Mastery of Design: The Salamanca Pendant, 1800-1870

Pendant
Salamanca Spain
1800-1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

It’s not surprising, given Spain’s highly-Catholic history, that Roman Catholic imagery would be incorporated into all art forms. Many jewels made in Spain from the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries featured religious themes along with more secular designs.

This cross-shaped pendant is a good example. Made in the Salamanca region of Spain, the pendant is a great representation of the sort of filigree work which made the region famous. While the piece is dominated by the cross, it is suspended from a tulip, and this from a filigree bow—a popular fashion of the early-to-mid Nineteenth Century. Similarly, as was the style of the time, the pendant is made in three sections—each encrusted with seed and baroque pearls attached by thin gold wire. The whole was worn on a ribbon, tied around the throat.

The work of an unknown jeweler, the piece dates between 1800 and 1870.

 

Mastery of Design: A Gold and Diamond Bodice Ornament, 1700

Bodice Ornament
Spanish, 1700
Gold, Rose-Cut Diamonds
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Curling acanthus leaves form the basis of the magnificent gold bodice ornament which was held by means of two flat hooks at the top of the bodice. Over the hundred diamonds in substantial gold mounts, offer movement and sparkle to the piece. Five large rose-cut diamonds accent the front of this Spanish ornament.

The work is delicate and intricate with fine engraving on the leaves and the drums which holds the largest diamonds.

This impressive bodice ornament came from the Treasury of the Cathedral of the Virgin of the Pillar, Zaragoza among a group of jewels purchased by the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1870, when the Cathedral, in an effort to fund a building project, auctioned off treasures presented to the shrine of the Virgin.

Saturday Sparkle: A Spanish Breast Ornament, Seventeenth Century

Breast Ornament
Spain, Portugal
Seventeenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the Seventeenth Century, Spanish and Portuguese jewelers were beginning to match, and often rival, the works of the Italian, French and English jewelers whose works had long dominated the growing International market.

This can be seen in this pendant or breast ornament of three parts composed of table-cut diamonds set in scrolling, gold foliated openwork which comes from Spain about 1650-1690.

When originally produced, the ornament consisted solely of the middle section which appears to be a couple of decades earlier than the rest which was added later as styles became more ornate. Some believe that the additional work was made by a Portuguese jeweler who altered the piece after it had been exported. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament, c. 1650

Click image to see larger picture.
Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament
Spain, Seventeenth Century
The British Museum

This bodice ornament of gold is set with table-cut emeralds and diamonds. The upper section of the piece features an openwork design in a bow form incorporating foliate tendrils and volutes. This is hinged to a section which works the initial “S” in pierced openwork.

The reverse of the jewel is enameled in pink and black on a ground of white in a floral pattern.

At one point, this piece was in the collection of Dame Joan Evans, but ended up in the catalogue of the Hull Grundys who presented this as part of a large gift to the British Museum. It’s believed that the ornament has significance to a Spanish religious confraternity.

Unusual Artifacts: The Spanish Inquisition Emerald Egg, 1620-30

Pendant of Emerald and Enameled Gold
Spain 1620-1630
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s a wild bit of Seventeenth Century Spanish weirdness. It’s incredibly beautiful and made of the world’s finest materials, yet also, a startling reminder of the Spanish Inquisition.

Made in Spain around 1620 to 1630, this egg-shaped emerald drop is encased in enameled gold. The black and white cross that we see here is that of the Roman Catholic Dominican order. The enameled green cross on the back symbolizes the hope of repentance before punishment. This is flanked by an olive branch of reconciliation and a sword of punishment.

A penitent would have worn this pendant to show piety and agreement with the policies of the Inquisition in the suppression of heresy.

