Unusual Artifacts: The Double-Eye Agate Pendant, Early Seventeenth Century

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Dating to the early Seventeenth Century, this German pendant of gold, enamel and double-eye agate was first recorded in the Royal Collection in 1872.

On the obverse, an oval cabochon double-eye agate is set in a gold mount with an enamel scrollwork of deep and light blue with white spots.  The double-eye agate set in this frame is not original to the piece.  A later owner of the pendant replaced the original stone which was likely a cameo.  

The pendant was found in a burial site, having been buried at some point after it's creation in the early Seventeenth Century.  It's possible that the original stone or cameo was damaged while being buried or that the original centerpiece was replaced with the double-eye agate as it was intended as an amulet to ward off "The Evil Eye" an to protect against various ailments.  Another later addition to the piece was the small loop at the bottom which would allow the suspension of another drop or pendant or to enable the piece to be sewn into a garment.

The reverse of the piece is likely unchanged from its original pre-burial form.  The back shows a central leaf-shape surrounded by scrolls in opaque dark-blue, light-blue and translucent green and red enamel.  These enamels are very weathered and pitted.  Here, the white spots on the surface aren't intentional decoration, but rather deposits of calcium carbonate which resulted from having been buried in the earth.

Despite its age and having been buried, the piece is in remarkably good condition.  The foil behind the enamels is still intact and the color of the remaining enamel is quite bright and lustrous.  

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Precious Time: Queen Victoria's Rock Crystal, Diamond and Ruby Clock, 1900

Clock
Michael Perchin
c. 1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Images Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Created by Fabergé workmaster Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1860-1903) around 1900, this desk clock of carved rock crystal is mounted with gold, silver-gilt, enamel, rose diamonds and rubies.  It was presented to Queen Victoria by Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, her granddaughter,  in 1900.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Her Majesty had a fondness for her Tsarina granddaughter.  According to the Royal Collection, "On receipt of the news of the death of Tsar Alexander III, on 1 November 1894, the Queen wrote of the new Tsar and Tsarina in her journal:

‘What a terrible load of responsibility & anxiety has been laid upon the poor Children! I had hoped and trusted they would have many years of comparative quiet & happiness before ascending this thorny throne.'"

The Queen was thrilled with this gift from the young Tsarina and appreciated its unusual, noting its difference from the majority of Fabergé’s clocks in her collection.  The others are in the form of gold strut clocks, enameled in a wide variety of colors and set with gemstones in gold. 

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

This clock, however, is crafted predominantly of rock crystal which has been engraved with trophies incorporating torches and a quiver as well as musical attributes. The rock crystal lobed panels are divided by four mounted gold arrows set with rubies and diamonds. 

White enamel forms the dial which is  surrounded by a bezel of green enamelled laurel with diamond-set ribbon ties. 

Upon the death of Queen Victoria, the clock was given to the future King George V who kept it on his desk until his own death.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Sculpture of the Day: The Sense of Smell, c. 1752

The Sense of Smell
Derby Porcelain Factory

Modeled by Agostino Carlini (1713-1790) for the Derby Porcelain Factory between 1752 and 1755, this figure group of soft-paste porcelain is gilded and painted with enamels. The group comes from a series which depicted the senses. This one represents the sense of smell and depicts a woman holding a nosegay. She looks away from a curiously-bald child on a stool. The child is reaching for a flower to add to those already clipped. 

Precious Time: Queen Victoria's Rock Crystal, Diamond and Ruby Clock, 1900

Clock
Michael Perchin
c. 1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Images Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Created by Fabergé workmaster Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1860-1903) around 1900, this desk clock of carved rock crystal is mounted with gold, silver-gilt, enamel, rose diamonds and rubies.  It was presented to Queen Victoria by Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, her granddaughter,  in 1900.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Her Majesty had a fondness for her Tsarina granddaughter.  According to the Royal Collection, "On receipt of the news of the death of Tsar Alexander III, on 1 November 1894, the Queen wrote of the new Tsar and Tsarina in her journal:

‘What a terrible load of responsibility & anxiety has been laid upon the poor Children! I had hoped and trusted they would have many years of comparative quiet & happiness before ascending this thorny throne.'"

