Victorian Kilt Brooch Shaped as a Dagger with Quartz in Silver, c. 1890

Dirk Dagger

Victorian Kilt Brooch Shaped as a Dagger with Quartz in Silver, c. 1890

€ 1,390.00 ^*

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!

Scotland became a place of longing for the British in the middle of the 19th century. The desire to return to nature, which fueled Romanticism in Germany, inspired a love of the rugged northern part of the country in the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria retreated to her Balmoral Castle for the summer months, people read Walter Scott's novels and even in Scotland itself, people returned to old traditions and revived the wearing of kilts and kilts. Of course, jewellery was also created to follow this fashion. In particular, the colorful semi-precious stones found in the Cairngorm Mountains west of Balmoral were used in this jewellery and gave it a local patriotic touch. This type of jewelry is now known as "pebble jewellery". The stones, selected for their individual charm, were combined to form traditional motifs such as brooches, buckles or Celtic crosses, always with the aim of creating a picturesque impression. These pieces of jewelry were initially created in Scotland itself in the mid-19th century by goldsmiths in Glasgow and Edinburgh. As demand increased, the large manufacturers in Birmingham also got into the business. Scottish-themed jewellery had become very fashionable throughout the United Kingdom. This brooch is a testimony to this fashion. It is designed as a dagger with two smaller knives inserted into its sheath. The dagger and knife (Gaelic: "Dirk & Sgian Dubh") were and are an indispensable part of the kilt. In the 1812 portrait of Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry by the painter Henry Raeburn, we can see such a dagger at the side of the sitter. The painting can be found in the National Gallery of Scotland, see here. The gemstones set in the silver brooch, such as citrine, agate, jasper and heliotrope, are typical pebbles found in brooches such as this one. However, as gemstones from Scotland could no longer meet demand from the mid-19th century onwards, gemstones imported from Brazil were mostly used, as here. Scottish pebble jewelry was extremely popular throughout the second half of the 19th century. Kilt pins in this form, as well as other "Scottish Pebble" jewelry, are unfortunately rarely marked with complete hallmarks with date letters. However, as the peak of enthusiasm for this type of jewellery was in the last decades of the 19th century, we assume that this high-quality, large brooch was also created during this period.

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On Pebble Jewellery, see Charlotte Gere/Judy Rudoe: Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria, London: British Museum Press 2010, pp. 454-461, and Ginny Redington Dawes and Corinne Davidov: Victorian Jewelry. Unexplored Treasures, New York / London / Paris, 1991, pp. 57-95.

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Size & Details

Dirk Dagger

€ 1,390.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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Dirk Dagger

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