Mastery of Design: Silver Gilt Snuffers, 1547-1553

Snuffers
Cast, Silver Gilt
1547-1553
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This striking silver gilt object is perhaps not immediately recognizable to modern eyes though we can guess that this is something that’s meant to be used with candles. Chased and beautifully engraved, on the handles the objects reads “GOD SAVE THE KINGE” while the back reads, “EDWARDE WYTHE ALL HIS NOBEL COUNCEL.”

These are snuffers. Snuffers were used, as we could have guessed, to maintain candles by shortening the wicks to prevent them from burning too fast. Snuffing candles was an important task in homes well until 1820 when the advent of the smokeless wick made snuffing unnecessary. These ingenious tools featured blades to trim the wick while the heart-shaped box held the cut-off ends.

This particular example dates between 1547 and 1553 and bears the arms of Edward VI along with the inscriptions noted above. Edward VI was the only surviving son of Henry VIII. He reigned from 1547 to 1553 and was succeeded by his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth.

These snuffers were passed down through the family Edward’s uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector. Edward Seymour who was the brother of Jane Seymour, the King's mother and one of the many wives of Henry VIII.

Surviving items from the Tudor Court are rather rare. Furthermore, they demonstrate the attention to detail that was lavished by the court goldsmiths on small domestic items. We tend to forget that such detail was essential to objects as early as those created in the Sixteenth Century. Since the snuffers lack a hallmark, it is probable that these were a special order for the court and not sold to the general public.

Gifts of Grandeur: A Fabergé Snail, pre-1896

Nephrite Snail
Carl Faberge
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Carl Fabergé—we know his work: the shimmering eggs, the wee, precious animals. But, what inspired this master? Fabergé amassed a tremendous and important collection of Japanese netsuke (those intricately-carved decorative pendants that were worn on men's kimonos). These jewel-like objects certainly influenced his animal carvings.

Fabergé employed a variety of hardstones to create the miniature menageries which were coveted by his Royal and aristocratic patrons, especially Queen Alexandra and her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary. Queen Alexandra assembled one of the largest collection of Fabergé animals when King Edward VII commissioned models from the Queen's Zoo at Sandringham. At Fabergé's London branch; in addition to the jewels, floral sculptures and other treasures, over 250 models of animals were available for purchase with the most popular being the elephant. 

This nephrite jade carving of a snail, made by Carl Fabergé himself before 1896. It lives at the V&A. I guess there was one that escaped both Alexandra and Mary. Or, maybe they didn’t like snails.

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.

Gifts of Grandeur: Queen Mary's Jade Box, 1910

Jade and Diamond Box
England, 1910
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mrs. Whitelaw Reid presented this handsome box of white jade to Queen Mary, Consort of King George V for Christmas of 1910. I’m not sure if she did it willingly or if she was gently prodded into doing so, but she did it nonetheless. 

The rectangular box of white jade with green veins features a hinged cover which has been set, at the center, with brilliant cut diamonds in a silver crown. The foliate hinge and clasp mounts, similarly set. The lower mount of the gold rim is enameled on the outside with medium blue guilloché stripe.

Antique Image of the Day: The Complete Set of Nine Stones Produced from the Cullinan Diamond

The Complete Set of Nine Stones Produced from the Cullinan Diamond
1908
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This platinum print from October of 1908 shows “the complete set of nine stones produced from the Cullinan Diamond.” The print was acquired by the future King George V (1865-1936) in 1908 so that a record of the diamond’s cutting could be added to the future Queen Mary’s records.

The diamonds pictured here were cleft from the Cullinan Diamond. Cullininan I and II, the two largest, were set aside for King Edward VII. They were set in 1909 in an awkwardly large pendant brooch. In 1910, when George V ascended in place of his father, he asked that the Culinan I and II be set into the head of the Sovereign's Sceptre and on the band of the Imperial State Crown, respectively. The diamonds, however, remained detachable and could be worn either together or independently as brooches. Queen Mary liked to do that every so often.

The remaining diamonds cut from the Cullinan were retained by Asscher (the cutter for whom the famed diamond cut is named), with the exception of the Cullinan Vi which had also been given to King Edward VII. Asscher kept these stones and the smaller collection of ninety-six smaller stones and fragments as a fee for cutting the original massive diamond.

