On offer to the highest bidder will be eight “art deco” pieces, including a diamond and emerald necklace whose estimated value is between 140,000 and 200,000 dollars. The auction house, which will also be selling a grey pearl necklace which belonged to the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, expects the Maharani’s jewels to fetch more than 400,000 dollars (around 280,000 euros).
Christie’s tells the life story of the Malaga girl turned Indian princess in its publicity for December’s auction. The firm describes the story as so extraordinary “that it could have been written by a novelist”. In fact a number of biographies and novels have already revealed the story of this woman, who is due to be played by Penélope Cruz in the film version of Javier Moro’s novel, “Pasión India”.
Maharani Prem Kaur of Kapurthala’s marriage lasted 18 years, during which time she remained the Maharaja’s favourite. However it all came to a stormy end when, it appears, the princess had an affair with one of her stepsons, Charanjit (the son of the Maharaja and another of his wives).
Any legacy of Anita Delgado’s to have returned to her native Malaga can be found in the Museo de Artes Populares. This includes paintings, photographs and manuscripts. Her jewellery was inherited by the only son she had with the Maharajah, Ajit Singh, who sold them to the current owners.
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