Celebrating Jewellery

CELEBRATING JEWELLERY FOREWORD 7 NINETEENTH CENTURY AND EARLIER 9 REVIVALISM 73 THE BELLE ÉPOQUE 103 THE ART DECO ERA 147 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY THE NINETEEN THIRTIES AND LATER 249 BIOGRAPHIES 321

A VERY RARE SILVER AND DIAMOND JEWEL, RUSSIAN, FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL FAMILY, SECOND HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

AN EXTREMELY RARE PERIDOT AND DIAMOND PARURE DATING FROM THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY AND ATTRIBUTED TO KOECHERT OF VIENNA.

It is extremely rare for a diamond jewel of significant importance dating from the eighteenth century to have survived intact. Diamonds continued to be scarce, despite the new discoveries in Brazil, until mines were opened in South Africa towards the end of the nineteenth century. The survival of this jewel very much depended on its Imperial ownership, and this important provenance continued to protect it even after the Russian revolution when it appeared at auction in London in 1927. Even more remarkable is the fact that it is still presented in its late eighteenth-century red velvet and shagreen fitted case.

The sheer scale of this suite of jewellery is astonishing, and even in the opulent surroundings of the court of Archduke Karl of Austria it would have caused a sensation. Peridots of this size are extremely unusual, especially when they are of fine colour, deep saturation and good purity as is the case here. These examples would probably have been mined either in Brazil or, more likely, the legendary Island of St John (or Zeberged) off the west coast of the Red Sea – the source mentioned by Pliny and which later fell under the control of the Khedive of Egypt.

This parure was made for Archduchess Henriette of Austria, née Princess of NassauWeilburg for her wedding in 1815.

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CELEBRATING JEWELLERY

A MAGNIFICENT CARVED ONYX PORTRAIT CAMEO HABILLÉ OF NAPOLEON BY NICOLA MORELLI CIRCA 1805, WITH DIAMOND-SET EMBELLISHMENTS AND GOLD PENDANT MOUNT OF CONTEMPORARY FRENCH MANUFACTURE.

A GROUP OF SEVEN DIAMOND JEWELS OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, CIRCA 1815, SET WITH CUSHION-SHAPED STONES IN SILVER AND GOLD.

DIAMOND TIARA, ENGLISH, FIRST QUARTER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

13 This expresses the essence of Empire and temporal power; yet a carved lapis plaque set in the back applied with a chased gold eagle holding a thunderbolt in its claws is a reference to an even higher authority: Jupiter. The turn of the nineteenth century saw the high point of portrait cameo production, mainly as a result of the prodigious talents of Italian gem engravers such as Morelli and Girometti. Napoleon was particularly fascinated by the glyptic art and opened a school in Paris modelled on that in Rome. The bulk of portrait engravings were of course commissioned for purposes of State throughout Europe, but, by the midnineteenth century, tourism had become a major support for the industry as well.

This unusual set of jewels that can be incorporated into a tiara were the gift of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, to his secret and illegal wife Maria Anne Fitzherbert. The design of bombé confronted volutes is very typical of this precise period and can also be found in decorative details of contemporary silver and furniture.

This fascinating tiara from the collection of Christian Lady Hesketh celebrates the Act of Union in 1801 which united Great Britain and Ireland, in its use of the emblems of the rose, the thistle and the shamrock – for England, Scotland and Ireland respectively. This important historic event for the United Kingdom inspired a number of jewels, most noticeably perhaps the pearl and diamond circlet worn by King George IV at his coronation in 1820. This tiara also shows how jewellery of this period was often multi-purpose. In this case the five diamond-set motifs can be detached from the mount and worn separately as brooches.

NINETEENTH CENTURY AND EARLIER