Bracelet Clasps French, 1770 Gold, Diamonds, Blue Paste The Victoria & Albert Museum |
Designed to be worn one on each wrist, these clasps provided both a practical purpose in securing the bracelets as well as a purely decorative function. This set of clasps has long been associated with Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), consort of Louis XVI of France. Made of gold and European-cut diamonds set into deep blue paste, one clasp bears the initials of Marie Antoinette while the other depicts a “trophy of love” surrounded by doves, a quiver of arrows and a hymeneal torch (so named for Hymen, the Greek god of marriage).
No comments:
Post a Comment