Mastery of Design: The Froment Maurice Brooch, 1855

Brooch/Pendant
1855, French
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This enamelled gold brooch is set with a brilliant-cut diamond, garnets, emeralds, rubies and an amethyst drop and hung with green glass beads and pearls. This is the perfect example of the ornate style which was in vogue in the mid-Nineteenth Century.


Designed so that it can also be worn as a pendant, this brooch bears the mark of an unknown maker who was presumably a freelancer employed by the Froment-Meurice firm. It was shown by François-Désiré, Froment-Meurice's widow, at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1855. The Victoria & Albert Museum purchased the item directly from the Exhibition.