Description
This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!
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At the time of the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century, the Prussian Princess Marianne initiated an action which, under the slogan "Gold I gave for iron", was intended to contribute to the defence of Prussia, the homeland threatened by France: In a grand procession on the boulevard Unter den Linden in Berlin, the ladies of the society, led by the princess, offered their gold jewelry as a gift to the king. The gold collected in this way was used to finance the fight against Napoleon and his troops; in exchange for their jewels, the donors received pieces of jewellery made of cast iron, which they wore with patriotic pride from then on.
The great age of iron jewellery thus began in the years of the Napoleonic occupation of Prussia. This new demand for iron jewellery led to the founding of the Berlin Iron Foundry, which was headed by the goldsmith Conrad Geiss, who had numerous classicist designs executed. The Berlin iron jewellery, the "Fer de Berlin" with its clear contours and its restrained, dark colour corresponded to the spirit of classicism. With it, the lavish diamond pomp of the 18th century was countered by an alternative that gave expression to bourgeois virtues such as modesty, restraint and education.
But it was not only in Berlin that pieces of jewellery were made of iron during these years; jewellery was also made of this material in Silesia, in neutral Switzerland and later even in France: Blackened iron had become fashionable and respectable. Finally, in 1851, pieces of jewellery made of Fer de Berlin were also exhibited and awarded prizes at the World's Fair in London.
Cf. Elisabeth Schmuttermeier: Schmuck aus Eisen, in: Berliner Eisen. The Royal Iron Foundry Berlin. Zur Geschichte eines preussischen Unternehmens, ed. by Charlotte Schreiter / Albrecht Pyritz, Berlin 2007, pp. 227-240, and the corresponding chapters in Brigitte Marquardt: Schmuck. Klassizismus und Biedermeier 1780-1850. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Munich 1983.
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