However, did you really think Queen Mary would NOT get her hands on them? The whole lot was acquired by the South African government who gifted all of them to Queen Mary in 1910 in preparation for the 1911 Coronation. Stones III and IV were set into a pear-shaped drop of 94.4 carats. A square-cut stone of 63.6 carats was set in the Queen’s new coronation crown in 1911. These two stones now form the Cullinan Brooch. Another of the larger diamonds was adapted into a pendant for Queen Victoria’s cullet necklace, worn with the Lahore Diamond. Queen Mary managed to find uses for the whole lot, and, in doing so, made sure that the pieces of the original stone have stayed together forever. 

Gifts of Grandeur: Carnet-de-Bal With Miniatures of an Unknown Lady and Gentleman

Carnet-de-Bal
Circa 1790
French
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This carnet-de-bal (case for a dance card) was made between 1790 and 1795.  Many years later, on Christmas Day of 1937, the case was given to Queen Mary by Sir Philip Sassoon.

Her Majesty cataloged the carnet case as featuring portraits of "an unknown lady and gentleman."  

The case, constructed of gray enamel over gold is mounted with chased colored gold rims and, on the front and back, oval miniature portraits in enamels, set in diamond frames adorned with birds and flowers.  Inside, the case is fitted with an ivory tablet and pencil upon which a lady could write the order of the men with whom she would dance that night.

The gentleman can be identified vaguely as a Knight of St Louis.  In this bust-length portrait, he is facing forward and wearing a short gray wig, the blue uniform of his order with a breast-plate and the badge of the military Order of St Louis.

On the other side, the portrait of a lady presents her, also bust-length, facing forward.  She is wearing a pale blue dress with a large white bow.  Her powdered hair is tied with a blue ribbon.

We can deduce that the carnet case was made in France as The Order of St Louis was instituted by Louis XIV in 1693 as a means of rewarding officers distinguished either in military action or for long service. The style of the case and painting and the dress of the figures in the portraits suggest a date of the early 1790s.

Carnet-de-Bal
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mastery of Design: A Gift to Queen Mary from the Royal Household, 1928

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

Click on Image to Enlage

Made by Ovchinnikov of St Petersburg this box of enamel, gold, topaz, sapphires, and was presented to  Queen Mary, consort of King George V, King of the United Kingdom (1867-1953), from the Royal Household on her May 26, 1928.

The square circular lilac guilloché enamel box's raised inset cover is mounted with a faceted blue topaz.  The neck of cream guilloché enamel, and shoulders are mounted in colored gold with chased floral swags. The illusion of pendants of enamels is heightened from raised set diamonds and surrounding cabochon sapphires.

Mastery of Design: Queen Mary's Jade Box, 1910

Jade and Diamond Box
England, 1910
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mrs. Whitelaw Reid presented this handsome box of white jade to Queen Mary, Consort of King George V for Christmas of 1910. I’m not sure if she did it willingly or if she was gently prodded into doing so, but she did it nonetheless. 

The rectangular box of white jade with green veins features a hinged cover which has been set, at the center, with brilliant cut diamonds in a silver crown. The foliate hinge and clasp mounts, similarly set. The lower mount of the gold rim is enameled on the outside with medium blue guilloché stripe.

Mastery of Design: Queen Mary's Christmas Egg, c. 1900

Egg of Enamel, Diamonds, Gold, Rubies and Emeralds
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
via The Royal COllection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This egg of cream guilloché enamel is set with a diamond band around the middle and features an upper section adorned with ribbon swags. The lower portion is set with heart trophies of rubies and emeralds. A gold ring allows for hanging from a gold stand with a circular base chased with a spiral pattern.

This beautiful object was a gift to Queen Mary, consort of King George V, for Christmas of 1927. It was given to her by Prince David (later, briefly, King Edward VIII, and, then Duke of Windsor); “Bertie,” a.k.a. Prince Albert George (later King George VI); Elizabeth, the Duchess of York (later, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother); Princess Mary and Harry Lascelles and their children. Though it looks like Fabergé, it’s actually the work of Dreyfous of 128 Mount St., London.

