Mastery of Design: The Jeweled Ivory Cup of King George IV

Ivory, Silver Gilt and Jeweled Cup
Belonged to King George IV
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Here’s one of the stars of The Royal Collection. This jeweled ivory cup is known by the curators of the collection as “The Brain,” since…well, it looks a bit like a brain. This was one of the many treasure collected by the oddly opulent King George IV whose taste for just about everything drained the Royal coffers.

Made in South Germany (or, some say, Austria), when the ceremonial cup was first purchased by George IV, it was a work of carved ivory mounted in gilt silver. As grand as it was, it wasn’t special enough for Georgie who had the emeralds, rubies and turquoises added just to make it a little shinier.

The carved, lobed ivory cup and cover is surmounted by a finial carved with a figure of Diana Goddess of the Hunt. She’s holding a spear and has her trusty hunting hound beside her. Sleeping hunters and animals (hares, hounds and boars) surround her and the reeded silver band.

The applied ivy leaves were mounted with the rubies, emeralds and turquoises which reflect the carved, high relief scenes around the sides of the cup. The bowl is supported on a stem carved as Hercules on a domed rocky base—surrounded by a silver-gilt border and similar rim of jeweled ivy leaves.

When the cup first arrived in England—long before being purchased by George IV (it changed hands several times before George got a hold of it), its appearance was so astounding that it was mentioned in the “Morning Post and Daily Advertiser” which noted:

RECENTLY brought from Vienna, and added to the Museum, an inconceivably beautiful effort of art.... consisting of a cup or vessel carved in ivory; the figure of Hercules dressed in the skin of the Nemean lion forms the handle or stem.

Mastery of Design: The Lahore Emerald Girdle, c. 1840

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

The emeralds in this exquisite piece were inherited by India's Maharajah Sher Singh from Ranjit Singh, his father known as the "Lion of the Punjab."  "The Lion," it is said, had used the emeralds to decorate his horse harnesses.  The maharajah had the emeralds made into this exceptional girdle circa 1840.

Nine years later, the Directors of the East India Company obtained the belt and presented it to Queen Victoria in 1851.  

As we know, the East India Company was chartered, as early as the Seventeenth Century, to encourage trade between Britain and the East Indies.  The Company eventually came to rule huge geographic areas of India with its own private armies, and, in doing so, exercised military power while assuming administrative functions.

Company rule of India  began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and remained strong until 1858 when, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the "Government of India Act 1858" concluded with the British Crown assuming direct control of the land under the new British Raj.

During this period of Company rule, India's leaders were often stripped of their treasures for the benefit of the Company.  This piece was one such treasure.

The Royal Collection states simply that the emerald girdle was...

"taken (as part of the Lahore Treasury) by the Directors of the East India Company, 1849; by whom given to Queen Victoria in 1851."

In short, many British royal jewels originating in India were legitimately given as gifts to the Company or to the Crown, but some were simply war booty, essentially taken from the Indian Maharajahs.  The largest collection of such treasures was taken from the Lahore Fort, just as this girdle was.  The exact number and nature of the jewels taken from the Lahore Treasure was closely guarded by  jewellers to the Royal family, Messrs Garrads & Co.  In fact, to this day, an official count is unknown.

Regardless of the manner in which they came into the collection over a century and a half ago, the curators of the Royal Collection have preserved and protected the jewels of The Lahore Treasury, and, in doing so have ensured their survival for future generations to study them.  This is the "give and take" of seized artifacts.  The way they were obtained may not have been too pleasant, but, ultimately, seizing them proves to protect them.

That's how I look at it, anyway.  But, enough of that, let's look at the girdle.

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

The jeweled belt is comprised of eighteen rectangular gold sections separated by gold links and a buckle.  Each section is edged with diamond and pearl links and set with square or hexagonal emeralds, and four with engraved oval stones. The buckle of the girdle has a square emerald between rows of diamonds in a flowerhead design.  The diamonds are either flat-cut (lasques) or more regularly faceted stones cut either in the West or in India for the Western market. The pearls are probably Eighteenth Century or earlier.

