The Express.
London, England, 1863-04-15 00:00:00

These wedding presents are exhibited in the new
north court of the Kensington Munn), which is a
spacious and lofty building, 110 feet square, and
upwards of 50 feet high. This court was built, it
will be remembered, for the purpose of exhibiting
works of art, especially sculpture sad moommental
objects of Italian origin, which were originally de-
signed to be placed in the open air. The arrange-
ment of objects in this court during the Interns-
howl Exhibition was temporary and provisional,
, but the present oceselon, we are told, has been
taken advantage of "to armies the oourt to some ,
extent according to the original intention, which
was to provide a covered space with light as nearly
as possible like that of the open air, so as to produce
a general effect similar to that of an Italian corals
open to the sky, and surrounded by cloisters in sab-
deed light." In the centre of theocrat as is electro-
cuting of the rashly ornamented pillage,
typedholding the lofty flag masts in front of St. Mark's,
at Venice, the masts at the Museum being however ,
only 50 feet high, or little more than one-third the
height of the original. The rich and varied designs
of the supporting pillars are however perfectly re-
produced. These masts bear the silken banners of
the Prince and Primers, the one being crowned
with the white elephant of Denmark and the other
with the lion of England. The wedding presents
are arranged under these columns in the centre of
the court, and in a kind of square enclosure. A large
case is placed at each angle of this enclosure, and
the path for visitors (carefully railed in) is made
to travel round the cams, so as to give a full view
of all they contain, and at the same time to prevent
the crushing, collision, and confusion that would
almost inevitably result had any large open space
been left in the neighbourhood of the twee. With
regard to the general arrangement of the presents
in the oases, it may be said thst the two fist cases
as you enter are filled with the jewels ted to
the Princess by her relatives and friends, as well as
by the corporation ot London, and the ladies of other
towns in the Unitod•Kisgdom. llee two other cases,
which are of course considerably larger' contain
the silver plate, porcelain, textile fabrics, and mie-
oellaneous presents given to the Prince and Princess?
Of the jewels, the first place is due to the pearl
and diamond necklace presented to the Prime
Alexandra by the Prince of Wales, and which
formed part of her bridal dram TIM nesklaee is
formed of eight circular clusters of Million* with
a large and beautifully shaped pearl in the mats*
.of each. The clusters are connected by festoons of
diamonds, while from each of the three prineiped
clusters is suspended an exquisitely pear-shaped
pearl. The design and general arrangement of
them 'magnificent ornaments is perfect, the rich
ascot of central light and lustre being combined
with exquisite lightness and grace of form, while
the stones and pearls are, both in size and shape,
of the very rarest beauty. There are, in fact, no
such perfectly shaped pearls in the collection, and
but few in existence, as some of those in
this brooch and necklace. The central pearl of
the brooch, perfectly round and very large, is alone
worth eight hundred guineas, and the pear-shaped
pearls suspended from the centre of the necklace
are equally perfect and equally rare. Amongst
the other presents of the Prince of Wales to his
bride are a splendid diadem of brilliants, the circlet
formed of two rows, with ten large brilliants
equidistant. The design of the diadem is ex-
tremely rich and beautiful, and the various gimes
of which it consists are made so as to form
ornaments at pleasure. Another gift of the
is a gold necklace with Etruscan ornaments, which
is well worth looking at, for the antique simplicity
of the design as well as for the fineness of the
work. Next to the Prince's gifts are those of the
Queen ; and perhaps first amongst them for beauty
may be placed one given in the names of his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort and the Queen, from'
designs of his Royal Highness—a parure of
opals and brilliants, consisting of three frig-.
c
es, brooches, a pair of earrings, a cross,
and a bracelet. The opals in these beautifully de-
signed ornaments are remarkable not only for their
size but for their exquisite purity, and the contrast
of these lustrous tinted stoues with the brilliants is
peculiarly chaste and lovely, the dazzling brightness
of the diamond blending with the softened lustre of
the pale pearl-tinted opal. Another present of the'
Queen to the Princess well worth notice is a suite
of Indian ornaments of pearls, emeralds, and
diampnds. These ornaments include a corsage,
a pair of bracelets, and an armlet, the stones of
which are remarkably tine. Amongst the present
by other members of the royal family are a handl- 1
ful bracelet of turquoises and brilliants, by their
Royal Highnesses the Prince and Prim:card Hesse;
an oval brilliant pendent, having in the centre five
sapphires in the form of a cross (the sapphires re-
markably fine), by the younger princes and prin-
cesses of the royal household : a most elegant
dower-pattern diamond brooch, with emeralds
forming the centre of the flowers and buds,
by her Royal Highness the Duchess of
bridge ; a gold bracelet with diamond
clasp, by the Princess Mary ; a most effective
broad gold bracelet with a brilliant diamond plume
on a dark ground of blue enamel, by the Duke of
Cambridge. Amongst the gifts by the Danish
friends and natives of the bride, that of the King
of Denmark undoubtedly comes first. It is • en-
perb necklace of pearls and diamonds, in five divi-
sions, with festoons of pearls, connecting ornaments
of gold with a large brilliant in the centre of each.
The centre of the necklace is formed of scrollwork
in diamonds, with one round and two large pear-
shaped pearls, and suspended from it is the far
simile of the Cross of Dagmar, executed in enamel,
ornamented with pearls and diamonds. The style
of the necklace is Byzantine, the original of the
celebrated Cross of Dagmar being a beautiful
specimen of early Byzantine gold enamel work, as
early we believe as the twelfth century. Other
relatives of the bride present rich golden ornaments,
diadems, necklaces, and bracelets of the old Scandi-
navian and Danish type. The gold ornaments
of ancient design include some fine specimens of
filigree work. Amongst the gifts of friends is the
beautiful and ingenious present of the bridesmaids,
which claims special notice. The bracelet is in
eight compartments, each containing a por-
trait of a bridesmaid, with her initials
in diamonds on a garter blue enamel cover.
Of collective gifts the magnificent diamond meek-
Laos presented by the corporation of London stands
deservedly first. It consists of thirty-two brilliants,
all of them magnificent stones, beautifully gra-
duated in size, the centre one being of unusual
size, and worth upwards of two hundred
guineas. The opal and diamond breed* pre;
ranted by the ladies of Manchester and
Leeds are extremely beautiful, as also are
the bouquet-holders presented by the ladies