The Home Beautiful: The Hildburgh Inkwell, 1600-25

This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

For centuries, curators have debated about this object. What exactly is it? Most believe that it’s probably an inkwell. The top of the object has been lost, and so, its original function is uncertain. It was given to the Victoria & Albert Museum by Walter Leo Hildburgh, one of the most dedicated and generous patrons in the history of the V&A whose passion for the art of Spain and Portugal, allowed the museum to acquire the finest collection of Hispanic silver in the world. Hildburgh developed a delightful habit of giving the Museum presents at Christmas and on his own birthday. This was one of them.

The object features a round body of yellow marble with black streaks, a gilt brass lip band, and a silver cartouche with an oval center decorated with strapwork on a ground of dark blue.  A unicorn perches at the apex. It is thought to have been made between 1600-1625 in Spain. Clearly, it is damaged and missing pieces at the top. Some suggest that it might have once surmounted a clock or another more monumental base. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful object even in its current mysterious form.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Condesa de Valencia de Don Juan Armchair, 1790-1800

Armchair
Once owned by the Condesa de Valencia de Don Juan
Madrid, 1890-1890 or 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When this elaborate and intricately-made chair was first given to the V&A in 1919, it was thought to have been made in Vienna.  However, recent research into the piece has shown that it is both visually and physically close to furniture designed for the court in Madrid between about 1790 and 1795. Still, since new ideas were spreading throughout Europe with before unheard of speed in the late Eighteenth Century, it is not surprising that very similar designs were made in Vienna around 1806 by Gottfried August Pohle.

The chair has been cleverly designed to showcase a range of different wood tones and metal mounts. Take, for instance, the central star, with its high carving and the tiny carved “swags” of fabric inside the upper arch of the back. These are crafted in darker wood against the lighter mahogany of the rest of the chair. The whole of the chair, including the outlining of the legs, is made more exciting with metal fillets, and ribbed gilt-bronze plaques.  The upholstery, a complex, damask of an unusual design—which is thought to be original--even highlights the design of the chair.  Stuffed with horsehair, the curve of the seat echoes the silhouette of the chair's impressive crest.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Spanish Lion Ring Brooch, 1300-1500

Ring Brooch
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This unusual jewel comes from Spain and dates somewhere between 1300 and 1500.


A masterpiece of gold, ruby, and onyx, the ring is formed of a gold branch which has been naturalistically chased and engraved, and adorned with broad leaves, each of which curls downward into a volute. Between each set of volutes, a ruby has been set.

At the center, an onyx cameo is set, depicting shows a lion mauling another animal. Fun! The case of the roundel is edged with scrolls and open-back rubies. Only the base of the pin remains, but is evidence that the jewel was multifunctional. 

Mastery of Design: A Bejeweled Pelican in her Piety

A Pelican in Her Piety
The Royal Collection

This strange and beautiful pendant heralds from the late Seventeenth or early Eighteenth Century and is most likely Spanish or Portuguese in origin. Perched on a round base of gold and surrounded by diamond-studded foliage, the pelican has pierced her breast so that she might feed her three children. Without getting into a discussion of more practical ways a pelican could feed her children, we’ll just accept that this rather grisly image is meant to be allegorical of Christ and also representative of works of charity.


Regardless of the unusual subject matter, this pendant is a true masterpiece. The figure of the pelican and her children are rendered in beautiful white enamel with blue markings. On one of the three babies, red enamel shows where his mother’s blood has spilled upon him. The pelican’s wound is a rather sizeable ruby surrounded by diamonds. The mother’s wings are also set with diamonds, faceted much like those that surround the entire piece. The whole is topped by a diamond and black enamel cross, and is finished with five dangling pearls.

This piece entered the Royal Collection in 1872. Little is known about its origins though the gold work and design correspond to Spanish jewelry-making of the time. Today, the piece is on display as part of the Royal Collection thereby continuing to prove that piety can be found in the oddest of places.

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Order of Santiago, 18th C.

The Order of Santiago
From the Collection of Dame Joan Evans
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in the Eighteenth Century, this pendant badge represents the Order of Santiago. The spokes of the badge are set with white topaz in gold and the sword cross consists of lush garnets. 


