![Nanette Kaula Wearing a Sévigné Brooch. By J.K. Stieler, 1829.](https://www.langantiques.com/university/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Joseph_Karl_Stieler-_Nanette_Kaula.jpg)
![Georgian Diamond and Yellow Gold Sévigné. Georgian Diamond and Yellow Gold Sévigné.](https://www.langantiques.com/university/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/Sevigne_brooch-q88k02t624s7sey89p4fm05qhovxfmfj0slewrf9fs.jpg)
![Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné by Claude Lefebvre.](https://www.langantiques.com/university/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Marquise_de_Sevigne.jpg)
A sévigné is a type of bow brooch that was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries and named for a member of the French Court of Louis XIV, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné (1626 – 1696). It was originally a flat, symmetrical ribbon bow that was worn centered low on the bodice. Later examples became more elaborate, asymmetrical and dimensional, sometimes suspending gemstones or pearls in a girandole style.
The French painter Claude Lefebvre immortalized the Marquise wearing such a sévigné in a painting that currently hangs in the Musée Carnavalet, Rue de Sévigné, Paris.
![Nanette Kaula Wearing a Sévigné Brooch. By J.K. Stieler, 1829.](https://www.langantiques.com/university/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Joseph_Karl_Stieler-_Nanette_Kaula.jpg)
![Georgian Diamond and Yellow Gold Sévigné. Georgian Diamond and Yellow Gold Sévigné.](https://www.langantiques.com/university/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/Sevigne_brooch-q88k02t624s7sey89p4fm05qhovxfmfj0slewrf9fs.jpg)
![Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné by Claude Lefebvre.](https://www.langantiques.com/university/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Marquise_de_Sevigne.jpg)