Necklace
Designer Millicent Rogers
Not on view
This remarkable necklace weaves together several important strands of The Met’s permanent collections. It was designed by the Standard Oil heiress, socialite, collector, and fashion icon Millicent Rogers (1902–1953) as a gift for her close friend Natalie Paley, born Princess Natalia Pavlovna von Hohenfelsen (1905–1981), who was the daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, uncle of the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II. The style of the necklace evokes Native American jewelry of the Southwest, with which Rogers became deeply enamored after moving in the 1940s to Taos. Although unmarked, its provenance and its resemblance to a suite of silver and moonstone jewelry now owned by the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos confirms that this necklace was designed by and even possibly made by her.
