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Antique Enamel, Rose Cut Diamond 18K Brooch Renaissance Revival, c. 1880.

About the Item

Antique enamel brooch, 18K, Renaissance Revival, c. 1880. Slightly more than 1 inch in diameter, this brooch has French import marks both on the 'c' clasp as well as on the pin stem. The piece bears no gold marks, however it would not be allow to enter France if it were less than 18K or .750 or 75% pure gold. The piece has also been acid tested to confirm its gold content. The piece was probably enameled in Switzerland for the French market. There are 9 rose cut diamonds set in silver. The machine age of the late 19th century and the industrial revolution that accompanied it spawned, as one might imagine, a great deal of antipathy and unrelenting dissatisfaction with the mediocrity of its artistic statements, and its whole aesthetic underpinnings. So while technology "pushed forward" with sometimes dubious efficacy there occurred a revolt against its many failures as well as a fervent desire to return to images, designs and representations that would induce the more "civilized segments of society" back to neoclassicism or renaissance revivalism. The essays of John Ruskin and William Morris, The Arts and Crafts movement, concern for aesthetic sensitivity especially among a Brotherhood self-described as the "Pre-Raphaelites" in both England and America attempted to refocus the arts on values that occurred long ago and far away in which jewelry was not solely about wealth. It should instead focus upon art, beauty, femininity, and the dignity of women in a variety of roles, usually heroic. It should ignore all that society had done to satisfy needs. Art should exist instead for the sake of art alone. Jewelry became lessons or reminders drawn on gold in the medium of enamel especially portrait enamel and paillonne enamel - under laid with foil. As is the case in our example of a renaissance revival brooch we can see just how large and complex the artist's palette was. He could create a fabric of built up aqua and green or he could create a nearly non-existent gossamer veil with remarkable transparency. He could lay over the gold of the brooch a thick layer of silver so that he could set rose cut diamonds, nine in our piece, which would create ethereal and other worldly atmospherics to her clothing. He could outfit her with a headdress also to make her singularly unique. Her eyes usually presented in or near profile would depict a distant gaze. Her garb, nowhere to be found in late Victorian clothing, would suggest that of a deity - a warrior, a huntress - possibly a present day Athena classically reincarnated. Her full lips with pink cheeks present a blush worthy of Revlon, and brows that Maybelline could admire - all would identify her as young, strong, alert, clean, classically capable and therefore beautiful. Her portrayal here was in short the antithesis of the quick, dirty and g-d forbid mediocre reality extent during the industrial revolution. All items sold are accompanied by a detailed Statement of Value with photographs all suitable for your insurance company and your files, as well as all original gemological documentation, if specified in the listing. As always, we guarantee all pieces to be exactly as represented. Each piece of jewelry arrives in a gift-wrapped fine presentation box. Over the decades of our stewardship as a small but exemplary purveyor of the jeweler's art, we have strived to offer a fine and authentic selection, in excellent condition, of collectible jewels from all highly sought time periods at competitive prices. In the process, we have had the extraordinary good fortune of meeting remarkable people - some collectors, others just extremely interesting individuals who have taken the time and effort to examine their lives and select things that tend to make them smile, or admire, or just wonder at the exciting endlessly creative and nuanced panoply of jeweled artifacts.

Metal:

18k Gold,Enamel

Stone:

Diamond

Stone Cut:

Rose Cut

Style:

Victorian

Period:

1880-1889

Date of Manufacture:

1880