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.

History's Runway: An Enamel and Ruby Bow, circa 1600

Bow
Enamel, Rubies, Pearl, Gold
1600-1660
The Victoria and Albert Museum

Little is known about this beautiful little bow. It was made somewhere in Europe between 1600 and 1660. A masterpiece of enamel work, the bow is beautiful from both sides. The front of the piece is set with sparking rubies in gold mounts while the reverse is hand-painted with enamel flowers.

Throughout its life the bow has been worn as both a pendant and a brooch. The dangling pearl at the bottom may be a later addition. 

Mastery of Design: A Gold, Jade and Ruby Necklace, 1825

Necklace
Gold, Jade, Rubies, Chrysoprase
1825
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made just four years after the coronation of King George IV, this necklace of gold filigree with cannetille (fine gold work of thin or flattened wires in rosette patterns) and grainti (spirals and volutes of gold wire) decoration, is set with jade, chrysoprases and rubies and shows emerging resurgence of Gothic style which dominated the era for awhile.

The work of an unknown artist, this necklace most likely comes from France. It is curious to note that the earrings were not made at the same time as the necklace and, in fact, were not purposely made to match. These were purchased at a much later date and just coincidentally matched the necklace.

Precious Time: Queen Victoria's Rock Crystal, Diamond and Ruby Clock, 1900

Clock
Michael Perchin
c. 1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Images Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Created by Fabergé workmaster Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1860-1903) around 1900, this desk clock of carved rock crystal is mounted with gold, silver-gilt, enamel, rose diamonds and rubies.  It was presented to Queen Victoria by Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, her granddaughter,  in 1900.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Her Majesty had a fondness for her Tsarina granddaughter.  According to the Royal Collection, "On receipt of the news of the death of Tsar Alexander III, on 1 November 1894, the Queen wrote of the new Tsar and Tsarina in her journal:

‘What a terrible load of responsibility & anxiety has been laid upon the poor Children! I had hoped and trusted they would have many years of comparative quiet & happiness before ascending this thorny throne.'"

The Queen was thrilled with this gift from the young Tsarina and appreciated its unusual, noting its difference from the majority of Fabergé’s clocks in her collection.  The others are in the form of gold strut clocks, enameled in a wide variety of colors and set with gemstones in gold. 

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

This clock, however, is crafted predominantly of rock crystal which has been engraved with trophies incorporating torches and a quiver as well as musical attributes. The rock crystal lobed panels are divided by four mounted gold arrows set with rubies and diamonds. 

White enamel forms the dial which is  surrounded by a bezel of green enamelled laurel with diamond-set ribbon ties. 

Upon the death of Queen Victoria, the clock was given to the future King George V who kept it on his desk until his own death.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Precious Time: Queen Victoria's Rock Crystal, Diamond and Ruby Clock, 1900

Clock
Michael Perchin
c. 1900
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Images Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Created by Fabergé workmaster Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin (1860-1903) around 1900, this desk clock of carved rock crystal is mounted with gold, silver-gilt, enamel, rose diamonds and rubies.  It was presented to Queen Victoria by Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, her granddaughter,  in 1900.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Her Majesty had a fondness for her Tsarina granddaughter.  According to the Royal Collection, "On receipt of the news of the death of Tsar Alexander III, on 1 November 1894, the Queen wrote of the new Tsar and Tsarina in her journal:

‘What a terrible load of responsibility & anxiety has been laid upon the poor Children! I had hoped and trusted they would have many years of comparative quiet & happiness before ascending this thorny throne.'"

The Queen was thrilled with this gift from the young Tsarina and appreciated its unusual, noting its difference from the majority of Fabergé’s clocks in her collection.  The others are in the form of gold strut clocks, enameled in a wide variety of colors and set with gemstones in gold. 

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

This clock, however, is crafted predominantly of rock crystal which has been engraved with trophies incorporating torches and a quiver as well as musical attributes. The rock crystal lobed panels are divided by four mounted gold arrows set with rubies and diamonds. 

White enamel forms the dial which is  surrounded by a bezel of green enamelled laurel with diamond-set ribbon ties. 

Upon the death of Queen Victoria, the clock was given to the future King George V who kept it on his desk until his own death.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Pendant in the Form of a Non-Working Watch, 18th Century

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

This circular pendant is designed to look like a watch. Made by a now unknown Eighteenth-Century jeweler, the bezel is bordered by rubies spaced with white enamel spheres which simulate pearls. The obverse shows a false clock face set of gold and enamel behind glass. The reverse is adorned with a foliate pattern of green and gilt enamel. From the Collection of Lady Carnarvon, the pendant was given to the Royal Collection, I’d say, sometime in the 1930s.

