Jewellery History Today

Issue 9 Autumn 2010

ISSN 2042-8529

The magazine of The Society of Jewellery Historians

Contents
2
3
5

Chairmans letter
What an unusual Brooch!
The Chevron Bead and
its Simulants

Reviews:
7 Jewellery in the Age

8
9
10

of Queen Victoria
How the Watch was Worn
Medieval Jewellery
Recent Publications

11 Saleroom News
11-13 News and events
14 SJH Lecture Programme
15 Listings

Jewellery History Today,

the Magazine of The Society
of Jewellery Historians
Issue 9 Autumn 2010

Chairmans Letter
Membership subscriptions are due on 1st October, and there is a subscription form
enclosed with this issue. If all goes according to plan, it is hoped that the Society
will finally start a new life on 1st October as a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Although it will continue as a Registered Charity, the change will apparently require
a new Charity Number. If you are a UK taxpayer and do not claim your subscription
as a business expense, then please sign the Gift Aid section of the Renewal Form,
even if you have already done so in the past. SJH members are reminded that
higher rate taxpayers can actually save tax by declaring their Gift Aided payments.
It will be extremely beneficial to the economic administration of the Society if
members pay their subscriptions promptly (taking advantage of the early payment
discount).
I am sure that many members have interesting things to share with other members.
It would be excellent if a lively correspondence section could be developed in your
magazine. Please do not be diffident about expressing your views, even if they are
criticisms of some of the Societys activities. Your Committee and the Editors strive
to produce a variety of lectures, events and printed material, but are always open
to suggestions. Contributions of short articles and news for our News and Events
pages would also be very welcome.
I would remind members that the Society is run on an almost entirely voluntary
basis. If any members feel that they have something to offer to its administration
(we are still seeking a new Reviews Editor for the magazine, as our excellent current
one is retiring due to the pressure of her own business), please do let us know.
The lecture programme for 2011, together with the dates for 2012, is enclosed.
Please put the dates in your diaries.

Editorial Board
Managing Editor:
Copy Editor:
Features:
Reviews:
Listings, advertising:
Design:

Nigel Israel

Muriel Wilson
Jane Perry
Joanna Whalley
post vacant
Eleni Bide
Matthew Lewis

We look forward to receiving your suggestions

and contributions. Please contact Jewellery
History Today. Copydate for Issue 10, Winter
2010 is 29 November 2010.

Published by
The Society of Jewellery Historians
Scientific Research, The British
Museum, London WC1B 3DG
ISSN 2042-8529
www.societyofjewelleryhistorians.ac.uk
The Society of Jewellery Historians is a Registered
Charity: No. 282160.
Cover: Coloured gold and diamond flower
bouquet. Probably English, about 1850. British
Museum, Hull Grundy Gift. From Jewellery in
the Age of Queen Victoria The Trustees of the
British Museum.
Printed in the UK by Spectrum Printing Services,
www.spectrumprinting.co.uk

The opinions expressed in Jewellery History Today

are those of the contributors and are not necessarily
those of the Editors or The Society of Jewellery
Historians. No part of Jewellery History Today may
be reproduced without permission. 2010.

2 Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010

Editorial
The great event of the summer for our little world has been the launch of the
astonishing publication, Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria co-authored by one
of our longest-serving committee members, Judy Rudoe, and by Charlotte Gere,
who has given several scholarly and insightful lectures to the Society over the years,
and is well known as a writer on jewellery and on the decorative arts in general. In
this issue we carry a review of the book, and additionally have a report on the
celebratory event held at the British Museum in late July, confirming the importance
of what is undoubtedly a valued work of scholarship.
We have an authoritative account of a particular type of bead. Stefany Tomalin is
a renowned expert on beads and their cultural context, and follows her book review
in our last issue with this specialist study of chevron beads.
Elsewhere we have a feature by the Societys Hon. Secretary David Lancaster on
the subject of Victorian jewellery containing fossil agates of an unusual kind. The
salerooms have recently offered some interesting lots with historical provenance,
and as always we report on events and other news items that we hope will be of
interest to members.
Your editors must echo our Chairman in encouraging members to contribute to
our magazine, although in time our problem will be lack of space and the cost of
additional pages. It is always a pleasant experience to meet someone with an
unexpectedly deep and expert knowledge of an obscure subject worthy of a wider
audience, and soon words like light and bushel begin to spring to mind.
Remember that a societys magazine is as good as its members make it, and send
us suggestions and ideas for future issues.

What an Unusual Brooch!