The Queen was thrilled with this gift from the young Tsarina and appreciated its unusual, noting its difference from the majority of Fabergé’s clocks in her collection.  The others are in the form of gold strut clocks, enameled in a wide variety of colors and set with gemstones in gold. 

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

This clock, however, is crafted predominantly of rock crystal which has been engraved with trophies incorporating torches and a quiver as well as musical attributes. The rock crystal lobed panels are divided by four mounted gold arrows set with rubies and diamonds. 

White enamel forms the dial which is  surrounded by a bezel of green enamelled laurel with diamond-set ribbon ties. 

Upon the death of Queen Victoria, the clock was given to the future King George V who kept it on his desk until his own death.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Figure of the Day: Fanny Kemble, 1840

Fanny Kemble
Staffordshire, 1840
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As I’ve mentioned before, the earliest Staffordshire earthenware flatbacks depicted Queen Victoria. The popularity of these Royal portraits gave rise to portraits of notable public figures, often celebrated entertainers and actors.

This Staffordshire flatback depicts the actress Fanny Kemble and is based on an 1829 engraving by Richard J. Lane, after a drawing by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Frances “Fanny” Anne Kemble (1809-1893) was the daughter of the famed actors Maria and Charles Kemble and one of the long acting dynasty which had dominated the British stage since the late Eighteenth Century. 

Fanny made her debut on stage at the age of nineteen as “Juliet” at the Covent Garden Theatre. She found fame both in England and in the U.S. where she was married to a Philadelphia businessman.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Pendant in the Form of a Non-Working Watch, 18th Century

Pendant
Eighteenth Century
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This circular pendant is designed to look like a watch. Made by a now unknown Eighteenth-Century jeweler, the bezel is bordered by rubies spaced with white enamel spheres which simulate pearls. The obverse shows a false clock face set of gold and enamel behind glass. The reverse is adorned with a foliate pattern of green and gilt enamel. From the Collection of Lady Carnarvon, the pendant was given to the Royal Collection, I’d say, sometime in the 1930s.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Figure of the Day: The Banyan Man, 1760-1780

The Banyan Man
France, 1760-1780
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The work of The Lunéville Pottery Factory in France, this wholly Rococo figure of a standing man was made to appeal to the Eighteenth Century fascination with the exotic and the asian. The figure is dressed in a turban and a banyan, and is likely a lost member of a set of dessert figurines.

The figure was made of tin-glazed earthenware adorned with enamel colors and dates between 1760 and 1780. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Morel Snuffbox, 1819-1832

Snuffbox
Nineteenth Century
This and all images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The rustic paintings of Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger (1610-90) provided endless inspiration for enamel artists of the Nineteenth Century when Dutch and Flemish paintings were particularly fashionable. This snuffbox is an excellent example of that trend. 

From the collection of Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert, this rectangular snuffbox heralds from Paris. It consists of six enameled plaques which are painted with feast scenes. The panels are mounted in gold which is chased with shells, volutes and foliate designs. With its thumbpiece of emeralds and diamonds, it is wholly indicative of the work of Gabriel-Raoul Morel, likely made between 1810 and 1832.

Mastery of Design: A Seventeenth-Century Diamond and Sapphire Necklace

This and all related images from The British Musuem

There's some debate about where this necklace was made.  It could have come from anywhere, but France, the Netherlands, and England have been speculated.  Nonetheless, it's a safe bet that it dates to the early Seventeenth Century.

The gold necklace is comprised of thirty-five square mounts of gold containing diamonds cut in the form of a truncated pyramid and central pendant of three diamonds and an octagonal sapphire.  The reverses of these links are enameled in black and white while the back of pendant is enameled with a tulip-pattern in red, white and black.

Figure of the Day: The Young Peddlar, 1760

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This figure in soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilding depicts a young, male Jewish peddlar. A basket of bottles is slung from his shoulders and he wears a fur-lined turquoise-green jacket, striped trousers, black shoes and a fur-lined red cap.


Made in 1760, this figure is the perfect example of the kind of porcelain ornaments produced in Derby in the Eighteenth Century. From the fine modeling of the figure to the applied flowers on the base, it’s the quintessential representation of the skill of the Derby Porcelain Factory.

The subject is clearly identified as a young Jewish man by his fur-lined cap and jacket—traditional garb for English Jews in the Eighteenth Century.

