After a Fashion: A Silver and Gemstone Buckle and Belt Tag, 1905

Silver and Gemstone Buckle
and Belt Tag, 1905
This and all images courtesy of:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This silver buckle and belt tag are decorated with enamel and set with moonstones, amethysts and chalcedony. The silver is adorned with cast roundels of stags and birds.

Henry Wilson, an architect, sculptor, metalworker and jeweler, is the artistic genius behind this magnificent, yet practical, work of art. Wilson was considered one of the most accomplished of all Arts and Crafts jewelers. He was so well-respected, a fellow artist-jeweler once wrote to him: “I simply can't understand how you can do such wonderful work. Apart altogether from the beauty of the designs and colour, the making of the things beats everything.”

Wilson’s great influence in the Arts and Crafts movement was his championing of the showcasing of the simple polished stone. This, he felt preserved the stone’s, as he put it, “mysterious magical quality.”

Gifts of Grandeur: The Hull Grundy Pansy Brooch, c. 1850

The British Museum

As we've often discussed before, the Victorian Language of Flowers was used to communicate many a message when the spoken word was not appropriate.  In this intimate language, the pansy represented "thoughts"--a clever play on the French word "pensees" which means "thoughts."  The pansy could also signify to the recipient of the flower that the sender was saying, "You occupy my thoughts."  The pansy was developed out of the viola by botanists from the late 1820s and by 1861, the brightly-hued, large variations that we know today were being grown.

When this brooch was made between 1840 and 1850, we can see that the flower was well on its way to becoming the bloom that we know.  At this point in both floral and jewelry history, the pansy was a popular romantic symbol, and this jewel is a perfect example of the place that the bloom held in English culture.  A work of chased two-color gold, the brooch is set with amethysts and citrines with pale green stone, possibly peridot, in the center.  The gems are mounted in the form of a pansy flower with the flower-head set on a trembler spring.

This piece forms part of the Hull Grundy bequest to The British Museum.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Henry Wilson Belt Clasp, 1905

Hopefully, this week, I'll get back on the usual schedule with everything, including "A Recipe for Punch."  For now, let's look at this...

Click on image to enlarge.
Belt Clasp
Henry Wilson, 1905
The Victoria & Albert Museum

I have a special fondness for the work of the jeweler Henry Wilson (1864-1934). Wilson’s jewelry is exceptional both for its form as well as the quality of the enameling and gem selection. He tended toward interesting color combinations and chose stones with only the richest colors. Wilson, a former architect (like many jewelers of his time) designed pieces which resonated with sculptural and architectural qualities, achieving a three-dimensionality which was unknown until that point. 

This is one of the most unusual pieces of Wilson’s that I’ve seen. This silver belt clasp was made in three parts. It is set with amethysts, garnets, williamsite (a green mineral), moonstones, agate, chalcedony and cat's-eye quartz. The central piece is adorned with sprays. Dating to 1905, this clasp was made to be worn on a variety of belts. 

Gifts of Grandeur: Prince Albert’s Bookmark, 1840

Book Mark of Gold and Gemstones
Given by the Duchess of Kent to Prince Albert at his 1840 Wedding to Queen Victoria
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This handsome bookmark was made in 1840 and was given as a gift by the Duchess of Kent (Queen Victoria’s Mother) to Prince Albert on the day of his marriage to Queen Victoria—February 10.

The gold bookmark was inserted into the prayer book which Prince Albert held on his wedding day. The structure of gold hangs from green silk ribbons. It is set with eight gemstones which spell out the name, “Victoria.” Let’s take a look at it, beginning with the deep red stone at the top, center.

V – Vermillion. This deep red stone is actually a garnet. At the time, it was commonly called “Vermeil” for vermillion as a description of its color. In modern jewelry terms, this can be quite confusing since the term now refers to silver which has been plated in a metallic blend of gold and other alloys. 

I – Jargoon. Yeah, I know. That doesn’t begin with an “I.” However, in 1840, a “J” was often used in place of an “I.” 

C – Chrysolite. Wow. This one actually means what it is and starts with the right letter. 

T – Turquoise. 

O – Opal 

R – Ruby 

I – Jargoon, again. By the way, this is a reddish-amber colored natural zircon. 