On her visit to the Great Exhibition on 22 May 1851, Queen Victoria was particularly struck by the the magnificence of the items from the Lahore Treasury.  She wrote of the...

 "jewels & ornaments from Lahore, [which] are quite magnificent, - such pearls, - & a whole girdle of emeralds."

When the Great Exhibition concluded,  as I said, the Directors of the East India Company presented the Queen with a splendid selection of these jewels, including a quantity of emeralds, which she described as "wonderful and of immense value."

A good many of the loose emeralds were re-cut and set by Garrards in a new emerald and diamond parure, consisting of a tiara, stomacher and a pair of bracelets, which Victoria wore on her State Visit to Paris in 1855. 

This girdle, which the Queen had so admired, was among the other treasures from Lahore which remained unchanged, and therefore, afford us a window into the style and brilliant craftsmanship of Nineteenth Century Indian goldsmiths.

Mastery of Design: A Hellenistic Gold, Emerald and Garnet Necklace, 200 B.C.-100 B.C.

Necklace
Gold, Emeralds, Garnets, Glass
Greek, 200-100 B.C.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In Greece, during the Hellenistic period (323-27 BC), all of the arts thrived and artists of every conceivable medium began to examine the relationships between different colors. Even Hellenistic jewelers had become fascinated with the concept of color and began to play with different combinations of gold and gemstones. 

During this period, garnets were the most popular gemstone—prized for their deep, wine color. Garnets were often combined with emeralds, carnelian, rock crystal, agates, onyxes or lapis-lazuli to great effect. While the gems were not faceted in the manner of more modern gem cuts, they were often elaborately carved, pierced, and polished. Jewelers even began to toy with the idea of using colored glass to simulate the look of costlier stones. In this necklace, for example, glass was used to imitate onyx and pearl.

Reverse

The fashion of the day dictated that necklaces should be worn tight around the neck like a modern-day choker. This magnificent necklace of gold, polished garnets and emeralds, originally featured a ribbon at the back to allow the wearer to fasten it snugly against her throat. Necklaces such as this were meant to be worn with others, rising high upon the neck. Usually, the central piece was ornate, as is the case of this one, augmented by tight strings of beads in matching colors.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Marret Frères et Jarry Brooch, 1875

Brooch of Gold, Emeralds and Diamonds
c. 1875
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This gold brooch, decorated with enamel and set with emeralds and rose-cut diamonds was made in Paris circa 1875 by the jewelry firm of  Marret Frères et Jarry.

This transitional piece, in the form of a floral head, marks the ushering-in of heavily-jeweled Naturalistic floral sprays which dominated the end of the Nineteenth Century.

Mastery of Design: The Harlequin Mask Stickpin, 18th Century

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Today’s sparkly thing is a handsome Eighteenth-Century pin with a head in the form of a porcelain Harlequin’s mask. The mask is surrounded by gold foliage set with rose-cut diamonds, rubies and emeralds. This is the work of an unknown Western European maker.

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.

Mastery of Design: The Davies Indian Necklace, 19th C.

Necklace of gold, silver, white sapphires, emeralds, pearls, rubies, rock crystal and enamel.
Northern India, Nineteenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in the Nineteenth Century, This North-Indian necklace consists of a double string of pearls and emeralds which support a circular pendant of gold and silver, set with rubies, emeralds, natural white sapphires and rock crystal.  The gorgeous pendant is enameled on the reverse.  The necklace closes with ties of silk covered with gilt silver metal, and is bound with strings of silk threaded with seed pearls.

Masterpiece of the Week: The Nephrite Pen Box, 17th C.