From the collection of Dame Joan Evans, this badge is quite rare. The Order of Santiago is the senior of the four Spanish Military orders.

Mastery of Design: The Spanish Lion Ring Brooch, 1300-1500

Ring Brooch
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made to be worn to hold a cloak or tunic closed, this unusual jewel comes from Spain and dates somewhere between 1300 and 1500.


A masterpiece of gold, ruby, and onyx, the ring is formed of a gold branch which has been naturalistically chased and engraved, and adorned with broad leaves, each of which curls downward into a volute. Between each set of volutes, a ruby has been set.

At the center, an onyx cameo is set, depicting shows a lion mauling another animal. Fun! The case of the roundel is edged with scrolls and open-back rubies. Only the base of the pin remains, but is evidence that the jewel was multifunctional. 

Mastery of Design: A Gold and Diamond Bodice Ornament, 1700

Curling acanthus leaves form the basis of the magnificent gold bodice ornament which was held by means of two flat hooks at the top of the bodice. Over the hundred diamonds in substantial gold mounts, offer movement and sparkle to the piece. Five large rose-cut diamonds accent the front of this Spanish ornament. 

The work is delicate and intricate with fine engraving on the leaves and the drums which holds the largest diamonds. 

This impressive bodice ornament came from the Treasury of the Cathedral of the Virgin of the Pillar, Zaragoza among a group of jewels purchased by the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1870, when the Cathedral, in an effort to fund a building project, auctioned off treasures presented to the shrine of the Virgin.

Mastery of Design: The Grundy Bodice Ornament, c. 1650

Click image to see larger picture.
Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament
Spain, Seventeenth Century
The British Museum

This bodice ornament of gold is set with table-cut emeralds and diamonds. The upper section of the piece features an openwork design in a bow form incorporating foliate tendrils and volutes. This is hinged to a section which works the initial “S” in pierced openwork.

The reverse of the jewel is enameled in pink and black on a ground of white in a floral pattern.

At one point, this piece was in the collection of Dame Joan Evans, but ended up in the catalogue of Hull Grundy who presented this as part of a large gift to the British Museum. It’s believed that the ornament has significance to a Spanish religious confraternity.

Mastery of Design: The Salamanca Pendant, 1800-1870

Pendant
Salamanca Spain
1800-1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

It’s not surprising, given Spain’s highly-Catholic history, that Roman Catholic imagery would be incorporated into all art forms. Many jewels made in Spain from the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries featured religious themes along with more secular designs.

This cross-shaped pendant is a good example. Made in the Salamanca region of Spain, the pendant is a great representation of the sort of filigree work which made the region famous. While the piece is dominated by the cross, it is suspended from a tulip, and this from a filigree bow—a popular fashion of the early-to-mid Nineteenth Century. Similarly, as was the style of the time, the pendant is made in three sections—each encrusted with seed and baroque pearls attached by thin gold wire. The whole was worn on a ribbon, tied around the throat.

The work of an unknown jeweler, the piece dates between 1800 and 1870.

 

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Order of Santiago, 18th C.

The Order of Santiago
From the Collection of Dame Joan Evans
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in the Eighteenth Century, this pendant badge represents the Order of Santiago. The spokes of the badge are set with white topaz in gold and the sword cross consists of lush garnets. 


From the collection of Dame Joan Evans, this badge is quite rare. The Order of Santiago is the senior of the four Spanish Military orders.

Mastery of Design: The Spanish Inquisition Emerald Egg, 1620-30

Pendant of Emerald and Enameled Gold
Spain 1620-1630
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s a wild bit of Seventeenth Century Spanish weirdness.  It’s incredibly beautiful and made of the world’s finest materials, yet also, a startling reminder of the Spanish Inquisition.  

