Tiara

High Crowns of the Ancient World

The tiara began as a crown of rulers, and its oldest form is a tall one. The word comes from Persian tara, adopted in Latin as tiara, and traditionally it refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of some ancient peoples in Mesopotamia. Fabric or leather, rather than solid metal, formed the body of these crowns, with ornament carrying the display, a construction that makes the ancient tiara closer to a magnificent cap of state than to the metal crowns later ages picture. Regional forms added their own symbols. The Assyrians used to include a pair of bull horns as a decoration and symbol of authority, and a circle of short feathers surrounding the tiara's top.

The Persian form moved in a different direction. The Persian tiara was more similar to a truncated cone, without the horns and feathers but more jewels, and a conic-shaped tip at its top. Comparing the two shows how one crown type expressed authority in local languages of ornament: Assyrian horns and feathers proclaiming power through emblems of strength, Persian jewels and a pointed tip proclaiming it through richness and height. In the Roman Catholic Church the tall tradition continued in a famous form of its own. The Papal Tiara is a high cap surrounded by three crowns and bearing a globe surmounted by a cross, worn by the Pope during certain ceremonies, being the symbol of his authority. That layered form, three crowns around one cap, made the tiara's meaning explicit, and its retirement was equally deliberate: since Pope Paul VI set aside his tiara after the Second Vatican Council, the Papal Tiara has not been worn, and Pope Benedict XVI even removed the tiara from his coat of arms, replacing it with a mitre, though some symbolic reference to the tiara's symbolism is still in use in the Holy See's coat of arms.

The Modern Tiara: Adornment, Not Rank

The modern tiara keeps the name and the jewelled display while changing almost everything else. In modern times a tiara is generally a semi-circular band, often metal-made and decorated with jewels, which is worn as a form of adornment and not as a symbol of rank. It is worn by women around their head or on the forehead as a circlet, sitting in front of the hair rather than covering the head like the ancient high crowns. That shift, from sovereign authority to personal adornment, explains all of its modern occasions. Tiaras are frequently used to crown the winners of beauty pageants, borrowing the crown idea for an evening's honour. They are also sometimes worn by the bride as part of a wedding outfit, and in some western countries a bride wears a tiara on her wedding day to help create a captivating princess look. Romantic ballets also often feature them, where a jewelled circlet completes a stage costume at a glance from the audience.

At the highest level, modern tiaras remain serious jewels with serious histories. Queen Elizabeth II is said to have the largest and most valuable collection of tiaras in the world, and she was often seen wearing them on state occasions. Her personal collection is considered priceless, received through inheritance and gifts from foreign countries, for example a diamond and aquamarine tiara she received as a present from the people of Brazil. Fiction borrows the form too: Wonder Woman is usually depicted wearing a tiara that can be thrown as a weapon, as can Sailor Moon's. The through-line across ancient Mesopotamia, the papal court, weddings and pageants is display concentrated at the head.