Desk Set of Nephrite Jade, Rubies, Emeralds and Diamonds set in gold
Seventeenth Century
India
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here we see, from Seventeenth-Century India, a knife, pen, magnifying glass and matching bo of nephrite jade.  Decorated in a splendid, and very Indian, floral motif, the set is further adorned with rubies, emeralds and diamonds set in gold.  

Saturday Sparkle: The Baynes Locket, c. 1775

Locket
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A plait of hair from some long-gone beloved has been preserved in this locket since about 1775. In the Eighteenth Century, locks of hair went from being mementos that were hidden away to being the centerpieces of important jewels. Some jewels used the hair or strands of hair as part of the pattern or in a miniature painting. Hair was even used to make sentimental objects. 

This locket with its openwork gold bow, bequeathed to the V&A by Mrs. Isobel Baynes in 1950, was made in England in the late Eighteenth Century. A work of gold, it is set with pearls, emeralds and green pastes (likely replacements). The plait is protected by glass. On the reverse, a painted coronet surmounts a monogram. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Wells Crystal Box, 1700-1750

This small box and cover from the Victoria & Albert Museum is entirely crafted from rock crystal and set with rubies and emeralds in gold. The lid attaches to the box with silver mounts and hinges which are most likely a  later addition to the box.

A truly sumptuous piece like this would have been made within the Mughal  Empire around  first half of the 18th century, possibly for export or presentation.  This box was bequeathed to the Victoria & Albert Museum by Arthur Wells of Nottingham in 1882. Wells had purchased the box at the 1875 sale of the collection of Mughal hardstones amassed by one Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie.

Much of Colenol Guthrie's collection had already ended up in the museum, having been bought by the Indian Museum in 1868 and transferred to South Kensington in 1879.

Mastery of Design: The Countess Gautier Brooch, 1830

Brooch, 1830
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a beautiful brooch of gold set with an emerald, turquoises and topazes in the form of a basket of flowers. Though the maker’s mark is unidentifiable, a Paris warranty mark for 1819-38 is clearly seen.

Jewelry of the 1830s often represented Naturalistic themes. As the V&A’s curators puts it, “A love of nature was one of the most universal and respected sentiments in the 19th century.” This Naturalistic theme was influenced by the Romantic movement and the revived Rococo style.

This is a transitional design. Until about 1830, such designs were delicately stylized, but later, more exact representations of flowers, leaves, fruit and insects became the basis for more elaborate pieces. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Salting Salamander, 16th C.

The Salting Salamander
Europe, Sixteenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A large Baroque pearl forms the body of this salamander. Jewelers have always appreciated the irregularity of the baroque pearl which affords a chance to be creative. Renaissance jewelers especially enjoyed the challenge of taking the natural shape of the pearl and forcing it into the very controlled compositions of the era. 

Made in the Sixteenth Century, this European pendant, known as the Salting Salamander, was treasured not only for its beauty, but also for its symbolic meaning. Since antiquity, salamanders were thought to be impervious to fire. Aristotle and Pliny actually claimed that a salamander had the power to extinguish flames. Within time, the salamander became a symbol of fire itself and was often used to communicate ardent passion. It’s likely this pendant served as a token of affection.

The pendant, hung with a pearl, is meant to be viewed from all sides and represents a salamander in three dimensions.  A table-cut emerald is set at the creature's head and the whole is adorned with fine enamel work.

Its last owner, George Salting, bequeathed the piece to the V&A in 1910. 

Mastery of Design: A German Mother-of-Pearl and Jeweled Box, 1730-1740

Box
German, 1730-1740
Mother-of-Pearl, Gold, Diamonds, Rubies, Hyacinth, Emeralds
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Germany for export to Austria between 1730 and 1740, this box was designed to hold small personal items. Such boxes were the pinnacle of opulence and were considered symbols of enormous wealth and social standing. 

This particular box is crafted from mother-of-pearl, mounted in piqué with gold, and set with brilliant-cut diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jacinth (hyacinth) and garnets. It was exported from Vienna to England in 1806 where it was quickly appreciated for its workmanship and reliance on organic design themes. 

