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Bid 3 - Withdrawn

Duke Arthur O'Flaherty

The Artist has withdrawn his bid

Greetings to the Crown, Seneschal, officers and populous of the Kingdom of the West, It is my pleasure to propose for your consideration the following for the construction of new crowns to be worn by the Western Royals and subsequent heirs for years to come. It is my belief that coronets in regalia must meet four basic requirements, adjustability in size, durability, ease of care and an appearance that makes the identity of the wearer beyond question.

To meet the first requirement I will construct a set of coronets out of a set of four panels hinged together between with three sets of rear plates that can be easily swapped out to adjust the size of the coronet from 22.5” to 24.5” in circumference. This is a typical range of head sizes in my experience. See the figure below for a images of my previous projects of this sort.

 

The hinged body of the coronet has the added advantage of being able to settle upon the wearer’s head comfortably without bending and consequent damaging to the crown. If this does not appeal to the populous then the same can be achieved with a cornet that is solid save the rear plate which can be removed and replaced to size the piece as seen below.

 

 

Addressing the second and third, for hinges I will use a type that is extruded brass, this means that the barrel of the hinge is a solid tube rather than the standard rolled and unfortunately weaker type. The crowns will be constructed so that they may be disassembled for cleaning and made of materials that are easily polished with no danger to the piece unless handled very roughly.

Below is a first draft image to consider.

 

To address that final requirement, the Body of the coronet should be brass which is gold in color just as the Kingdoms device and gives a good appearance when polished. The front panel will be the Kingdom Device displayed over a field of the traditional crown in that device. The other panels (side panels and rear, one of each size for each crown) will be the populous badge of a demi-sun over the same field. Each panel will be surmounted by oak leaves in nickel silver as a nod to the silver crowns for which the West is so commonly recognized. If desired the queen’s crown could be surmounted by a Tudor rose as shown below.

 

The spheroids at the four low points will be a green stone bead such as Jade or Malachite mounted upon the hinge pin and removable. In this way the crowns can easily be disassembled during cleaning and replaced without stress on the pin. Replacement beads and pins will be provided. See the North Shield crowns below for an image of a similar set of finished crowns.

 

For travel purposes I will provide a hard case with foam insert to ensure that the crowns are stored and carried in the most secure manor. I will also provide repair and maintenance as required for a period of five years at a reasonable rate for time and materials.