History's Runway: The Mappin & Webb Vanity Case, 1935

Gold Vanity Case
Mappin and Webb, 1935
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the 1930, the use of snuff had long been out of favor and producers of luxury goods looked for something to replace the elegant gold boxes which had long been a mainstay of their concerns. Though not good for world health, the cigarette case was a natural successor to the snuffbox as smoking was quite the thing. Similarly, vanity cases of gold and other precious metals began to take center stage in the world of opulent accessories. Here we see such a vanity case. These were made for Society ladies as a container for their personal items. This one holds an eyebrow pencil, lipstick and compartments for powder with puffs.

The gold case was made by Mappin and Webb in Sheffield, England in 1935 and is set with cabochon sapphires. 

Mastery of Design: A Cartier Bangle, 1937

Bangle
Cartier, 1937
This and all related images from
The British Museum

Cartier’s London branch created this sumptuous bangle in a wholly Indian style. The floral piece is a brilliant marriage of platinum, gold, diamonds, and rubies. The central motif looks back to Nineteenth-Century Indian Jaipur work with a very post-Deco sensibility.

Diamonds (baguettes and brilliants) and a double row of cabochon rubies glitter in an asymmetrical platinum setting. Meanwhile, the central floral theme is set in gold around an egg-shaped cabochon. The reverse is enameled with flowers in the Kundan style.

Mastery of Design: The Blue-Eyed Fabergé Guinea Pig, c. 1900

Guinea Pig
Carl Fabergé
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Via The Royal Collection Trust and
Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Of the dozens upon dozens of miniature precious Fabergé animals in The Royal Collection, there are two Guinea Pigs.  One has ruby eyes, and one has sapphire eyes.  This is the latter.  

Made of quartzite, aventurine quartz, obsidian, and cabochon sapphires, this adorable and valuable rodent was made around 1900 for Queen Alexandra who started the whole "miniature menagerie" madness.  

His body of white translucent quartzite is inlaid with pale patches of tawny aventurine-quartz.  Wee ears in obsidian rise above and especially bright eyes of cabochon sapphires, making him far cuter than his younger brother.

Mastery of Design: The Carbuncle Tiara

The British Museum

Click image to enlarge.

Made circa 1850 in England, this regal tiara of bloomed and chased two-color gold is set with cabochon garnets and takes the from of a floral half-circlet.

A brilliant representative of the style of the time, this is among the many jewels bequeathed to The British Museum by Professor John and Anne Hull Grundy in 1978.  

Gifts of Grandeur: A Fabergé Ducky, c. 1907

Miniature Duck of Chalcedony, Gold and Rubies
Part of the Sandringham Commission, 1907
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Made in 1907 by Carl Fabergé, this ducky is not rubber, but rather made of chalcedony, silver-gilt and rubies. He’s part of the great Sandringham Commission wherein King Edward VII bid Fabergé to create a veritable menagerie of precious miniature animals for his long-suffering consort, Queen Alexandra. 

With his body of unusually white chalcedony and his feet of red gold, he’s even cuter with his little cabochon ruby eyes.

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

Mastery of Design: A Cartier Bangle, 1937

Bangle
Cartier, 1937
This and all related images from
The British Museum

Cartier’s London branch created this sumptuous bangle in a wholly Indian style. The floral piece is a brilliant marriage of platinum, gold, diamonds, and rubies. The central motif looks back to Nineteenth-Century Indian Jaipur work with a very post-Deco sensibility.

Diamonds (baguettes and brilliants) and a double row of cabochon rubies glitter in an asymmetrical platinum setting. Meanwhile, the central floral theme is set in gold around an egg-shaped cabochon. The reverse is enameled with flowers in the Kundan style.

History's Runway: The Mappin & Webb Vanity Case, 1935

Gold Vanity Case
Mappin and Webb, 1935
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the 1930, the use of snuff had long been out of favor and producers of luxury goods looked for something to replace the elegant gold boxes which had long been a mainstay of their concerns. Though not good for world health, the cigarette case was a natural successor to the snuffbox as smoking was quite the thing. Similarly, vanity cases of gold and other precious metals began to take center stage in the world of opulent accessories. Here we see such a vanity case. These were made for Society ladies as a container for their personal items. This one holds an eyebrow pencil, lipstick and compartments for powder with puffs.

The gold case was made by Mappin and Webb in Sheffield, England in 1935 and is set with cabochon sapphires. 

Unusual Artifacts: The Hardman Powell Flagon, c. 1858

Flagon
John Hardman Powell
England, 1862
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A flagon such as this one would have been used to hold the communion wine in a church—either Catholic or Protestant. This example, dating to 1848, was designed by John Hardman Powell—Chief Designer for Hardman’s of Birmingham since 1852. Powell had the distinction of being a student of as well as the son-in-law of the famed designer A.W.N. Pugin. Like Pugin, Powell was a proponent of the Gothic Revival style and was adamant that it was the only appropriate style for ecclesiastical design. This flagon of ruby glass was made in 1862 to be shown at the International Exhibition of 1862. The glass is mounted in silver gilt and set with cabochon gemstones and enamels.

Gifts of Grandeur: A Fabergé Ducky, c. 1907

Miniature Duck of Chalcedony, Gold and Rubies
Part of the Sandringham Commission, 1907
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Made in 1907 by Carl Fabergé, this ducky is not rubber, but rather made of chalcedony, silver-gilt and rubies. He’s part of the great Sandringham Commission wherein King Edward VII bid Fabergé to create a veritable menagerie of precious miniature animals for his long-suffering consort, Queen Alexandra. 

With his body of unusually white chalcedony and his feet of red gold, he’s even cuter with his little cabochon ruby eyes.

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

Gifts of Grandeur: The May Partridge Pendant, 1912

Click on image to enlarge
Pendant
May Partridge
c. 1912
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This handsome pendant of silver is decorated with plique-à-jour enamel which depicts intertwined birds. For further sparkle, it has been set with a cabochon amethyst. 

Made in London around 1912, this jewel is the work of May Partridge who acted both as its designer and its maker. The wife of Fred Partridge, May quickly became known for her intricate and colorful enamel work—attracting admirers from all over Britain.