Powers of light

Rare pendant in Holbein style of silver & enamel, probably Vienna around 1880


€ 790.00 *
Content 1 piece
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Rare pendant in Holbein style of silver & enamel, probably Vienna around 1880
Rare pendant in Holbein style of silver & enamel, probably Vienna around 1880
Description
This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!
Fearless and brave, the luxurious knight rides his white steed towards the monster. With a lance in his hand, he will undoubtedly defeat the dragon crouching on the ground. The present piece of jewellery inspires with its excellent representation and leads us deep into cultural history. For the dragon slayer motif appears in almost all religions and cultural circles of the earth as a symbol of the struggle of the forces of light with the forces of darkness. In the Christian Occident, it is Saint George who takes up the fight with the dragons of the underworld. The historical George was executed under Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century and was probably a simple soldier. In the 12th century, however, the legend arose that George had been a luxurious knight, had slain a dragon and thus saved a virgin daughter of a king - and thus immediately became one of the most popular saints, if only because of this exciting story. Representations of George on horseback have therefore survived numerous in the history of art. As the patron saint of England and Russia, his image adorned numerous coins. Coats of arms of many cities bear his image, including those of Bamberg, Hattingen and Moscow. Statues, frescoes and paintings show his struggle, for example on the palace of Neuschwanstein Castle. And last but not least, our exquisite necklace, in a detailed, fully sculptured scene made of exquisite materials. The pendant here, made of silver, enamel and eight wax pearls, sets a precious monument to this tale from the world of Christian myth. A multicoloured enamel adorns the sculptural group, which is held by two chains into which the beads are inserted. A new silver chain makes the pendant wearable. Works with coloured enameling have been the pinnacle of goldsmithing since the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. World famous is the "Golden Horse Inn" from Altötting, made in this technique in 1404, and Benvenuto Cellini's "Saliera", today in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. In the 19th century, designs in the Renaissance style also became fashionable throughout Europe in the field of jewellery, initially in France and England, and towards the end of the century also in Germany and Austria-Hungary. The pendant presented here was probably made in Vienna in the years around 1880, and its skillful and detailed workmanship places it in this great tradition of medieval goldsmithing. Its forms, subject matter and colouration correspond exactly to its famous predecessors. The astonishing finesse of the workmanship, the precious materials and the exciting motifs make this piece a gem you can hardly get enough of!
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Jewellery in Renaissance shapes with rich enameling is a particularly precious field of collecting. Only a few of these precious pieces have come down to us through the ages without damage or missing pieces, so it is a special good fortune to find one of these period pieces. Especially in the 19th century designs in this technique have been realized. First of all, in France, since the 1850s, there was an enthusiasm for the era of François I and Henri II, which was understood as an age of patriotic greatness. François-Désiré and Émile Froment-Meurice created jewelry around scenes such as the "Toilet of Venus", which at the same time referred eruditely to antiquity and yet in a cheerful way did not ignore the interests of this worldly life. Other goldsmiths like Boucheron, Falize and Wièse followed - and in 1871 Paris was already considered the capital of enamel by the Art Journal. In Great Britain, the development took a similar course. Here, too, the Renaissance was regarded as the national style, as it referred to the glorious era of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. John Brogden and Carlo Giuliano produced designs in London in the 1860s that were based on the ornaments in Hans Holbein's paintings, which is why the style was also called "Holbeinesque." Queen Victoria was considered the new Queen Elizabeth, and jewellery that linked this past with the present was thus seen as a badge of patriotic pride. Finally, in Germany, jewellery in Renaissance forms became fashionable under the term "Old German Style". Here, since the 1870s, the Dürer period was invoked. Jewelers such as Huga Schaper in Berlin and August Kleeberg in Vienna supplied high-quality jewellery in the Renaissance style, as did their colleagues in Paris and London, richly decorated with colored enamel. The differences between the respective national styles, which were in any case more claimed than actual, became increasingly blurred by the end of the century. Jewellery with artistic enamel, however, remained in fashion for a long time - for the artists of Art Nouveau, such as René Lalique, also liked to use this technique, albeit now in a completely different formal language.
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Size & Details
Rare pendant in Holbein style of silver & enamel, probably Vienna around 1880
Powers of light
€ 790.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
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Our Promise
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You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trader organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

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