A – Amethyst

Gifts of Grandeur: The Queen Mother's Cartier Leaf Brooch, 1928

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

Made in 1928 by London's Cartier branch, this lush, lead-shaped brooch of baguette and pavé diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts and one bright ruby was given by the Duke of York (later, King George VI) to the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, and, then, the Queen Mother).

Queen Elizabeth presented this brooch to  her daughter, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) as a birthday gift during the Second World War.

Unusual Artifacts: The Crichton Vinaigrette, 1885-1886

Unusual Artifacts: The Crichton Vinaigrette, 1885-1886

Vinaigrette
G.&M. Crichton
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A Vinaigrette was used to hold an aromatic substance. Usually, the vinaigrette was worn, suspended from a chain, cord or ribbon around the throat. Sometimes, it could take the form of a brooch or a hand-held ornament.

This example was made around 1886 in Scotland by the Edinburgh jewelery firm G&M Crichton who had earlier made quite a splash at the London Exhibition of 1872. While Crichton’s designs were praised overall at the exhibition, some critics felt that the Highland brooches were a bit too “extravagant” in detail.

When this brooch was made, Scotland and all things Scottish were quite fashionable due to the earlier poetry of Sir Walter Scott and the public admiration for the land shown by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Scottish pebble jewelry was quite in demand. While the majority of these Scottish agate pieces came back to England as souvenirs of Scotland, some examples were made in Birmingham to meet the high demand. Birmingham jewelers would mimic the style of the Scottish jewels, employing stones collected in Scotland.

This vinaigrette shows the variety of attractive stones native to Scotland. Citrines, amethysts, bloodstone, mottled jasper and banded agate are set into silver. The reverse is marked for G.&M. Crichton with hallmarks for 1885 to 1886.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Boxwood Bust, 1380-1400

Bust
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the Victoria & Albert Museum, we see a boxwood bust of a female figure with elaborate coiffure. She wears a gilt copper crown set with three red garnets (two of them faceted and one cabochon, the faceted stones are not original) and topped with five naturalistic leaf crests. The bust is displayed on a base which is also of gilt copper, supported by three seated lions . The base is set with two amethysts (originally three), which are also faceted, and therefore, are also replacements. The base contains a small cavity for a relic which would have been associated with the martyred virgin saint—whoever she was—who is depicted here. 

Boxwood figures like this one were popular from the 1350s onwards and have a sculptor to showcase his talents in a rare material which would have appealed to his wealthy patrons.

Gifts of Grandeur: Queen Victoria's Engagement Bracelet, 1839

Queen Victoria's Engagement Bracelet
November, 1839
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This gold bracelet is constructed of flat, tapering links—each engraved with tendrils and volutes. The centerpiece consists of a lovely amethyst which has been carved as a double heart. Behind this is a glass locket—now empty—which is engraved with a V monogram and the date: 23 Nov. 1939.

This attractive bauble was one of several elegant and costly engagement gifts given to Queen Victoria(1819-1901) upon the announcement to the Privy Council of her impending marriage to Prince Albert in 1839. The bracelet was given to the Queen by The Duchess of Kent, Her Majesty’s mother with whom she had, at best, a rather rocky relationship. 

Upon the Queen’s 1901 death, at her previous request, this bracelet was one of a group of jewels which was put on display in the “Albert Room” at Windsor Castle. This was the room in which Prince Albert had died in 1861. Victoria insisted that the room remain untouched and just as he left it—and, so it did until her own death. After Queen Victoria’s death, the group of jewels which she had specified be displayed in the Albert Room were to remain there and, she insisted, not passed on to her family. 

History's Runway: The Cory Head Ornament, 1835

Ornament
England, 1835
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Click on image for detail.

This headpiece of gold, from the magnificent collection of Lady Cory, is set with amethysts, topazes, pearls, coral, turquoises and garnets. It was made in England in 1835.


The design takes the form of a trail of flowers, in three pieces, connected by rings and showcases the jewels that were most popular in the 1830s.

