Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Mastery of Design: The Grundy Tiara, c. 1850

Click on image for a larger size.
Tiara
Gold and Garnets
England, 1850
The British Museum



Dating to about 1850, this beautiful gold tiara is set with round and leaf-shaped cabochon garnets in the form of a half-circlet of flowers and foliage. Made in England, the tiara shows the sort of requisite ornament worn by aristocratic English ladies at important functions. Similarly, it’s wholly demonstrative of the jewelry designs of the 1850s—designs which relied on natural ornament and motifs based on the beauty of the English garden.

No comments: