameled) set with cameos, hardstone panels and gems Musée du Louvre |
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| Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier Crown for Empress Eugénie 1855 gold, diamonds, emeralds, leather Musée du Louvre |
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| Paul-Nicolas Menière Pair of Bracelets 1816 rubies and diamonds mounted in gold and silver (restored Bourbons resetting Napoleonic gems) Musée du Louvre |
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| Anonymous French Jewelers Earrings of Empress Josephine ca. 1805-1810 pear-shaped pearls mounted in gold with diamonds Musée du Louvre |
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| Le Regent rough diamond mined in India in 1698 cut in London to 140 carats ca. 1704-1706 purchased by the Regent for young Louis XV in 1717 Musée du Louvre |
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| Le Sancy diamond of 55 carats cut in Paris ca. 1550-1600 purchased by Cardinal Mazarin ca. 1645 bequeathed to Louis XIV in 1661 Musée du Louvre |
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| Diamant Hortensia rose diamond of 21 carats purchased in the Netherlands ca. 1670-80 acquired by Louis XIV and inventoried 1691 Musée du Louvre |
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| Le Tessier de Montarsy Presentation Box with portrait of Louis XIV ca. 1680 enamel miniature, silver, gold, and diamonds Musée du Louvre |
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| Jacques Evrard Bapst Diadème de la duchesse d'Angoulême 1819-20 diamonds and emeralds set in silver Musée du Louvre |
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| Augustin Duflos Crown of Louis XV - made for his Coronation 1722 partly-gilt silver, embroidered satin, false stones (genuine stones sold in 1793 during the Revolution) Musée du Louvre |
I have read such perfunctory descriptions in other writers, too, even writers who are much admired. The writer seems to say to herself, I need to describe a desolate city landscape because my character is driving through it on his way somewhere else, to a more important scene. And so the writer quickly puts down the first images that come to mind, useful, appropriate images, but she does not truly enter that landscape for that moment: she does not stop to consider, in a loving manner, the exact qualities of a vacant lot or an old brick tenement that interest her. After all, she seems to say, I just need it for my character to drive through, I don't care about it.
– Lydia Davis, from Into the Weeds (Yale University Press, 2025)