Mastery of Design: The Lahore Emerald Girdle, c. 1840

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

The emeralds in this exquisite piece were inherited by India's Maharajah Sher Singh from Ranjit Singh, his father known as the "Lion of the Punjab."  "The Lion," it is said, had used the emeralds to decorate his horse harnesses.  The maharajah had the emeralds made into this exceptional girdle circa 1840.

Nine years later, the Directors of the East India Company obtained the belt and presented it to Queen Victoria in 1851.  

As we know, the East India Company was chartered, as early as the Seventeenth Century, to encourage trade between Britain and the East Indies.  The Company eventually came to rule huge geographic areas of India with its own private armies, and, in doing so, exercised military power while assuming administrative functions.

Company rule of India  began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and remained strong until 1858 when, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the "Government of India Act 1858" concluded with the British Crown assuming direct control of the land under the new British Raj.

During this period of Company rule, India's leaders were often stripped of their treasures for the benefit of the Company.  This piece was one such treasure.

The Royal Collection states simply that the emerald girdle was...

"taken (as part of the Lahore Treasury) by the Directors of the East India Company, 1849; by whom given to Queen Victoria in 1851."

In short, many British royal jewels originating in India were legitimately given as gifts to the Company or to the Crown, but some were simply war booty, essentially taken from the Indian Maharajahs.  The largest collection of such treasures was taken from the Lahore Fort, just as this girdle was.  The exact number and nature of the jewels taken from the Lahore Treasure was closely guarded by  jewellers to the Royal family, Messrs Garrads & Co.  In fact, to this day, an official count is unknown.

Regardless of the manner in which they came into the collection over a century and a half ago, the curators of the Royal Collection have preserved and protected the jewels of The Lahore Treasury, and, in doing so have ensured their survival for future generations to study them.  This is the "give and take" of seized artifacts.  The way they were obtained may not have been too pleasant, but, ultimately, seizing them proves to protect them.

That's how I look at it, anyway.  But, enough of that, let's look at the girdle.

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

The jeweled belt is comprised of eighteen rectangular gold sections separated by gold links and a buckle.  Each section is edged with diamond and pearl links and set with square or hexagonal emeralds, and four with engraved oval stones. The buckle of the girdle has a square emerald between rows of diamonds in a flowerhead design.  The diamonds are either flat-cut (lasques) or more regularly faceted stones cut either in the West or in India for the Western market. The pearls are probably Eighteenth Century or earlier.

On her visit to the Great Exhibition on 22 May 1851, Queen Victoria was particularly struck by the the magnificence of the items from the Lahore Treasury.  She wrote of the...

 "jewels & ornaments from Lahore, [which] are quite magnificent, - such pearls, - & a whole girdle of emeralds."

When the Great Exhibition concluded,  as I said, the Directors of the East India Company presented the Queen with a splendid selection of these jewels, including a quantity of emeralds, which she described as "wonderful and of immense value."

A good many of the loose emeralds were re-cut and set by Garrards in a new emerald and diamond parure, consisting of a tiara, stomacher and a pair of bracelets, which Victoria wore on her State Visit to Paris in 1855. 

This girdle, which the Queen had so admired, was among the other treasures from Lahore which remained unchanged, and therefore, afford us a window into the style and brilliant craftsmanship of Nineteenth Century Indian goldsmiths.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Jewelled Pencil Case, 1880-1900

Pencil Case
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

I thought, given today is, naturally, associated with all things Irish, I'd show you some objects which relate to Ireland and, in this case, shamrocks.

This sparkling beauty dates between 1880 and 1890 and is a masterpiece of chased gold, rose-cut diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and an opal. The work of an unknown maker, it most assuredly comes from Britain. Though quite sceptre-like, it is actually a case for a pencil. The case is chased and engraved with a rose, a thistle and a shamrock--emblems of the United Kingdom. Even after over a century, the case still contains two spare nibs and three pencil lead fragments.