Gifts of Grandeur: An Indian Turban Ornament, 1800-1850

Turban Ornament
Jaipur, 1800-1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made between 1800 and 1850, this ornament was designed to be worn on a man’s turban. It’s likely that such a fine jewel would have been made for the Maharaja of Jaipur in Rajasthan by the royal workshop. Jewelers in Jaipur have long been celebrated for their high-quality, thin enamels. 

The ornament is made in the form of a peacock—an unusual motif for the era. Some speculate that rather than for the regent, the ornament was made for a ceremonial figure of the deity Krishna whose attribute is the peacock. 

Gifts of Grandeur: Snuff box Set with a Miniature of Princess Amelia, 1811

Snuff Box, 1811
The Royal Collection
Via The Royal Collection Trust
Crown Copyright
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Princess Amelia (1783-1810), the youngest  of King George III's and Queen Charlotte's fifteen children, is popularly thought to have been the favorite of her royal father.  George was protective of all of his daughters, but especially Amelia whom he'd nick-named "Emily."  His illness and bouts of "madness" made talk of marriage, as she grew into adulthood quite difficult.  Despite this, and her own failing health, Amelia did fall in love with an equerry who was twenty-one years her senior--The Hon. Charles FitzRoy.  Though she knew she could not marry him because of the Royal Marriages Act, and knew that news of their affair would send the King into another fit of madness, Amelia pledged her love to FitzRoy and considered herself to be his.  She even privately took the initials "A.F.R." for "Amelia FitzRoy."  

Nonetheless, life didn't afford Amelia and Charles much time together.  Her health continued to fail her.  In 1808, she contracted a severe case of the measles, and, further conditions weakened her over the next year.  By August of 1810, she was constantly suffering, and by October, she knew she was dying, going so far as to commission a mourning ring for her father.  The ring of diamonds concealed a compartment of crystal which contained a lock of her hair.   

During this period, several miniature portraits were painted of the delicate princess.  These enamel portraits were used to make small items which could be used in daily life such as this handsome snuff box.  

This circular gold, ttortoiseshell and enamel snuff box in two color gold boasts an oak leaf and acorn molding.  The lid is adorned with a miniature of Princess Amelia; a half length portrait, facing slightly to left with her head half to right.  She's wearing a white dress with a drawstring at the neck, a blue sash and a gold necklace.

Mastery of Design: A Gold Box with a Bust of a Medieval Emperor, c. 1824

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Made in Vienna between 1824 and 1866, this oval, gold, hinged box boasts a lis with a cast and enameled relief bust of a medieval King/Emperor.  He's wearing a crown and a regal cloak adorned with roundels emblazoned with imperial eagles. The entire box is decorated with elaborate enamel decoration overall--scrolls, swags, and husks on a matted ground. The base is appointed with a funerary urn in relief.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The box was given to King George V, King of the United Kingdom (1865-1936) by the Earl of Iveagh on His Majesty's birthday on June 3, 1924.

Mastery of Design: The Dreyfous Rose, Circa 1900

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on image to enlarge.

Created by Dreyfous, a London jeweler once located at 128 Mount Street, this glittering masterpiece came into the Royal Collection by now unknown means.  Given their collecting habits and tastes, it's a safe bet that this figure of a lilac-pink rose was acquired by either Queen Mary, consort of King George V,  or her mother-in-law Queen Alexandra. 

The piece, made around 1900, depicts a three-dimensional rose and bud in yellow gold, and opaque enamels in graduated pinks, greens and yellows.  The enameled leaves are set with rose-cut diamond dew drops and the bloom is permanently presented in a handsome rock crystal vase.

Figure of the Day: A Chinese Incense Burner, Eighteenth Century

 

Incense Burner
Chinese
Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period
1736-1795
The Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool



From the Chinese collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool, England, comes this lovely porcelain incense burner. In the form of a rabbit atop a cloud, carrying a branch of fungus on its arched back, this vessel with its celadon glaze also features painted details in brown and sapphire blue.

The mouth and nostrils are ventilated, allowing for the smoke of the incense (which was burned inside of it) to escape and fill the air with fragrance. This object was created in the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). 

