Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Rock Crystal Pendant, 1650-75

Pendant of Enameled Silver and Foiled Crystal Pendant
1650-1675
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome pendant from the important collection of jewels amassed by Dame Joan Evans is composed of rock crystal triplets (two layers of stone with a layer of red-colored foil material between), rock crystal and glass.  The stones are set in enameled silver.

The piece was made in Western Europe between 1650 and 1675.  

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

Mastery of Design: A French Diamond Spray Ornament, c. 1850

Diamond Spray Ornament with Trembler
The Hull-Grundy Gift
The British Museum

I've had a good time these last couple of weeks exploring the jewelry in the Hull-Grundy gift to The British Museum.  Among the many grand jewels in the bequest is this ornamental trembler pin in the form of a floral spray, a piece which is highly representative of the Nineteenth Century revival of Eighteenth Century forms.  

The French work of silver, gold, and closed-back, pink-foiled diamonds is reminiscent of pieces made for the French court in the late Eighteenth Century.  Empress Eugénie revived the style in the 1850s when such floral ornaments found a new fashion in the naturalistic style which flourished across the European aristocracy. 

Mastery of Design: The Sixteen Leaf Necklace, 1880

Necklace or Horse Collar
India, Before 1880
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome necklace heralds from India and was made before 1880. Sixteen leaf-shaped plaques are strung on red silk which has been covered with gold wire.

The front of each plaque is adorned in floral ornament in low relief. The design is decorated with turquoises and rock-crystal set over red foil to simulate rubies. The reverse of each of these sixteen plaques is chased with designs of flowering plants.
The necklace was purchased in India for the Victoria & Albert Museum by Casper Purdon Clarke in 1880-2. It has been suggested that this is not a necklace meant for a human, but rather, was made as a collar for a horse. Lucky horse!

Gifts of Grandeur: A Stomacher of Rock Crystal and Paste Set in Silver, 1760

Stomacher
England, 1760
Silver set with foil-backed rock crystal and paste.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the Eighteenth Century, jewelers were able to meet greater consumer demand by offering imitation stones set in silver as alternatives to their costlier pieces. Similar in style to works which glittered with diamonds, these costume alternatives were suitable for travel when transporting real jewels would have been unwise or for families who wanted to give the appearance of great wealth during more difficult financial times. For as long as there’s been jewelry, there’s been costume jewelry, and this stomacher shows just how clever jewelers had become in imitating the real thing.

This bodice ornament, known as a stomacher, was meant to be worn on a lady’s gown between her neckline and waist. Regal and noble ladies had begun to wear such jeweled pieces on the cloth front of their gowns (also called stomachers) and by the mid Eighteenth Century, this was the height of fashion.

Here, we see a combination of faceted rock crystal and paste (basically glass formed from a fine powder—often diamond powder) which has been backed in foil to increase the shine and sparkle. In candlelight, these inexpensive stones looked much the same as diamonds. Even the cut of the stones mimics the popular diamond cut of the day—rose-cut. Being as rose-cut diamonds were usually foil-backed themselves, the look of the costume piece wasn’t too different from the look of an expensive article.

Made around 1760 in England, such a piece would have been sold by a reputable up-scale jeweler, probably quite discreetly.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Blue Foil Necklace, 1650-75

Necklace of Painted Blue Foil, Silver, Glass and Waxed Thread
England, 1650-1675

While not very valuable in terms of materials, this necklace which dates to about 1650-1675 is priceless for the skill and brilliance with which it was made.

Each of the individual square panels of this necklace is set with a blue foil which has been painted in exquisite miniature with a symbol representing love or mortality; including a skull and crossbones, the initials “EJ” beneath a coronet’ a putto holding leaves, a cornucopia, two cherubs with a flaming heart, a skeleton on a tomb inscribed “At Rest,” a dolphin, an angel with two crosses, a crowned lion, a winged skull, a bull, the sun, moon and stars, a lyre and butterfly, flowers, clasped hands with a heart, a skull above a crown with inscriptions “GLORIA” and “VANITAS,” a putto with a lance, an elephant's head and trident, and a sea animal in a shell.

Small panels of glass are set above each painted foil.  Mounted on silver backings, these individual panels are strung together with waxed thread.  