Mastery of Design: The Hull Grundy Pansy Brooch, c. 1850

The British Museum

As we've often discussed before, the Victorian Language of Flowers was used to communicate many a message when the spoken word was not appropriate.  In this intimate language, the pansy represented "thoughts"--a clever play on the French word "pensees" which means "thoughts."  The pansy could also signify to the recipient of the flower that the sender was saying, "You occupy my thoughts."  The pansy was developed out of the viola by botanists from the late 1820s and by 1861, the brightly-hued, large variations that we know today were being grown.

When this brooch was made between 1840 and 1850, we can see that the flower was well on its way to becoming the bloom that we know.  At this point in both floral and jewelry history, the pansy was a popular romantic symbol, and this jewel is a perfect example of the place that the bloom held in English culture.  A work of chased two-color gold, the brooch is set with amethysts and citrines with pale green stone, possibly peridot, in the center.  The gems are mounted in the form of a pansy flower with the flower-head set on a trembler spring.

This piece forms part of the Hull Grundy bequest to The British Museum.

Mastery of Design: A Faceted Citrine and Amethyst Seal

Seal of Citrine, Gold and Amethyst
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust and
Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on images for larger size.

Our chums at the Royal Collection Trust list this magnificent piece only as a:

Faceted citrine and gold seal with amythyst matrix carved with rampant greyhound holding pennant.

That's great.  After all, that's exactly what it is.  However, the description doesn't tell us when it was made or to whom it belonged or how it came to be in the Royal Collection.

So, I shall speculate.

Of course, it came back to the Royal Collection via Queen Mary, consort of King George V, because EVERYTHING did.  So, that's settled.

I'd like to guess that the seal may have originally been used by King Henry VII whose standards included a red dragon and a white greyhound.  I could be entirely wrong.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know. 

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

Gifts of Grandeur: The Henry Wilson Belt Clasp, 1905

Click on image to enlarge.
Belt Clasp
Henry Wilson, 1905
The Victoria & Albert Museum

I have a special fondness for the work of the jeweler Henry Wilson (1864-1934). Wilson’s jewelry is exceptional both for its form as well as the quality of the enameling and gem selection. He tended toward interesting color combinations and chose stones with only the richest colors. Wilson, a former architect (like many jewelers of his time) designed pieces which resonated with sculptural and architectural qualities, achieving a three-dimensionality which was unknown until that point. 

This is one of the most unusual pieces of Wilson’s that I’ve seen. This silver belt clasp was made in three parts. It is set with amethysts, garnets, williamsite (a green mineral), moonstones, agate, chalcedony and cat's-eye quartz. The central piece is adorned with sprays. Dating to 1905, this clasp was made to be worn on a variety of belts. 

Mastery of Design: Queen Alexandra's Scarab Bracelet

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
This and all related images courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on each image for a larger version.

Made in 1862 and attributed to the firm of Phillips Bros. & Son, this bangle of gold, steatite, amethyst and glazed composition was given to Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom (1844-1925).  The bracelet was made with six scarabs
acquired by King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, upon a visit to Egypt in 1862,  The finished bracelet was presented by Queen Victoria to Princess Alexandra on December 1 of the same year.

The scarabs are mounted in openwork scroll settings, with stylized rearing cobras flanking the the sun.  Each of the scarabs is carved on the back, except for the amethyst which in itself typifies a very fine example of hardstone scarab from the XII Dynasty (c. 1985-1795 BC). 

The bangle also boasts a faience scarab which is adorned with animals, including the a rare depiction of the "Typhonian animal" a dog-like creature which resembles a greyhound or a jackal.  This animal is associated with Seth (or Set), the Egyptian god of the desert and storms in addition to the attributes of chaos and confusion. 

Mastery of Design: The Townshend Amethyst, circa 1800

Amethyst Ring
1800-1864
From the Townshend Collection
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Part of a magnificent collection of 154 gems, this ring comes from the Townshend collection which was bequeathed to the V&A by Reverend Chauncey Hare Townshend.


The stone, set in gold sometime between 1800 and 1864, is considered one of the finest specimen of amethysts in the museum. Its deep color and perfect clarity are unrivaled.

Mastery of Design: The DEAREST Bird, c. 1830

This and all related images
from The British Museum

Click to enlarge.