The egg itself dates to about 1900.

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

Unfolding Pictures: A Portrait Fan, 1787

While fans which featured portraits of loved ones were not uncommon, this one is quite exceptional inasmuch as it bears the images of the three eldest sons of King George III and was presumably made for Queen Charlotte. Here, we see portraits of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV), and Prince Frederick, Duke of York.

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

The other factor which makes this hand fan so special is one of the earliest uses of jasper-ware plaques from Wedgwood. Wedgwood had only perfected the process of creating jasper-ware in the 1770’s. The white and blue ornaments quickly fell into the favor of the Royal court and were incorporated into this fan by applying them to the ivory guards. The fan also features marquisites and steel-cut beads which give an added element of sparkle to an already opulent piece.

At some point in the Nineteenth Century, this fan was no longer in the possession of the Royal Family. In 1933, it was purchased at an auction for Queen Mary who had a pleasant habit of returning items to The Royal Collection.









Mastery of Design: A Bracelet Commemorating the Marriage of King George V and Queen Mary, 1893

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

Made in 1893 to commemorate the marriage of the future King George V to the future Queen Mary (on July 6, 1893), this handsome open loop bracelet terminates in jeweled letters V and M.  The "V" was meant to signify that George would be George V, and, the M for Mary is obvious.

The letters are surmounted by a pink tourmaline and blue sapphire respectively.

Precious Time: The Cartier Owl Clock, c. 1932

Desk Clock
Cartier, c. 1932
Presented to Queen Mary
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Lapis lazuli, nephrite, mother-of-pearl, enamel, gold, diamonds and sapphires comprise this gorgeous desk clock, a gift from Sir Philip Sassoon to Queen Mary, consort of King George V, on the occasion of Her Majesty's birthday on May 26, 1932.  

Made by Cartier, this ball-shaped clock boasts a flattened mother-of-pearl face (with gold hands) set upon a case of lapis lazuli.  The gold frame around the clock face is adorned with groups of two sapphires on either side of diamonds.  The ball-shaped case sits upon a base formed by three geometricized nephrite owls with sapphire eyes and a triangular lapis plinth with a mother-of-pearl star and silver base.

Mastery of Design: Carnet-de-Bal With Miniatures of an Unknown Lady and Gentleman

Carnet-de-Bal
Circa 1790
French
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This carnet-de-bal (case for a dance card) was made between 1790 and 1795.  Many years later, on Christmas Day of 1937, the case was given to Queen Mary by Sir Philip Sassoon.

Her Majesty cataloged the carnet case as featuring portraits of "an unknown lady and gentleman."  

The case, constructed of gray enamel over gold is mounted with chased colored gold rims and, on the front and back, oval miniature portraits in enamels, set in diamond frames adorned with birds and flowers.  Inside, the case is fitted with an ivory tablet and pencil upon which a lady could write the order of the men with whom she would dance that night.

The gentleman can be identified vaguely as a Knight of St Louis.  In this bust-length portrait, he is facing forward and wearing a short gray wig, the blue uniform of his order with a breast-plate and the badge of the military Order of St Louis.

On the other side, the portrait of a lady presents her, also bust-length, facing forward.  She is wearing a pale blue dress with a large white bow.  Her powdered hair is tied with a blue ribbon.

We can deduce that the carnet case was made in France as The Order of St Louis was instituted by Louis XIV in 1693 as a means of rewarding officers distinguished either in military action or for long service. The style of the case and painting and the dress of the figures in the portraits suggest a date of the early 1790s.

Carnet-de-Bal
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Queen Mary’s Menthol Case, 1908

Menthol Case, 1908
Given to Queen Mary when
Princess of Wales.
Gold, Enamel, Moonstone.
The Royal Collection

Designed sometime between 1896 and 1908 by Henrik Wigström for Fabergé, this beautiful box was given as a gift by The Duchess of Roxburghe to Queen Mary (when she was still the Princess of Wales) on Christmas of 1908. A large cabochon moonstone tops the case, set in two-tone gold. The sides are resplendent in careful enamel-work in white and a pale blue which perfectly matches the stone. Gold ribbons and swags adorn the enamel.