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

The Home Beautiful: The Dimsdale "Pink Diamond" Snuffbox, 1768

Click Image to Enlarge
Snuffbox
Presented to Nathaniel Dimsdale by Catherine II
Foil-backed diamonds and vari-colored gold
Russia or Germany, 1768
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Thomas Dimsdale (1712-1800) was an English doctor and staunch advocate of the practice of inoculation against smallpox. That seems reasonable. Dimsdale was summoned by the Russian ambassador to advise Catherine II during the Russian smallpox epidemic of 1768.

The Empress was so impressed by the success of the potentially dangerous treatment that she created Dimsdale a Baron of the Russian Empire, a councilor of state and personal physician to the Empress. Good gig. Furthermore, Dimsdale’s work garnered him the favor of the British Empire and he was awarded a princely sum of £10,000 plus an annuity and works of art.

Dimsdale’s entire family enjoyed the generosity of the Empress and the British Crown. The doctor’s son, Nathaniel, was presented by Catherine II with this magnificent diamond-encrusted, varicolored-gold snuffbox. The box is adorned with figures in neo-classical landscapes and was made in either St Petersburg or Berlin.

As was the practice when this box was made (1768), the diamonds are foil-backed to increase their luster. Many of them are backed in pink foil to give the impression of rare pink diamonds. At some point, the box became part of the collection of Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert who bequeathed their impressive lot of important “stuff” to the V&A. This box has long been accompanied by a miniature portrait of Thomas, 1st Baron Dimsdale, which was enameled by Henry Bone in 1800 in the final year of the famed doctor’s life.

Mastery of Design: A French Diamond Spray Ornament, c. 1850

Diamond Spray Ornament with Trembler
The Hull-Grundy Gift
The British Museum

I've had a good time these last couple of weeks exploring the jewelry in the Hull-Grundy gift to The British Museum.  Among the many grand jewels in the bequest is this ornamental trembler pin in the form of a floral spray, a piece which is highly representative of the Nineteenth Century revival of Eighteenth Century forms.  

The French work of silver, gold, and closed-back, pink-foiled diamonds is reminiscent of pieces made for the French court in the late Eighteenth Century.  Empress Eugénie revived the style in the 1850s when such floral ornaments found a new fashion in the naturalistic style which flourished across the European aristocracy.

History's Runway: The Dame Joan Evans Rock Crystal Pendant, 1650-75

Pendant of Enameled Silver and Foiled Crystal Pendant
1650-1675
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Tomorrow, we'll be taking a delicious look at the "Treat of the Week," so, today, I thought we'd look at some tasty crystal pieces.

This handsome pendant from the important collection of jewels amassed by Dame Joan Evans is composed of rock crystal triplets (two layers of stone with a layer of red-colored foil material between), rock crystal and glass.  The stones are set in enameled silver.

The piece was made in Western Europe between 1650 and 1675.  

The Home Beautiful: The Dimsdale "Pink Diamond" Snuffbox, 1768

Click Image to Enlarge
Snuffbox
Presented to Nathaniel Dimsdale by Catherine II
Foil-backed diamonds and vari-colored gold
Russia or Germany, 1768
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Thomas Dimsdale (1712-1800) was an English doctor and staunch advocate of the practice of inoculation against smallpox. That seems reasonable. Dimsdale was summoned by the Russian ambassador to advise Catherine II during the Russian smallpox epidemic of 1768.

The Empress was so impressed by the success of the potentially dangerous treatment that she created Dimsdale a Baron of the Russian Empire, a councilor of state and personal physician to the Empress. Good gig. Furthermore, Dimsdale’s work garnered him the favor of the British Empire and he was awarded a princely sum of £10,000 plus an annuity and works of art.

Dimsdale’s entire family enjoyed the generosity of the Empress and the British Crown. The doctor’s son, Nathaniel, was presented by Catherine II with this magnificent diamond-encrusted, varicolored-gold snuffbox. The box is adorned with figures in neo-classical landscapes and was made in either St Petersburg or Berlin.

As was the practice when this box was made (1768), the diamonds are foil-backed to increase their luster. Many of them are backed in pink foil to give the impression of rare pink diamonds. At some point, the box became part of the collection of Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert who bequeathed their impressive lot of important “stuff” to the V&A. This box has long been accompanied by a miniature portrait of Thomas, 1st Baron Dimsdale, which was enameled by Henry Bone in 1800 in the final year of the famed doctor’s life.

