Bow brooch - Rijksmuseum public domain dedication image

The shape of this brooch is known from a design that the jeweller to the French king Louis XIV made in 1663. It is a bow-knot in gold, which is enamelled and set with precious stones. Double bows were worn by the wealthiest of women. Amalia of Solms, the Dutch Stadtholder Frederick Henry’s consort, sports a brooch of this type in several portraits.