A menthol case is rather a peculiar idea to modern eyes. Menthol—a minty crystalline compound derived from peppermint or other mint oils—was often carried for medicinal purposes. Menthol is a solid at room temperature, but becomes an oily balm when slightly heated. Menthol was used to heal chapped lips, clear sinuses, combat bad breath, aid ailing stomachs, as a topical analgesic and even to prevent itching. It would make sense to keep this useful compound near to you when your medicinal options were rather limited. Since menthol tended to be messy, cases such as this kept a lady’s bag oil-free.

I wonder if it still smells like menthol. I suppose I’ll never know. The case is on display in the Royal Collection at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. If any of you ever get a chance to sniff it, let me know. 

Unfolding Pictures: The Royal Connections Fan, 1794

"The Royal Connections Fan"
1794
Paper Leaf with Boxwood Guards and Sticks
The Royal Collection

What was a Royal lady to do to pass the time? Sometimes life in a palace can be surprisingly dull, it seems. And, so, the ladies of the Royal Family, turned their attentions to creating little games for themselves. Since card games were a proper pastime for a noblewoman, Princess Elizabeth and the Duchess of York (the daughter of George III and the wife of Frederick, Duke of York respectively—see below for their “baby picture”) concocted a new card game of their own which they called “Royal Connections.” Of course, “Royal Connections” became the height of fashion and was quickly added to the game list of anyone in the uppermost pinnacle of London Society in 1784.


I can’t quite figure out how the game was meant to be played, but the rules and aims are all spelled out on this novelty fan. What a convenient way to be fashionable and to have access to the guidelines for the game! This fan was produced by Stokes, Scott and Croskey of London, who were, curiously, not fan makers, but, rather silk-weavers. How or why they got into the business of making novelty fans for a period of about six years remains something of a mystery.

This fan was created for use by high society ladies in 1794. This example was purchased, later, by Queen Mary for her collection, and was largely forgotten until it was rediscovered at Frogmore House in the 1970’s.

Sunday Sparkle: The Cullinan V

Queen Mary's Brooch
The Cullinan V
The Royal Collection

In honor of yesterday's anniversary of the 1911 coronation, I thought I'd dig up one of Queen Mary's favorite baubles for you to have another look.

At 3016.75 carats, the Cullinan Diamond was the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever mined. In cutting and polishing the stone, nine numbered diamonds were fashioned. This is the Cullinan V.


Centered in a setting of platinum and diamonds by famed jeweler, Garrards, the Cullinan V weighs a whopping 18.8 carats. The diamond is detachable for independent use. The Cullinan V was a gift from the government of South Africa to Queen Mary in 1910. Queen Mary wore the diamond often, and, in fact, during the 1937 coronation wore this stone in her coronet since the Koh-I-Noor diamond had been removed for use in Queen Elizabeth’s (later known as the “Queen Mother”) crown.

Frankly, all I can say in addition is, “Humina, humina, humina.” It’s just too magnificent.

Antique Image of the Day: The Complete Set of Nine Stones Produced from the Cullinan Diamond

The Complete Set of Nine Stones Produced from the Cullinan Diamond
1908
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This platinum print from October of 1908 shows “the complete set of nine stones produced from the Cullinan Diamond.” The print was acquired by the future King George V (1865-1936) in 1908 so that a record of the diamond’s cutting could be added to the future Queen Mary’s records.

The diamonds pictured here were cleft from the Cullinan Diamond. Cullininan I and II, the two largest, were set aside for King Edward VII. They were set in 1909 in an awkwardly large pendant brooch. In 1910, when George V ascended in place of his father, he asked that the Culinan I and II be set into the head of the Sovereign's Sceptre and on the band of the Imperial State Crown, respectively. The diamonds, however, remained detachable and could be worn either together or independently as brooches. Queen Mary liked to do that every so often.

The remaining diamonds cut from the Cullinan were retained by Asscher (the cutter for whom the famed diamond cut is named), with the exception of the Cullinan Vi which had also been given to King Edward VII. Asscher kept these stones and the smaller collection of ninety-six smaller stones and fragments as a fee for cutting the original massive diamond.

