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| 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.
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