Gifts of Grandeur: King George V’s Cigarette Case

Cigarette Case
Before 1896
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Alexandra’s famed good taste extended to the gifts that she gave to her friends and family. Take this cigarette case for example. This was a gift from Queen Alexandra to her son, The Duke of York (later King George V) and his wife, Mary of Teck.

King George V was a longtime smoker. Even Queen Mary was known to take a puff or two—especially later in life. Cigarette smoking was quite fashionable by the Nineteenth Century, and, of course, was also a good excuse to collect a good many handsome items which only made smoking more glamorous. Chief among smoking related objects was the cigarette case.

Fabergé perfected the art of producing cigarette cases and created cases which ranged rom the simplest styles to the most elaborate gold and enamelled versions. Cases by Fabergé feautured concealed hinges, smooth edges and jewelled push pieces. These details made them the poshest accessory of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

This particular case of gold, brilliant diamonds, cabochon sapphires was designed by Eduard Schramm for Fabergé. The goldwork is rendered in a technique known as samorodok (gold nugget), in which the plate metal is brought almost to a melting point and then removed quickly from the furnace. This causes rapid shrinking which creates a crumpled appearance. 

Gifts of Grandeur: A Platinum and Diamond Bow Brooch, 1930-1940

Brooch
Platinum and Diamonds
1930-1940
The Victoria and Albert Museum

If Jack Ketch used this knot as his noose, more people would rush to be hanged. In another superb example of antique jewelry from the V&A, we see this diamond and platinum bow brooch made between 1930 and 1940. 

The brooch features pavé-set brilliant-cut which create the ribbon-y loops of the bow. The knot itself is crafted from baguette-cut stones which are repeated in the tails of the bow. Black onyx—a frequent medium in Art Deco jewelry—outlines the piece and gives it added weight and depth.

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.

Unusual Artifacts: A Musical Automaton Snuffbox, 1786

The Victoria & Albert Museum

With the popularity of lavish snuffboxes as collectibles for the elite of the Eighteenth Century, it was only natural that luxurious novelty examples of these jeweled and gold creations would crop up.  Musical boxes and boxes with automata became popular in France and England in the late Eighteenth Century. In London, this phenomenon was described by Horace Walpole writing to Mary Berry in 1791:

"I should tell you that I have been at Sir Joseph Banks's literary saturnalia, where was a Parisian watchmaker who produced the smallest automaton that I suppose was ever created. It was a rich snuffbox, not too large for a woman. On opening the lid, an enamelled bird started up, sat on the rim, turned round, fluttered its wings and piped in a delightful tone the notes of different birds, particularly the jug, jug of the nightingale. It is the prettiest plaything you ever saw- the price tempting- only five hundred pounds'.

Let’s take a look at one—an example of colored gold showing, on the top, a scene of amorous couples in a landscape between a castle and a cliff.  Here, when the key is wound on the front of this box, a ship in full sail moves across the open sea. A button hidden on the front of the box activates a four-bell musical carillon. The movement was imported from Geneva, and the French case is marked for the maker Joseph-Etienne Blerzy, 1786.  

Unusual Artifacts: A Musical Automaton Snuffbox, 1786

The Victoria & Albert Museum

With the popularity of lavish snuffboxes as collectibles for the elite of the Eighteenth Century, it was only natural that luxurious novelty examples of these jeweled and gold creations would crop up.  Musical boxes and boxes with automata became popular in France and England in the late Eighteenth Century. In London, this phenomenon was described by Horace Walpole writing to Mary Berry in 1791:

"I should tell you that I have been at Sir Joseph Banks's literary saturnalia, where was a Parisian watchmaker who produced the smallest automaton that I suppose was ever created. It was a rich snuffbox, not too large for a woman. On opening the lid, an enamelled bird started up, sat on the rim, turned round, fluttered its wings and piped in a delightful tone the notes of different birds, particularly the jug, jug of the nightingale. It is the prettiest plaything you ever saw- the price tempting- only five hundred pounds'.

