brooch(?);
hair-ornament(?)
- Museum number
- 1978,1002.956
- Description
-
Bloomed and chased three-colour gold hair or corsage ornament set with diamonds in the form of a large spray of mixed flowers and a diamond-set butterfly mounted on a trembler spring. Pansies, left: lower petal green with three gold bands, side petal green with one gold band. right: lower petal green with a gold tip. Butterfly wings: 'eyes' with diamond surrounded by green on gold. The underside of the wings are chased and engraved and the legs separate. Body green.
- Production date
- 1850 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 9.40 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Text from the Catalogue of the Hull Grudy Gift (Gere et al 1984) no. 705:
An outstanding example of the technique of using coloured gold, notably the use of a range of colours within an individual element. For instance, one petal of a pansy flower is striped in two or three colours of gold to suggest the veins and variations of colour that occur in nature.
The Empress Eugenie, who married Napoleon lll in 1853, was responsible for the revival of interest in the taste and techniques of the eighteenth century. This brooch follows the type of design found in mid-eighteenth century French pattern-books with remarkable fidelity, but neither the pave-settings of the diamonds nor the shaded colouring of the gold would have been used at that date. The detailed knowledgeof eighteenth-century forms shown by French jewellery designers at this date is explained by the fact that a collection of ornament prints by the eighteenth-century jewellers Maria and Babel was kept in the library of the Chambre Syndicale de la Bijouterie in Paris. (Charlotte Gere)
See 'Knowledge, Money and Time: Anne Hull Grundy as a Collector of Victorian Jewellery' by Charlotte Gere and Judy Rudoe which appeared in Journal 24 (2000) of The Decorative Arts Society. Fig. 18.:
Additions and corrections to original catalogue entry made by Judy Rudoe.
See also C. Gere & J. Rudoe, 'Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria: A Mirror to the World', London, British Museum, 2010, fig. 128 p.172, and fig.130 p.173. A bouquet of rosebuds, pansies and forget-me-nots in the Hull Grundy Gift to the British Museum is executed in three colours of gold; red, green and yellow. A butterfly on a trembler spring hovers over the stems, indicating that it was designed to be worn in the hair. The desire for lifelike effects led to the development of sophisticated surface textures: the butterfly wings are matted all over with a variety of tools. Veins of leaves or bird feathers were engraved afterwards. Engraving on the pansies follows the contours of the petals, using a multiple-line tool to achieve delicate parallel lines, with a larger tool for the veins; the lower petal on the left-hand pansy is inlaid with alternate layers of yellow and green gold. The peacock-feather ‘eyes’ are set with diamonds. [Fig.130: enlarged details of butterfly wings and pansy inlay] It is exceptional in its quality and variety of texturing and colouring. Analysis of the coloured gold pieces in the collection was carried out by Susan La Niece in 1990–91. The coloured gold alloys were generally soldered onto a gold base forming a double layer or appliqué. Sometimes several colours were used, creating complex inlays. Copper was added for red gold and silver for green gold; yellow gold colour was often almost pure gold.
The bouquet conveys combined messages of love: the rosebuds for happy love, the pansy for thoughts and the forget-me-not for true love. The diamonds are for enduring love. The butterfly has many meanings. The classical allusion is to the soul; with its brief lifespan, it is sometimes used as a metaphor for the transience of beauty. It is also the symbol of resurrection and rebirth: the chrysalis appears to die and then to be reborn as a butterfly. The finest naturalistic pieces like this example are near to life-size, as in the best tradition of botanical illustration (Gere & Rudoe 2010, pp. 172, 174 and note 69). (Charlotte Gere)
- Location
- On display (G47/dc8)
- Acquisition date
- 1978-1981
- Acquisition notes
- Cameo Corner, 26 Museum Street, London WC1. Original invoice for £260 to Anne Hull Grundy dated 4.2.54, described as 'Antique vari-coloured gold spray, diamonds set in butterfly and rose-bud'.
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1978,1002.956
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: HG.956 (masterlist number)
