Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Gifts of Grandeur: A Gold, Ruffled Cuff Bracelet, 1860

Cuff Bracelet
Gold, Turquoise, Pearls
1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum
Queen Victoria made no secret of her love of jewelry and she was known to both write and speak at length on the subject of jewels and, especially, those which she had just purchased or been given. This was, later in her life, a common interest that Victoria would share with her cousin/granddaughter-in-law, “Princess May” of Teck (later Queen Mary) who shared a similar passion for sparkly things.
In a letter written in 1861 to her daughter, Princess Frederick William of Prussia, Queen Victoria described the gifts her husband, Prince Albert, (the Princess’ father) had given to her for their wedding anniversary. Among them, she wrote was, “a beautiful bracelet which he got at Coburg- from Gotha- a large elastic gold bracelet like a cuff - and so pretty.” This was to be the last anniversary that the Queen and Prince Consort would share. Albert would die later that same year.

Such bracelets were quite the fashion in the 1860’s. Known as “Manchette,” they had become popular in France in the 1850’s and the English capitalized on the trend. They were to be worn slightly under the sleeve of a gown and mimicked the look of a cloth cuff. Often, they were adorned with gemstones and pearls.

While this is not the exact bracelet given to the Queen (that one was either bequeathed to one of Victoria’s daughter or granddaughters or is tucked away somewhere in a drawer in the Royal Collection), it’s pretty close. We see the gold has been chased to look like a textile and pleated accordingly. Turquoise and pearl—a popular combination in early Victorian jewelry—forms a buttonhole and button.

2 comments:

Doni said...

There is something a little strange about this cuff. The resemblance to a cloth cuff reminds me of a "highly disguised" artificial limb. ~shiver~ ... and I am curious about the 'holes'...is it woven, or are those 'precise' holes? That reminds me of the screens on old transistor radios.

I'm afraid in this economy...or rather with the screaming ads hawking cash for gold daily, I might have been inclined to sell this one to 'the Gold Sisters' (one of the local gold buyers, among many who are advertising everywhere).

Joseph Crisalli said...

Hi Doni, this does have something of a circus/fair-grounds feel to it, but a lot of early Victorian designs ended up being adapted to a more burlesque use later on.

As for the "holes," the gold is textured, neither woven nor pierced, just chased with a pattern which simulates the weave of clothe. It's quite expertly done.

Even if you were to bring this to a local gold buyer, I don't think you'd get much for it. It's quite thin. : )