Antique Marquise Ring with Rose-Cut Diamonds in Gold, Russian, c. 1900

Old World Splendour

Antique Marquise Ring with Rose-Cut Diamonds in Gold, Russian, c. 1900

€ 1,290.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

“When I hear the word ‘Russia,’ I think of a vast plain at dawn. I can’t imagine the sun shining there; it’s always twilight, and in the distance is a big city with lights in the windows, and somewhere in the twilight someone is singing or crying.” “Mademoiselle Laure says,” Marie reported, “that the court of St. Petersburg is the most exuberant court in Europe.” Roxane shrugged contemptuously: “Oh, she.” To this day, our image of Russia during the late Tsarist Empire oscillates between these two poles, as Eduard von Keyserling so aptly describes in his novel “Princesses”, published in 1917. On the one hand, there is the splendor and festivity of the St. Petersburg court; on the other, the gloom and melancholy that, in the European imagination, have become associated with the country’s immeasurable vastness. This ring takes us into that distant and long-gone world. It was crafted in the Russian Empire, as its hallmarks reveal. A popular ring style of this era was the so-called marquise ring, whose elongated ring face—tapered to a point at both ends—was often densely set with diamonds. Sometimes a single colored gemstone is set in the center; at other times, the sparkle of numerous small diamonds alone defines the ring’s effect. Contemporary paintings and jewelry catalogs attest to the great popularity of this ring style, which was widespread throughout much of Europe c. 1900. Our ring also belongs to this type. It is crafted from reddish gold and bears the 56 zolotnik hallmark characteristic of Russian goldwork. The narrow, boat-shaped ring face is densely set with 27 rose cut diamonds. Stylized leaf motifs on the ring shoulders, with their already simplified design language, reflect a gradual departure from 19th-century historicism and point to the new design trends of the period c. 1900. The hallmark, only partially preserved due to a later ring size alteration, bears the shovel-shaped mark for items weighing less than one zolotnik, along with the initials of the assayer Alexander Vasilievich Romanov. Since Romanov was active in Warsaw and St. Petersburg during this period, the ring was likely crafted in one of these two cities. The ring is very well preserved and serves as a wonderful testament to the final years of the Tsarist era.

Size & Details

Old World Splendour

€ 1,290.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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