Wonderful Necklace Made of Carved Coral & Gold, c. 1850

Flowers from Naples

Wonderful Necklace Made of Carved Coral & Gold, c. 1850

€ 3,690.00 ^*

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!

Jewelry made of carved coral is still one of the most spectacular souvenirs of a trip to Naples in the mid-19th century. We know many simple necklaces made of coral carved into spheres. Necklaces, brooches and entire parures made of coral carved by hand into flowers and blossoms, leaves and fruit are exceptionally rare and a great pleasure, because they invite you to travel in your thoughts and at the same time elicit admiration for the craftsmanship of the masters. This necklace unfolds a delicately fragrant bouquet of flowers and fruits on three rows of strong coral beads. Five large, fully blossomed chrysanthemums consist of countless, individually carved petals, while smaller flowers and fruits frame the arrangement. We also find small acorns here, a reference to the jewellery of the ancient Romans and Etruscans, who often executed the same motif in gold as a symbol of fertility and strength. All elements are individually mounted on gold rods. The coral used comes from the Mediterranean. They have a warm, light red salmon hue, which was considered the most desirable coral color in the 19th century. Artistic pieces like this one were almost exclusively made in the Bay of Naples, where the most important workshops of the time were located. From there, they found their way into salons all over Europe. At the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, the stand of jeweler Robert Phillips caused a sensation when he presented an impressive selection of finely carved Italian corals - works that were soon added to the collection of today's Victoria & Albert Museum. We discovered the necklace, whose fine corals are set in gold, here in Berlin. It is beautifully preserved, it has always been carefully cared for and the flowers are still intact. A demi-parure in a similar style can be found, for example, in the British Museum, inv. no. 1978,1002.857.a-b, see here. A comparable, albeit far less elaborately crafted bracelet in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, inv. no. M.126-1984, see here. For dating, see also David Bennet and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery, Woodbridge 2010, p. 107, p. 107, p. 111, and Charlotte Gere/Judy Rudoe: Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria, London: British Museum Press 2010, pp. 240-243.

Size & Details

Flowers from Naples

€ 3,690.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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