Made in Spain around 1620 to 1630, this egg-shaped emerald drop is encased in enameled gold.  The black and white cross that we see here is that of the Roman Catholic Dominican order. The enameled green cross on the back symbolizes the hope of repentance before punishment.  This is flanked by an olive branch of reconciliation and a sword of punishment.

A penitent would have worn this pendant to show piety and agreement with the policies of the Inquisition in the suppression of heresy.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Condesa de Valencia de Don Juan Armchair, 1790-1800

Armchair
Once owned by the Condesa de Valencia de Don Juan
Madrid, 1890-1890 or 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When this elaborate and intricately-made chair was first given to the V&A in 1919, it was thought to have been made in Vienna.  However, recent research into the piece has shown that it is both visually and physically close to furniture designed for the court in Madrid between about 1790 and 1795. Still, since new ideas were spreading throughout Europe with before unheard of speed in the late Eighteenth Century, it is not surprising that very similar designs were made in Vienna around 1806 by Gottfried August Pohle.

The chair has been cleverly designed to showcase a range of different wood tones and metal mounts. Take, for instance, the central star, with its high carving and the tiny carved “swags” of fabric inside the upper arch of the back.  These are crafted in darker wood against the lighter mahogany of the rest of the chair. The whole of the chair, including the outlining of the legs, is made more exciting with metal fillets, and ribbed gilt-bronze plaques.  The upholstery, a complex, damask of an unusual design—which is thought to be original--even highlights the design of the chair.  Stuffed with horsehair, the curve of the seat echoes the silhouette of the chair's impressive crest.

Mastery of Design: The Perched Parrot Pendant, 1600-50

Pendant of Gold, Rock Crystal, and Enamel
Spain, 1600-1650
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This pendant is inspired by the English tradition of  jewelry depicting “The Pelican in her Piety” wherein a jeweled pelican (with a ruby wound) is shown to have ripped open her own breast in order to feed her children.  This, however, is a variation on the theme without the overtones of martyrdom.

Here, we see an enameled gold pendant in the form of a parrot on a perch.  It is set with a table-cut foiled crystal and hung with pearls.  Made in Spain by an unknown jeweler, it dates between 1600 and 1650. 

This jewel is one of a group from the treasury of the Cathedral of the Virgin of the Pillar, Zaragoza.  The group of jewels was purchased by the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1870, when the Cathedral authorities sold off their many treasures in order to complete a construction project.

The Home Beautiful: The Hildburgh Inkwell, 1600-25

This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

For centuries, curators have debated about this object. What exactly is it? Most believe that it’s probably an inkwell. The top of the object has been lost, and so, its original function is uncertain. It was given to the Victoria & Albert Museum by Walter Leo Hildburgh, one of the most dedicated and generous patrons in the history of the V&A whose passion for the art of Spain and Portugal, allowed the museum to acquire the finest collection of Hispanic silver in the world. Hildburgh developed a delightful habit of giving the Museum presents at Christmas and on his own birthday. This was one of them.

The object features a round body of yellow marble with black streaks, a gilt brass lip band, and a silver cartouche with an oval center decorated with strapwork on a ground of dark blue.  A unicorn perches at the apex. It is thought to have been made between 1600-1625 in Spain. Clearly, it is damaged and missing pieces at the top. Some suggest that it might have once surmounted a clock or another more monumental base. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful object even in its current mysterious form.

Mastery of Design: The Saragosa Cathedral Jewel, 1740

Pendant
Spain, 1740
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Today’s shiny thing is a gold pendant set with rose-cut diamonds and a magnificent relief of the Adoration of the Magi in enamelled gold under glass. The reverse of the pendant is engraved with a monogram within a heart. It was made by an unknown Spanish jeweler in 1740.


This is one of many jewels which were formerly in the Treasury of the Cathedral of the Virgin of the Pillar, Saragossa. The group was purchased by the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1870, when the Cathedral authorities sold off many of their treasures in order to complete a building program.