From The British Museum's Hull-Grundy Collection, this two-color gold comb was made around 1830 in Britain.  The comb is designed in the form of a leafy branch upon which is perched a bird with a ruby eye.  She carries a ring in her beak and is mounted on a trembler spring to give her movement.

The twig, at the central crest is set with a diamond, an emerald, an amethyst, a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire and a turquoise, which, as we know, in the language of jewels spells "DEAREST."  Gold foliage and turquoise-set forget-me-nots adorn the rest of the branch.

This is one in a collection of bird-themed romantic jewelry amassed by the Hull-Grundy family, itself a part of a fantastic parure.

Click images to "embiggen."

Unusual Artifacts: A Brooch with an Intaglio of King George IV

Intaglio Brooch with Bust of King George IV
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Made by Rundell Bridge & Rundell circa 1820-1830, I noticed this brooch among a new lot of images in the archives of the Royal Collection.  The magnificent centerpiece, an intaglio in Siberian amethyst is set in a frame of silver gilt with gold collet mounts, framed by open scroll-shaped mounts in silver set with smaller brilliants, interspersed with eight larger cushion-cut diamonds.

My girl, Mary of Teck (properly Queen Mary, consort of King George V, King of the United Kingdom (1867-1953)), "acquired" the brooch at some point.  It is suggested by the curators of the Royal Collection that this brooch:

May be identifiable with the 'large Amethyst set with diamonds with George the Fourth's head engraved upon it' bequeathed by Princess Mary Duchess of Gloucester to Augusta Duchess of Cambridge in 1857. 

That would, therefore, suggest that the piece came into the Royal Collection upon the death of the Duchess of Cambridge who bequeathed many of her most magnificent jewels to her granddaughter, Princess May of Teck (the future Queen Mary).

The intaglio bust of George IV (1762-1830) depicts the one-time Prince Regent in profile to the right donned in classical drapery.  The carving is signed in reverse below the drapery: R . B & R . F t ., (for the Royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell from 1797 to 1840).

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Mastery of Design: The Queen Mother's Cartier Leaf Brooch, 1928

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

Made in 1928 by London's Cartier branch, this lush, lead-shaped brooch of baguette and pavé diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts and one bright ruby was given by the Duke of York (later, King George VI) to the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, and, then, the Queen Mother).

Queen Elizabeth presented this brooch to  her daughter, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) as a birthday gift during the Second World War.

Object of the Day: The Boxwood Bust, 1380-1400

Bust
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the Victoria & Albert Museum, we see a boxwood bust of a female figure with elaborate coiffure. She wears a gilt copper crown set with three red garnets (two of them faceted and one cabochon, the faceted stones are not original) and topped with five naturalistic leaf crests. The bust is displayed on a base which is also of gilt copper, supported by three seated lions . The base is set with two amethysts (originally three), which are also faceted, and therefore, are also replacements. The base contains a small cavity for a relic which would have been associated with the martyred virgin saint—whoever she was—who is depicted here. 

Boxwood figures like this one were popular from the 1350s onwards and have a sculptor to showcase his talents in a rare material which would have appealed to his wealthy patrons.

Mastery of Design: Parasol Fittings, 1900-1910

Parasol Handle
English, 1900-1910
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This gleaming handle is part of a set of parasol fittings which includes a handle of wood and gilt covers for the ends of the ribs which support the parasol’s fabric cover. The handle is fashioned of rock crystal which has been engraved with flowers and set with amethysts in gold collets. It is supported by a neck of gold with translucent purple enamel and an applied frieze of laurel swags and ribbon.

Though I can’t find a picture of it, the parasol is still kept in its original rectangular case of dark green leather that has been lined with cream velvet. On the lid of the case, a gold stamp bears the retailers mark: J.C. VICKERY/ 179, 181 & 183 REGENT ST.W.

History's Runway: The Cory Head Ornament, 1835

Ornament
England, 1835
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Click on image for detail.

This headpiece of gold, from the magnificent collection of Lady Cory, is set with amethysts, topazes, pearls, coral, turquoises and garnets. It was made in England in 1835.


The design takes the form of a trail of flowers, in three pieces, connected by rings and showcases the jewels that were most popular in the 1830s.