Mastery of Design: An Amethyst and Enamel Brooch, 1900

Brooch
Child & Child, 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This interesting brooch is the work of the jeweler Child and Child, and bears their mark on the reverse--two Cs. The firm was owned by Walter Child (1840-1930) and Harold Child (1848-1915)--brothers who founded their jewellery business in Seville Street, London, in 1880.
The Child brothers were celebrated for their artistic jewellery, and served patrons such as Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, Queen Mary, Empress Frederick of Prussia, and the Tsarina of Russia.

The brooch shows the popular symbol of a snake—in milti-colored enamel, set with a large amethyst and a dangling pearl.