However, did you really think Queen Mary would NOT get her hands on them? The whole lot was acquired by the South African government who gifted all of them to Queen Mary in 1910 in preparation for the 1911 Coronation. Stones III and IV were set into a pear-shaped drop of 94.4 carats. A square-cut stone of 63.6 carats was set in the Queen’s new coronation crown in 1911. These two stones now form the Cullinan Brooch. Another of the larger diamonds was adapted into a pendant for Queen Victoria’s cullet necklace, worn with the Lahore Diamond. Queen Mary managed to find uses for the whole lot, and, in doing so, made sure that the pieces of the original stone have stayed together forever. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Famous (or Infamous) Fabergé Cigarette Case, 1908

Cigarette Case
Enamel, Diamonds, Gold
1908
The Royal Collection

Ah, the Royals are a sophisticated bunch, really. In 1908, the Honorable Mrs. George Keppel (Alice, also the great-grandmother of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall) presented this cigarette case of two-color gold, guilloché enamel, brilliant and rose-cut diamonds by Fabergé to King Edward VII. You see Alice was the favorite of the King’s many mistresses. I wonder if it was because she had good taste in cigarette cases.


One of Fabergé’s finest examples of the Art Nouveau style, the case features a sinuous diamond-set snake which wraps around both the front and reverse of the box. It’s quite striking set against one of the most spectacular enamel colors in the history of Fabergé. Of course, the design was not purely decorative. A snake biting its own tale was a symbol of unrelenting and eternal love. A sweet gesture had it not come from the King’s mistress.

And, here comes the odd part. This is one of the only items in the Royal Collection to be presented to the Crown twice. You see, in 1910, shortly after the death of King Edward VII, his widow, Queen Alexandra, gave the case back to Alice Keppel. Some say she gave it back so she wouldn’t be reminded, some insist she returned it quite amicably so that Mrs. Keppel would have a memento of the late King. Since Alexandra knew of Edward’s many lady friends, she was certainly acquainted with Alice. So, who knows her real reasons?

Twenty-five years later, in 1936, Mrs. Keppel presented the same case to Queen Mary (who doubtlessly admired it and who had an impressive collection of her own Fabergé), to make sure that the case would always have Royal ownership.

Very sophisticated.

Mastery of Design: The Russian Zigzag Bracelet, c. 1860-1895

Bracelet of Rubies and Diamonds set in Gold
Russia, 1860-1895
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the mid Nineteenth Century, the bracelet was one of the most important pieces of jewelry in a woman’s sparkly arsenal.  They were worn stacked high on the arms—bracelets, not women.  

As the V&A points out, “The French connoisseur Edmond Joly de Bammeville declared that the ‘daytime’ bracelet was the ‘main feature of national dress’ in England. Up to seven or eight of differing design might be worn between the wrist and elbow on both arms. Alternatively, they could be worn in pairs and even over gloves.”

Here’s a pretty nifty example of the trend.  This bracelet of an interlocking zigzag design of alternating diamonds and rubies is set in a gold framework.  It was made in Russia between 1860 and 1895  by an unknown jeweler and is, simply put, quite stunning.

This was the sort of bracelet favored by the then-future Queens Alexandra and Mary, at the time, respectively Princess of Wales and Duchess of York.  Queen Mary would have, I think, especially liked this piece.  

Unfolding Pictures: A Portrait Fan, 1787

While fans which featured portraits of loved ones were not uncommon, this one is quite exceptional inasmuch as it bears the images of the three eldest sons of King George III and was presumably made for Queen Charlotte. Here, we see portraits of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV), and Prince Frederick, Duke of York.

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

The other factor which makes this hand fan so special is one of the earliest uses of jasper-ware plaques from Wedgwood. Wedgwood had only perfected the process of creating jasper-ware in the 1770’s. The white and blue ornaments quickly fell into the favor of the Royal court and were incorporated into this fan by applying them to the ivory guards. The fan also features marquisites and steel-cut beads which give an added element of sparkle to an already opulent piece.

At some point in the Nineteenth Century, this fan was no longer in the possession of the Royal Family. In 1933, it was purchased at an auction for Queen Mary who had a pleasant habit of returning items to The Royal Collection.