Victorian Scottish Silver and Banded Agate Padlock Bracelet, Circa 1870

This fabulous, unusual, antique Victorian Scottish Silver bracelet is Circa 1860-1880, set with fabulous large fancy Agate links. Each polished agate link is a wonderful hue showing its natural grain from within. Scottish jewellery was made popular by Queen Victoria as it became a souvenir of her frequent trips to Scotland and her Scottish Castle Balmoral from the mid 1800s. Agate is a strong mineral sometimes known as the earth rainbow for it’s patterned texture that shows varying colours the earth can produce. Beautiful workmanship adorns this bracelet all round. This really is a special Scottish bracelet...

Gold bracelet composed of two rigid, articulated elements that form a circle. The bracelet is decorated with a central medallion featuring a micromosaic. The medallion is ringed with cannetille motifs and lines of gold that form arabesques. The quality of metalwork is reminiscent of Etruscan craftsmanship. The central medallion represents a pastoral scene with two peasants next to a fountain. The man is milking a goat while the woman is refreshing herself at the fountain. Roman ruins stand in the background. This composition was inspired by Francesco Londonio, a Milanese artist. The engravings of his paintings strongly influenced mosaic artisans during the second half of the 19th century. This piece presents several similarities with others from the Castellani jewelry...