Let’s take a look at one—an example of colored gold showing, on the top, a scene of amorous couples in a landscape between a castle and a cliff.  Here, when the key is wound on the front of this box, a ship in full sail moves across the open sea. A button hidden on the front of the box activates a four-bell musical carillon. The movement was imported from Geneva, and the French case is marked for the maker Joseph-Etienne Blerzy, 1786.  

Scrap of the Day: The Music Hall Masher, 1890

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome scrap from 1890 was colored by hand and depicts a blonde female music hall performer, dressed in masculine garb--wearing a small grey bowler hat, and a monocle in her left eye. She is smoking a cigarette and holding a cane by her face. The scrap is titled “Pantomime Masher” and was printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.

The woman depicted here is the celebrated music hall male impersonator Vesta Tilley.

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.

Mastery of Design: King George V’s Cigarette Case

Cigarette Case
Before 1896
The Royal Collection

Queen Alexandra’s famed good taste extended to the gifts that she gave to her friends and family. Take this cigarette case for example. This was a gift from Queen Alexandra to her son, The Duke of York (later King George V) and his wife, Mary of Teck.

King George V was a longtime smoker. Even Queen Mary was known to take a puff or two—especially later in life. Cigarette smoking was quite fashionable by the Nineteenth Century, and, of course, was also a good excuse to collect a good many handsome items which only made smoking more glamorous. Chief among smoking related objects was the cigarette case.

Fabergé perfected the art of producing cigarette cases and created cases which ranged rom the simplest styles to the most elaborate gold and enamelled versions. Cases by Fabergé feautured concealed hinges, smooth edges and jewelled push pieces. These details made them the poshest accessory of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

This particular case of gold, brilliant diamonds, cabochon sapphires was designed by Eduard Schramm for Fabergé. The goldwork is rendered in a technique known as samorodok (gold nugget), in which the plate metal is brought almost to a melting point and then removed quickly from the furnace. This causes rapid shrinking which creates a crumpled appearance.

Mastery of Design: The Parisian Basket of Flowers Brooch, 1830

Basket of Flowers Brooch
French, 1830
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Today’s sparkler comes from Paris and dates to about 1830. The work of an unknown maker, this brooch of gold, emerald, turquoises and topazes is in the form of a stylised basket of flowers—a popular subject for jewelry at the time.


Jewels of the 1830s often relied on natural themes. According to the V&A, “a love of nature was one of the most universal and respected sentiments in the 19th century.” This reliance on nature was one of the cornerstones of the Romantic Movement and stemmed from the revival of the Rococo style, which had developed earlier in the period.

Around this time, these jewels offered very precise copies of the flowers, leaves, fruit and insects that they depicted and gave rise to substantial, brilliant and complex compositions. While this example is more stylized than those created later in the Nineteenth Century, we can see the development of the realism that would soon take hold. And certainly the beginnings of the experiments with colorful stones is quite evident.

Gifts of Grandeur: A Platinum and Diamond Bow Brooch, 1930-1940

Brooch
Platinum and Diamonds
1930-1940
The Victoria and Albert Museum

If Jack Ketch used this knot as his noose, more people would rush to be hanged. In another superb example of antique jewelry from the V&A, we see this diamond and platinum bow brooch made between 1930 and 1940.
The brooch features pavé-set brilliant-cut which create the ribbon-y loops of the bow. The knot itself is crafted from baguette-cut stones which are repeated in the tails of the bow. Black onyx—a frequent medium in Art Deco jewelry—outlines the piece and gives it added weight and depth.

Masterpiece of the Week: A Giardinetti Ring, 1730-60

Giardinetti Ring
Rubies, Diamonds, Emeralds, Gold, Silver
1730-1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Jewelry design of the early to mid Eighteen Century, especially in France and England, often featured floral designs known as “giardinetti” (little gardens). Rings set with bejeweled blossoms were quite the fashion.


This darling ring of rubies, rose-cut diamonds and emeralds set in silver and gold is a perfect example of the “giardinetti” rings. Made between 1730-1760, this ring is the epitome of Eighteenth-Century English design.