Emperors Gallery

The Re-cut Koh-i-noor Diamond, 1852

Engraving of the re-cut Koh-i-noor ('mountain of light') diamond, 1852. Previously owned by the Mogul emperors, the Persian Shahs and Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, it was presented to Queen Victoria by the East India Company in 1850. The diamond was displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851, where various experts felt it displayed insufficient fire. It was decided therefore to recut the stone. This was undertaken by Guillaume Coster, over 38 days, in 1852 to produce a round diamond of 108 carats (shown in the image). In 1937 the diamond was placed in a crown to be worn by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at the Coronation of King George VI. The crown and diamond now reside at the Tower of London

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10219047

Shoes, boots and sandals of ancient Rome

Shoes, boots and sandals of ancient Rome. Cothurnus boot 1, rustic sandal 2, open-toe shoe 3, centurion's sandal 4, spiked sandal for marching 5, nailed sandal sole 6, shoe sandal 7, emperor's boot 8, ornamented open-toe boot 9, and Dacian boot 10. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from J. Sparkes Hall's Book of the Feet, HIstory of Boots and Shoes, New York, 1847. Date:

© Florilegius/Mary Evans

The emperor's eldest son with his wife

The emperor's eldest son smoking a tobacco pipe with his wife playing the pipa and her attendant in the gardens of the Old Summer Palace, Yuanming Yuan. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Andrea Freschi after Antoine Cardon from Henri-Leonard-Jean-Baptiste Bertin and Jean Baptiste Joseph Breton's China, Its Costumes, Arts, Manufactures, etc., Howlett and Brimmer, London, 1824. Date:

© Florilegius/Mary Evans