Besouros, jóias e África

Lady Granville's beetle parure

1884-1885

"Parure of tiara, necklace and earrings formed of dried South American weevils (lamprocyphus augustus) with iridescent green wing cases, mounted in gold in the Egyptian taste with lotus motifs."

"The following text is from J. Rudoe, 'Brazilian Beetles', British Museum Magazine, Auturmn 2017, pp. 50-51:

(...) In 1884, Lord Granville (George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, 1815–91), as Foreign Secretary, concluded the Anglo-Portuguese trade treaty regarding the Congo River basin. According to family tradition, the Portuguese ambassador wished to mark the treaty by presenting a piece of beetle jewellery to Lady Granville (Castalia Rosalind, Countess Granville, 1847–1938). Lord Granville refused this offer, presumably fearing it could be seen as bribery, but permitted his wife to accept the beetles, which he then had mounted for her. He chose the London jewellers Phillips Brothers & Son, known for their recreations of historic jewels and archaeological discoveries. The original case bears their name inside the lid.

(...)

Moreover, the Anglo-Portuguese treaty is a potent reminder of the shifting claims and loyalties in the scramble for Africa. The treaty, agreed in February 1884, granted exclusive navigation rights on the Congo River to Britain in exchange for British guarantees of Portugal’s control over the mouth of the Congo River, thereby closing off the vast interior of Central Africa to trade from other European states and giving Portugal a corridor between Mozambique and Angola. The initiative had come from the British ambassador in Lisbon, Robert Morier, rather than from the Foreign Office, but Granville was attacked for betraying British interests, while the Portuguese Minister in London, Miguel Martins D’Antas (1821–1910), was accused in Lisbon of having been cajoled into a base compromise. The treaty angered all the other major European powers. It prompted the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, and was abandoned by June 1884, before the conference began. Against this background, a gift of native Brazilian beetles from Portugal’s former colony would have had added resonance as a token of gratitude for securing such advantages for Portugal in Africa." daqui