This oppulent object has been thought to have been made from jewels belonging to King George IV. These jewels may have been worn during George’s 1821 coronation.

Mastery of Design: The "Prince of Wales Feathers" Brooch, 1842

Brooch
1841-1842
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

I've written at length about Prince Albert's fondness for showering his Royal wife with lavish gifts.  He especially enjoyed doing so after the births of their nine children.  Given to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert on February 10, 1842, this handsome brooch was meant to mark the occasion of the Prince of Wales's (later King Edward VII) birth, which had taken place on November 9. 1841.

The gold brooch takes the form of Prince of Wales feathers, symbol of the Prince, enamelled white above a base set with pearls emeralds and rubies.  Below the feathers is a ribbon with ICH DIEN in gold.  Meaning, "I Serve," these words typically adorn the heraldry of the Prince of Wales.

Speaking of "serving," tomorrow, I'm going to "serve" you a look at this week's "Treat of the Week."  So, make sure to stop by.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Countess Harley Teleki Heart Brooch, 1610-20

Brooch of gold, enamel, rubies, diamonds and emeralds, 1610-20
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A brooch such as this would have been given as a token of love. Made between 1610 and 1620, it features a design of a heart pierced by arrows—a reference to Cupid which was widely used from the Renaissance onward. This jeweled brooch is also a locket which was probably made in Prague, in a workshop of the Imperial Habsburg court.

The piece is crafted of enameled gold, set with table-cut diamonds, rubies and emeralds. The emeralds are unique in that they are centrally bezel-set with small cabochon rubies.  In the center, a ruby is set within a heart-shaped gold frame and pierced by two arrows. The locket in the reverse of the jewel contains the miniature portrait in enamel of an unknown man behind a wee door which has been enamelled with red roses. The piece was once in the collection of the Countess Harley Teleki. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament, c. 1650

Click image to see larger picture.
Hull Grundy Bodice Ornament
Spain, Seventeenth Century
The British Museum

This bodice ornament of gold is set with table-cut emeralds and diamonds. The upper section of the piece features an openwork design in a bow form incorporating foliate tendrils and volutes. This is hinged to a section which works the initial “S” in pierced openwork.

The reverse of the jewel is enameled in pink and black on a ground of white in a floral pattern.

At one point, this piece was in the collection of Dame Joan Evans, but ended up in the catalogue of the Hull Grundys who presented this as part of a large gift to the British Museum. It’s believed that the ornament has significance to a Spanish religious confraternity.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Countess Harley Teleki Brooch, 1610 and 1620

Brooch
1610-1620
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This jeweled locket of enameled gold is set with table-cut diamonds, rubies and emeralds. As a truly stunning centerpiece, the largest ruby is set in a heart-shaped gold frame and pierced by two arrows. A smartly enameled locket in the back of the jewel contains the miniature portrait of a man.

Such a brooch would have been presented by a man to his love. This example was made in Prague between 1610 and 1620. Cupid, the cherubic son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, was as popular a symbol of love in the Seventeenth Century as he is today. In fact, he’s been shooting arrows into hearts for many centuries and reached a new height in popularity during the Italian Renaissance. 

Unusual Artifacts: The Spanish Inquisition Emerald Egg, 1620-30

Pendant of Emerald and Enameled Gold
Spain 1620-1630
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s a wild bit of Seventeenth Century Spanish weirdness. It’s incredibly beautiful and made of the world’s finest materials, yet also, a startling reminder of the Spanish Inquisition.

Made in Spain around 1620 to 1630, this egg-shaped emerald drop is encased in enameled gold. The black and white cross that we see here is that of the Roman Catholic Dominican order. The enameled green cross on the back symbolizes the hope of repentance before punishment. This is flanked by an olive branch of reconciliation and a sword of punishment.

A penitent would have worn this pendant to show piety and agreement with the policies of the Inquisition in the suppression of heresy.