Mastery of Design: A Stomacher of Rock Crystal and Paste Set in Silver, 1760

Stomacher
England, 1760
Silver set with foil-backed rock crystal and paste.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the Eighteenth Century, jewelers were able to meet greater consumer demand by offering imitation stones set in silver as alternatives to their costlier pieces. Similar in style to works which glittered with diamonds, these costume alternatives were suitable for travel when transporting real jewels would have been unwise or for families who wanted to give the appearance of great wealth during more difficult financial times. For as long as there’s been jewelry, there’s been costume jewelry, and this stomacher shows just how clever jewelers had become in imitating the real thing.
This bodice ornament, known as a stomacher, was meant to be worn on a lady’s gown between her neckline and waist. Regal and noble ladies had begun to wear such jeweled pieces on the cloth front of their gowns (also called stomachers) and by the mid Eighteenth Century, this was the height of fashion.

Here, we see a combination of faceted rock crystal and paste (basically glass formed from a fine powder—often diamond powder) which has been backed in foil to increase the shine and sparkle. In candlelight, these inexpensive stones looked much the same as diamonds. Even the cut of the stones mimics the popular diamond cut of the day—rose-cut. Being as rose-cut diamonds were usually foil-backed themselves, the look of the costume piece wasn’t too different from the look of an expensive article.

Made around 1760 in England, such a piece would have been sold by a reputable up-scale jeweler, probably quite discreetly.

Mastery of Design: The Cory Floral Bodice Ornament, 1840-1850

Click Image to EnlargeHair Ornament/Brooch
Enameled Gold, Garnets, Foiled Rock Crystals, Pearls
1840-1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This gem, from the monumental collection of Lady Cory, began its life as a hair ornament around 1840 to 1850 when naturalism in jewelry was at its most fashionable. Pieces like this were usually made in pieces so that they could be worn as a large, dramatic jewel for formal occasions or broken apart to be worn on a daily basis as smaller gems.



This ornament of foiled rock crystals, pearls and garnets set in enameled gold has been altered over time. The individual sections of this jewel were merged, removing some segments to use the gemstones for other pieces of jewelry. What remained was made into the brooch that we see today. 

Mastery of Design: The Joicey Brooch, c. 1830

Brooch
Europe, 1820-1830
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Joicey. Joicey Brooch. Say it aloud, please. Say it in a variety of dialects. See? Fun, right?

The brooch’s name comes from the man who donated it to the V&A—a Mr. John George Joicey who bequeathed the piece in 1919.

A nifty work of gold with grainti decoration, the brooch was made in Western Europe around 1820-1830. And, it looks it. Some pieces of jewelry (and maybe it’s just to me, because I spend a lot of time looking at jewelry from many different eras) just seem to epitomize the time period in which they were made. This one just screams 1820-1830. It was a time period during which gold work was heavy and intricate with a nod to historical styles. Often chased, applied with volutes and scrolls and grainti, the gold work tended to emulate ancient Roman jewels. Furthermore, gemstones were often foiled to give more fire the simple cuts which were then-dominant.

This brooch, for example, is set with garnets and aquamarines. The latter are foiled in a bluish-green to enhance their color and fire.

Now, there’s a bit of an issue with the sparking green centerpiece. It’s paste. Since the other stones are the real deal, it’s a safe bet that the large center stone was once as well. Chances are, the center stone was removed for use in another piece, was lost, or damaged. Either way, it’s been replaced with paste. 

Nevertheless, it’s still quite pretty.  At some point in the Nineteenth Century, it served time as a pendant.

Mastery of Design: The Krügrr Snuffbox, 1775-1780

Click image to enlarge.
Snuffbox
Berlin, 1775-1800
The Gilbert Collection
This and all related images from
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Frederick the Great of Russia was a keen fancier of snuffboxes and amassed a gorgeous collection. Here, we see one of them. We’re not sure who served as goldsmith on this piece, but records indicate that it was modeled after a design by Jean Guillaume George Krüger (1728-1791)--a London-born artist who had been summoned to Berlin in 1753. 