Mastery of Design: The Double-Eye Agate Pendant, Early Seventeenth Century

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Dating to the early Seventeenth Century, this German pendant of gold, enamel and double-eye agate was first recorded in the Royal Collection in 1872.

On the obverse, an oval cabochon double-eye agate is set in a gold mount with an enamel scrollwork of deep and light blue with white spots.  The double-eye agate set in this frame is not original to the piece.  A later owner of the pendant replaced the original stone which was likely a cameo.  

The pendant was found in a burial site, having been buried at some point after it's creation in the early Seventeenth Century.  It's possible that the original stone or cameo was damaged while being buried or that the original centerpiece was replaced with the double-eye agate as it was intended as an amulet to ward off "The Evil Eye" an to protect against various ailments.  Another later addition to the piece was the small loop at the bottom which would allow the suspension of another drop or pendant or to enable the piece to be sewn into a garment.

The reverse of the piece is likely unchanged from its original pre-burial form.  The back shows a central leaf-shape surrounded by scrolls in opaque dark-blue, light-blue and translucent green and red enamel.  These enamels are very weathered and pitted.  Here, the white spots on the surface aren't intentional decoration, but rather deposits of calcium carbonate which resulted from having been buried in the earth.

Despite its age and having been buried, the piece is in remarkably good condition.  The foil behind the enamels is still intact and the color of the remaining enamel is quite bright and lustrous.  

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Precious Time: Queen Charlotte's Lever Watch and Pedestal, 1770

Watch, Pair Case and Plinth
Thomas Mudge, c. 1770
Purchased by King George III for Queen Charlotte
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This gold watch case with an enamel dial fits into a plinth of tortoiseshell and gilt bronze. Both were made around 1770 by Thomas Mudge (1715-1794). The set was purchased by King George III (1738-1820) as a gift for Queen Charlotte.

This unique timepiece has been called “Perhaps the most historically important watch in the world” because of the fact that it is the earliest known example of a “lever escapement.” This advancement in clock-making, next to the creation of the balance spring, is considered the single greatest improvement to the art of watch-making. Most historians consider this particular watch the “forerunner” of the modern wrist and pocket watch. The watch is also important because it contained the earliest known example of an automatic device designed to compensate for changes in temperature.

Mudge invented the lever escapement in 1754, but didn’t employ one in a watch until this one was built in 1770. Mudge referred to the timepiece in correspondence with his patron, Count von Bruhl as “The Queen’s Watch,” suggesting that it was always intended for Queen Charlotte. There’s some debate as to the origin of the plinth upon which the watch is displayed. Some feel it’s original to the piece. Others think it was certainly altered over time. Others still believe it may be a replacement for the original presentation box. The first reference to the plinth comes in 1825 when both watch and plinth were restored. However, obviously, it existed long enough to need to be restored. Earlier records are spotty at best.

Mastery of Design: The Heneage Jewel, c. 1595

The Heneage Jewel
Circa 1595
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Known both as the Heneage Jewel and "The Armada Jewel,"  this glorious locket of enameled gold is set with table-cut diamonds and Burmese rubies.  The obverse displays a bust of gold under rock crystal depicting Elizabeth I.  This depiction is apparently an early version of the Garter Badge, which, alone dates to about 1585.

The inside of the locket is set with a miniature of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) painted by Nicholas Hilliard.

Meanwhile, the hinged reverse of the locket is enameled with the Ark of the English Church on a storm-chopped sea--representing the Protestant church steered by Elizabeth through religious turmoil. The interior of the reverse is enameled with a Tudor rose encircled by leaves.

Tradition tells us that the  jewel was given by the queen to Sir Thomas Heneage, a Privy Counsellor and Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household.  The important jewel remained in the possession of the Heneage family until 1902. 

Often, the jewel is referred to as the "Armada Jewel," though it was probably made in about 1595, some seven years after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. 

The jewel is inscribed in Latin:

'ELIZABETHA D.G. ANG. FRA. ET. HIB. REGINA' 

(Elizabeth, by the grace of God Queen of England, France and Ireland)

'SAEVAS. TRANQUILLA. PER. VNDAS' 

(peaceful through the fierce waves) 

'Hei mihi quod tanto virtus perfusa decore non habet eternos inviolata dies' 

(Alas, that so much virtue suffused with beauty should not last for ever inviolate)