The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Quebec City will open an exhibition this week featuring a remarkable cache of Habsburg family jewellery that the family says was secreted in the province during the Second World War. The collection, long presumed lost, includes a pale yellow diamond described as about the size of a quail’s egg, a watch reportedly worn by Marie Antoinette, and a range of rubies and emeralds associated with imperial regalia.
From imperial courts to a Quebec vault
According to the family, the jewels were taken from Europe at the outset of the war by Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, who sheltered in Canada with her children. Her grandchildren revealed last year that the heirlooms had been held in a vault in Quebec for more than eight decades, a fact that transforms what had been an object of legend into a public exhibition in the very province where the family sought refuge.
What will be shown and why here
The museum will display a range of pieces that the family describes as having adorned historical figures, including Medici family members, and which travelled through the turbulent dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The family said it chose the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec to exhibit the collection as an expression of gratitude to the province and country that sheltered Zita and her children during the war.
“Showing these jewels at the Musée is an expression of profound gratitude to Québec and Canada for welcoming and sheltering my grandmother and her eight children during World War II,” Karl von Habsburg said in a statement.
Ownership questions and stewardship
While the exhibition proceeds in Quebec City, legal questions remain unresolved. The Austrian government is awaiting the results of a commission set up to study the legal ownership of the jewels and whether the modern Austrian state has a claim to items that once belonged to the imperial family. The family has taken steps to place the remaining collection in a Canadian trust, naming Andrew Molson as trustee.
- Provenance study: The family engaged historian Richard Bassett to research the collection’s provenance.
- Trust arrangement: The jewels that remain were placed in a Canadian trust with Andrew Molson as trustee.
- Exhibition venue: Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City — opening Friday.
Local resonance and broader implications
The decision to mount the exhibition in Quebec City is laden with local resonance. Quebec served as a sanctuary for Zita and her children when they fled wartime Europe, and the museum show brings that chapter of history back into public view. For residents and visitors, the exhibition will be an opportunity to see objects with deep European dynastic associations in the city that provided shelter to the family.
The display also sits at the intersection of culture, heritage and diplomacy. Any finding by Austria’s commission that the state has a legal claim could lead to further negotiations or legal action, but for now the jewels will be publicly accessible in Quebec City while those processes continue.
| Item | Noted detail |
|---|---|
| Pale yellow diamond | Described as about the size of a quail’s egg |
| Watch | Reportedly worn by Marie Antoinette |
| Rubies and emeralds | Described as suitable for coronation |
As the exhibition opens, Quebec City residents will be able to see items that trace a path from imperial Europe to this provincial capital. The event is both a cultural highlight for the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and a reminder of a wartime history that linked a royal family to Quebec’s shores.