Twenty of his designs for snuffboxes survive. The majority of those boxes were made prior to 1774 when the designer moved to Paris. Curiously, this one is thought to have been made between 1775 and 1780—well after its brothers and sisters. 

Now part of the bequest of Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert to the V&A, the cartouche-shaped snuffbox is comprised of seventeen panels of bloodstone which are mounted in a cage-work of gold. The panels are densely set with an impressive array of diamonds, some of which are natural yellow and others of which are foiled to create a different color. The cover of the box is set with a depiction of a vase which has been colored to resemble porphyry. In this case is set a bouquet of stylized flowers which are made up of emeralds, rubies and diamonds. 

A border of diamonds set in gold and representations of sprigs of flowers echoes the design of the walls of the box. These sections are divided into six reserves, each set with sprays of flowers. The base is encrusted with diamonds as well, and depicts a smaller bouquet of cut flowers.

Mastery of Design: The Cory Floral Bodice Ornament, 1840-1850

Click Image to EnlargeHair Ornament/Brooch
Enameled Gold, Garnets, Foiled Rock Crystals, Pearls
1840-1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This gem, from the monumental collection of Lady Cory, began its life as a hair ornament around 1840 to 1850 when naturalism in jewelry was at its most fashionable. Pieces like this were usually made in pieces so that they could be worn as a large, dramatic jewel for formal occasions or broken apart to be worn on a daily basis as smaller gems. 

This ornament of foiled rock crystals, pearls and garnets set in enameled gold has been altered over time. The individual sections of this jewel were merged, removing some segments to use the gemstones for other pieces of jewelry. What remained was made into the brooch that we see today. 

The Home Beautiful: The Dimsdale "Pink Diamond" Snuffbox, 1768

Click Image to Enlarge
Snuffbox
Presented to Nathaniel Dimsdale by Catherine II
Foil-backed diamonds and vari-colored gold
Russia or Germany, 1768
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Thomas Dimsdale (1712-1800) was an English doctor and staunch advocate of the practice of inoculation against smallpox. That seems reasonable. Dimsdale was summoned by the Russian ambassador to advise Catherine II during the Russian smallpox epidemic of 1768.

The Empress was so impressed by the success of the potentially dangerous treatment that she created Dimsdale a Baron of the Russian Empire, a councilor of state and personal physician to the Empress. Good gig. Furthermore, Dimsdale’s work garnered him the favor of the British Empire and he was awarded a princely sum of £10,000 plus an annuity and works of art.

Dimsdale’s entire family enjoyed the generosity of the Empress and the British Crown. The doctor’s son, Nathaniel, was presented by Catherine II with this magnificent diamond-encrusted, varicolored-gold snuffbox. The box is adorned with figures in neo-classical landscapes and was made in either St Petersburg or Berlin.

As was the practice when this box was made (1768), the diamonds are foil-backed to increase their luster. Many of them are backed in pink foil to give the impression of rare pink diamonds. At some point, the box became part of the collection of Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert who bequeathed their impressive lot of important “stuff” to the V&A. This box has long been accompanied by a miniature portrait of Thomas, 1st Baron Dimsdale, which was enameled by Henry Bone in 1800 in the final year of the famed doctor’s life.

Mastery of Design: The Sixteen Leaf Necklace, 1880

Necklace or Horse Collar
India, Before 1880
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome necklace heralds from India and was made before 1880. Sixteen leaf-shaped plaques are strung on red silk which has been covered with gold wire.

The front of each plaque is adorned in floral ornament in low relief. The design is decorated with turquoises and rock-crystal set over red foil to simulate rubies. The reverse of each of these sixteen plaques is chased with designs of flowering plants.

The necklace was purchased in India for the Victoria & Albert Museum by Casper Purdon Clarke in 1880-2. It has been suggested that this is not a necklace meant for a human, but rather, was made as a collar for a horse. Lucky horse!

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Rock Crystal Pendant, 1650-75

Pendant of Enameled Silver and Foiled Crystal Pendant
1650-1675
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome pendant from the important collection of jewels amassed by Dame Joan Evans is composed of rock crystal triplets (two layers of stone with a layer of red-colored foil material between), rock crystal and glass.  The stones are set in enameled silver.

The piece was made in Western Europe between 1650 and 1675.  I selected it since it seemed somehow Punch-like to me.