1850s Objets d'Art and Vertu

Dating to the early Victorian era circa 1850-60’s an incredibly rare and exquisite diamond winged Turquoise cherub brooch. The wings are set with sixteen rose cut diamonds and to th...

A Roman revival grand tour pendant with Maltese cross. An exceptional historical piece, created in the Victorian Grand Tour era in Rome Italy during the Papal States period, back in the 1850. It was carefully crafted with Roman-Etruscan revival patterns in solid rich yellow gold of 18 karats and embellished in the obverse with an intricate micro mosaic of a Maltese crusaders cross. In the reverse in high relief is the name of the city ROMA. The round gold frame is decorated with a patterns of twisted wires and fitted on top with an oval bail to wear in a chain or necklace. The micro mosaic is very well executed, of Italian origin and made in Rome. It was created in the shape of a crusaders Maltese cross, from more than six hundred tiny pieces, carved from natural stones, such as; blue lapis lazuli, red coral, black onyx, green malachite, black onyx and creme nacre. The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four "V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed from earlier forms of eight-pointed crosses in the 16th century. Although chiefly associated with the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. John, now the Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and by extension with the island of Malta, it has come to be used by a wide array of entities since the early modern period, notably the Order of Saint Stephen, the city of Amalfi, the Polish Order of the White Eagle (1709), the Prussian order Pour le Mérite (1740), and the Bavarian Military Merit Order (1866). Weight: 14.25 Grams, (9.13 Dwt). Measurements: 56 mm by 28 mm by 11 mm (2.20 x 1.10 x 0.43 Inches). Resultado de imagen para vatican roma gold...

Antique Micro Mosaic Gold Snuff Box An 18k gold beautifully engraved snuff box, with a breathtaking micro mosaic on the lid of a waterfall flowing in...

Teardrop-shaped flask in blown and cut crystal. It is embellished with several different decorative patterns: a ridged pattern surrounds the edge; the back side features a rectangular band with a diamond cut pattern and starburst rays above and below the rectangle; and the front side has a rectangle that frames a cartouche that has been left undecorated so that the owner’s initials can be added there. The gold, screw top lid is intricately accented with geometric patterns. A small, crystal stopper inside the lid helps preserve the perfume. The flask is stored in its original red leather case. In France, the art of crystal making began to develop during the late18th century with inspiration from British crystal...

A silver mounted glass scent bottle with shaped baluster body, the part open work collar and foot are pierced and engraved. The circular lid has a s...

Rectangular brooch in chased yellow gold with a micro-mosaic representing a fox having caught a duck on a black background, Roman work of the 19th century, gross weight 30 g, in its ...

Small little box of oval shape mounted as a pendant. The hinged lid and the side are adorned with enamelled medallions representing putti or floral arrangements. The medallions are f...

Truly charming Early Victorian 14kt yellow gold watch key. The outside of the watch key is hand engraved on the front. It's also hand engraved with the initials "CCC" on the reverse. Upon opening the locket, you will discover the hand painted portrait of a woman. Watch keys were generally worn by men to wind their pocket watches when pocket watches were worn attached to their waist coat. This one is all the more special given the locket style- a rarity as opposed to the purely utilitarian watch keys usually in style at the time. Men were generally in public more often than women and while they owned portraits of their wives and family (the only way to get an image of your family prior to the advent of photography) those portraits were usually left at home. The fact that this one is concealed inside a locket meant that the original owner of this watch key wanted to keep his wife with him all the time- sort of like a little secret that he had. This watch key symbolizes love in it's all it's forms. The sitters dress and hairstyle date this watch key to the 1840's to 1850's. Daggerreotypes were developed in 1839 and by the 1850's, photography had almost completely replaced hand painted portrait miniatures. This miniature portrait seems to have been painted in a time before photography had completely eliminated the art form of hand painted miniatures altogether. By this, we can surmise a couple of things about man who commissioned this; One- he most likely was more wealthy than the average man. It was by far less expensive to have a photograph taken than it was to pay a painter to paint his wife's portrait. Two- this man most likely valued established traditions. He chose to continue a centuries old practice rather than switch to a modern technology no matter how much money...

Fine antique silver filigree crucifix with a faceted carnelian center stone, beautifully hand wrought in scrolled motifs. The back, highly unus...

In this beautiful and antique ( 1850 circa ) 18 Kt gold pin is set a micromosaic depicting a small dog, of exquisite workmanship. In the brooch case, the name "Garrard & Co" appears, the famous goldsmith supplier of the English royal house, and an inscription refers to a royal event. Garrard & Co., formerly Asprey & Garrard Limited, designs and manufactures luxury jewelry and silver. George Wickes founded Garrard in London in 1735 and the brand is headquartered at Albemarle Street in Mayfair, London (the address appears in the writing) Garrard was the first official Crown Jeweller of the UK, charged with the upkeep of the British Crown Jewels, from 1843 to 2007, and was responsible for the creation of many tiaras and jewels still worn by the British royal family today. As well as jewelry. The "Vatican Mosaic Studio" comes from the micromosaic plaque used by Garrard jewelry...

In this sterling silver box is set an ancient micromosaic (mid 19th century) depicting the St.Peter's Basilica . It come from the Vatican Mosaic Studio that started up in 1727. Her...

A large buckle in neo-renaissance style depicting the birth of Venus in silver with a damescened iron and gold mounting, signed: Antonio Cortelazzo, Italian, Vicenza, circa 1850. we...