By David Lancaster

Having collected hardstone jewellery for some time, I was delighted by the section on Britons in Britain in
Chapter 10 in Charlotte Gere and Judy Rudoes magnificent book Jewellery in the age of Queen Victoria.
The Victorians popular interest in
jewellery created from local materials
discussed in this book can be brought
to life by a visit to the annual open
day of the Geologists Association,
where their comprehensive archive
of photographs of early field trips,
involving ladies in period attire, both
amuses and surprises the viewer with
their willingness to undertake such
ventures.
One can well imagine such a lady
proudly wearing her ammonite and
Whitby jet brooch and using it as a
device to discuss Darwins theory of
evolution, whilst the fossil sponge
in flint (fig 1) is a far more subtle
example of her interests, proudly
mounted in engraved silver as a
locket-back brooch still enclosing a
family photograph (fig 2), perhaps
a reminder of an enjoyable day
fossicking for fossils.
Further
discussion
would
be
occasioned by the agate panel brooch
(fig 3) which uses the feeder tube of
an agate nodule to great effect as a
natural illustration of an erupting
volcano; the carefully selected stone
set in a simple gilt brass mount
to minimise cost as such a piece
could not be worn very often. The
wonders and mysteries of the earth
are demonstrated by other brooches
in my collection set with volcanic
breccia, porphyry, Cotham landscape
marble from Bristol, and a strange
cluster of cave pearls. All of these
form a sound basis for the dining
room conversation but how does one
introduce the subject of the brooches
illustrated in figures 4 & 5? Perhaps
the opening would be the mention of
a visit to Lyme Regis and the story of
Mary Anning, who amongst her many

Fig 1 & 2. Brooch set with a fossil sponge in flint, circa 1860, (dimensions 6 x 5 cms); reverse
showing photograph locket

Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010 3

Fig. 3. Brooch set with an agate, circa 1900, (dimensions 5 x 4 cms). Photograph D. Lancaster.

Fig. 4. Brooch set with a marine coprolite panel, circa 1870, (dimensions 6 x 4 cms)
Photograph D. Lancaster

fossil discoveries had found what she

incorrectly termed bezoar stones in
the abdominal regions of ichthyosaur
skeletons.
These were identified
by William Buckland in 1829 as
fossilised faeces, which he named
coprolites. Although important as a
scientific discovery, providing clues to
the diet and internal organ structure
of the creature, they are unlikely
candidates for Victorian decorative
jewellery.
The panel brooch (fig 4) is a marine
coprolite replaced by phosphate and
is likely to have been discovered in
the sedimentary fossil-rich bone beds
at Bristol laid down in the upper
Triassic era, 65 million to 227 million
years ago. Detailed study of such
specimens can reveal evidence of
the coiled intestine of a shark or the
smooth structure of an ichthyosaur or
a fish. Discovery of quantities of such
nodules around Cambridgeshire led
to their being mined on an industrial
scale for use as fertiliser in the
second half of the 19th century. For
this brooch the nodule has been split,
polished and mounted in an embossed
gilt frame.
The agatised fossil (fig 5) was
deposited by a terrestrial creature,
and subsequently submerged in an
oxygen-free environment to be later
replaced by silicates including red
jasper and chalcedony in a similar
manner to the transformation of fossil
trees in such places as Arizona. The
oval colourful panel set in a scrolling
silver frame can be enjoyed as a piece
of natures art concealing a hidden
history. Did the lady wearing it know
its true identity?
David Lancaster, a Committee Member
of the Society, is a freelance jewellery
historian. His long and illustrious
career has led him from Portobello
Road to positions at Garrards, London,
Mappin
&
Webb,
Johannesburg
and Oxford, and Christies South
Kensington, where he was persuaded
to write the books Art Nouveau
Jewellery and, with his colleague and
wife Sally Everitt, Christies 20th
Century Jewellery.

Fig. 5. Brooch set with an agatised coprolite, (dimensions 5 x 4 cms). Photograph D. Lancaster.

4 Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010

The Chevron Bead and its Simulants

By Stefany Tomalin

Even those with little interest in glass, which is sometimes dismissed as the material of substitutes
and imitations, may still marvel at the wondrous star, rosetta or chevron bead and the profusion
of look-alikes and variations, of glass and other materials, that have appeared recently.
The classic Venetian chevron bead is
cylindrical with bevelled tapering ends, or
polished and rounded to an oval shape.
In transverse section, the star pattern
can be seen in coloured concentric layers
(commonly four or six). The outside, often
deep cobalt blue, may appear striped; if it
has been polished away at the ends then the
points of the star(s) are visible as zigzags,
giving the descriptive English name.
Strictly, only beads with zigzags may be
named chevron. Should the pattern have
a more rounded form, a petal-like pattern is
created and the bead is known as a rosetta
bead. Radiating from the centre of a typical
mid 20th century six-layered chevron bead,
the colour layers are: white blue white
red white blue. The sides of the tubes
may be additionally embellished with extra
stripes, or the outermost layer may be
almost completely ground away.
The technique of drawing blown glass
to make monochrome beads has been
known since early Islamic times and was
redeveloped in Venice before the end of
the 15th century. Venetian craftsmen used
glass with qualities which made many extra
processes possible. Thus we see the first
known mention of rosetta beads in an
inventory of 1496 by Barovier in Murano,
Venice. The bead is made using a sequence
of hot and cold glass-working steps. The
complex decorative effect results from
the use of star moulds. The gather of
coloured glass is blown into a grooved
conical mould which creates the points;
the resultant cane is then coated with more
colours which may then be moulded again
to create further outer layers.
Some are made with as many as ten
layers. Rarities can have up to 20 points
to the star. The earliest type, made with
seven layers and 12 points, may have a
thin layer in the centre, which may be dark
or clear. Sometimes its hard to discern