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

The Home Beautiful: The Froment-Meurice Bottle, 1854



Bottle
French, 1854
The Victoria & Albert Museum



This exceptional bottle of rock crystal is mounted in silver and silver-gilt, enameled and set with rubies and Baroque pearls. Its rectangular body is cut with oblique grooves, spreading neck, and a circular foot. The silver and gilt mounting is made up of sprays of enameled foliage set with pearls of various shapes and colors, tied by a ribbon enameled in black and set in rubies.


This is the work of François-Désiré Froment-Meurice in Paris, 1854. Here, François-Désiré Froment-Meurice is imitating the mounted rock crystals produced by Renaissance goldsmiths for court collections and earlier Egyptian vessels. The foliate decoration and the form of the bottle are, however, distinctively in the fashion of the 1850s.

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.

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Putti Locket, 1570-1600

Memorial Locket with Cameo and Enamel Painting
Cameo:  1570, Setting: 1600
Germany
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the collection of Dame Joan Evans, we have this layered agate cameo which depicts two male busts. The cameo is set in gold and adorned with painted enamels and rubies. It’s believed that the cameo was made in Germany circa 1570 and was set into the gold mount around 1600. 

The reverse of the cameo has been painted with an enamel landscape which shows a skull and a putto blowing bubbles—a clear representation of the brevity of human life. Given this, it’s entirely possible that this was meant to serve as a memorial locket or, perhaps, a memento mori.

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

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.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Fabergé Star Bangle, 1908-1913

Bangle of gold, a star sapphire and ruby
c. 1908
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In 1882, Fabergé showed archaeological-style jewelry at the Pan-Russian Industrial Exhibition in Moscow.   The display was a triumph and visitors to the Exhibition were vocal in their adoration of these pieces, which were based on the Greek jewelry in the Hermitage.

Among the most celebrated of the pieces on display was this bangle bracelet of gold which is set, at the terminals, with a large pale star sapphire and a vivid star ruby.  The stones, both natural, display a white star, due to refraction, when held up to the light.

Her Majesty, Queen Mary, consort of King George V, was a great fan of this style of bracelet and amassed many similar pieces in her monumental collection of jewels.  

Mastery of Design: “The Oriental Circlet,” 1853

The Oriental Circlet
R. & S. Garrard & Co., 1853
Commissioned by Prince Albert
Gold, Diamonds and Rubies
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Following the Great Exhibition in 1850, Queen Victoria was presented with magnificent jewels from the East India Company. Both Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert were enchanted by the exotic designs of the gems she was given. Those gems inspired Prince Albert to commission the Royal Jewelers at R. and S. Garrard and Co. to create this diamond and ruby tiara for his wife. The circlet features a design of diamond-encrusted “Moghul” arches in an Indian style which surround diamond lotus flowers set with rubies.


Prince Albert often supervised the design of Queen Victoria’s jewels. She once wrote in her diary, “Albert has such taste and arranges everything for me about my jewels.” Having researched Queen Victoria’s enormous collection of jewels for many years, I will concur with the Queen’s assessment. Albert did an excellent job.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection

Click image to enlarge.

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Filigree Necklace, 1825-30

Click Image to Enlarge
Necklace of Gold Mesh, chrysoprase, rubies and diamonds.
France, c. 1825
From the Collection of Dame Joan Evans
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the 1820s, gold was put to good use in a variety of new ways--mesh necklaces and bracelets, gold chain and wire work became the fashion. Colored golds also became quite popular.  Goldsmith experimented with colors.  For example:  in gold alloy more copper gives a redder gold, while extra zinc or zinc and silver will result in a pale yellow gold.

The technique of filigree with spirals and granules (cannetille and grainti) was revived in France then copied in England. While consumers appreciated the intricacy of the style, jewelers liked the economical nature of the designs which appeared to be weighty, but actually used less gold.  

From the important jewelry collection of Dame Joan Evans, we have this necklace with pendant of gold mesh and filigree with cannetille and grainti decoration.  Made in France between 1825 and 1830, it is set with chrysoprases, brilliant-cut diamonds and rubies.

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.  

Mastery of Design: A Burmese Double Comb, Late Eighteenth Century

Burmese Double-Sided Comb
Late Nineteenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Burma around 1875, this double-sided, wooden comb is mounted with gold and inlaid with a trellis-work of un-faceted rubies and emeralds the traditional Burmese style. Such a comb would have been the stuff of a Burmese court lady's cosmetic box. These handy boxes were known as a “bi-it.” Aside from combs, they usually held, perfumes, a few tresses of hair (to augment a lady’s hair like a wig-let) and thanahka (powder).


This particular comb is believed to be of royal provenance. The very stringent laws of the Burmese court of Mandalay during the time of the Konbaung Dynasty (1752-1885) restricted the use of precious gemstones to only royalty and courtiers.

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.