Fig. 1
individual layers because the colours can
alter if they are overheated, and there may
be encrustations from soil. Beads may be
artificially patinated to suggest greater age.
The complex blown gather is stretched
to form a tube, the pattern radiating from
the hole in the centre. When cold it is cut
into short fat cylinders. By grinding and
polishing through the layers the star pattern
is revealed as zigzags.
A speo (on the spit) is another chevron
finishing technique whereby drawn beads
are held on a mandrel and re-heated enough
to melt and round the bead for a softer
spherical shape, but the pattern becomes
less clearly defined this way.
Figure 1 shows variants on this theme.
The largest bead is 37mm long. Amongst
examples of the many differing cross
sections are some early seven-layered
chevron beads; the column to the far left
is comprised of contemporary chevrons by

Venetian artist Luigi Cattelan; the column

alongside includes three similar beads of
1990s production in three colourways, the
lowermost has been polished a speo; and
at the bottom right is a large recently-made
oblate bead of recycled chevron fragments
re-melted in Ghana, pierced while molten.
Many beads were shipped to the New
World in the days of exploration and
subsequent colonisation, likewise to the
Far East. Wearing large and valuable beads
denoted a high status which is still the case
today in West Africa.
As skilled labour dwindled, mass
production in Venice came to a stop in
the 1960s and the more artistic lampwork
creations were favoured. Glassworkers in
new places began to copy popular Venetian
styles. In the 1980s, glass bead-makers in
Purdalpur, India, found a way to replicate
the chevron look by building up a star
pattern using segments made of bundles of
Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010 5

coloured glass canes fused together around a

tube at the centre. Later their work became
finer, and more recent examples show a
greater variety of colours. Star patterns of
chevron simulants from India have a jagged
unevenness.
In figure 2, the lower three rows
demonstrate the variety of chevron-style
beads made in India in the 1980s and
1990s; two displaying stripes of avventurina
(goldstone) glass alternating with white with
a slight twist, the longest measuring 29mm.
At the right is a cheap necklace of stained
bone beads, carved with notches, also
made in India, resembling a strand of round
chevron-style beads. Rows one and two show
beads of ethnic origin: the first four irregular
cylindrical beads are made in Ghana from
fused powder glass in the Krobo tradition,
decorated with zigzags in enamel paints, as
are the first seven in the second row. In the
top row, the fifth, also found in West Africa,
is a plain white moulded European porcelain
bead with a painted pattern; then six to eight
are glazed pottery beads from Nairobi, Kenya,
from a graduated necklace; bead nine, with
two holes like a toggle, and the bead directly
below, are of glazed pottery made in Peru.
Figure 3 shows chevron-style simulants
made from 2005 in Guangdong, China.
They were produced using patterned
millefiori canes in a range of thicknesses,
cold-worked, like gemstones, using lapidary
equipment with which Chinese skills already
excel. They were not formed with an integral
hole so could be drilled in any direction. The
largest ones shown here, 39mm in diameter,
purchased in 2006, are made with unusual
colours; the smaller rosetta pair have a sixpetalled floral pattern rather than the typical
Venetian zigzags. The spherical shape is
achieved by grinding and polishing; the hole
is drilled last.
Not many beads like these were produced
before the Chinese started to make true
chevron types using star moulds; their
technique has rapidly improved so that its
now difficult to distinguish between true
Venetian and Chinese copies. The outer
coloured layers of the Chinese types may be
more translucent; some red colours used are
more orange- or brick-red than the crimson of
Venetian glass.
The pointed, facetted bead to the left
of figure 3 was made from chevron-type
cane. The bracelets show sets of millefiore
cane and below a few small beads of
millefiore sections, formed into dumbbell
6 Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010

Fig. 2

Fig. 3
shapes, are drilled through their narrow waists
so they nest together when threaded. At the
lower left are three small Chinese cloisonneffect beads next to small, popular, Venetian
chevrons of similar shape and size, known as
watermelons. The shiny enamelled beads
also have a squat cross-section and segments
to imitate the design. At the lower right
corner are four chevron types very recently
made in Indonesia.
Whether creating a chevron-like effect
by notching a bone bead, or a glass artist
creating more sophisticated variations, if
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
then we can see how highly the chevron
was, and is, esteemed everywhere and how
it has endured as one of the most coveted
components of peoples jewellery of all time.

Stefany Tomalin is a lecturer, author,

designer and practical teacher specializing
in all aspects of beads, co-founder of
the Bead Society of Great Britain, and a
Trustee of the Bead Study Trust.
Bibliography:
Picard, John & Ruth, Chevron and Nueva Cadiz Beads,
USA 1993, ISBN 096228842X
Francis, Peter Jr, Beads of the World, USA 1994, ISBN
0887405592
Jargstorf, Sibylle, Glass Beads from Europe, USA 1995,
ISBN 0887408397
Online:
www.beadcollector.net links to an informative online
four-page article by Joyce Holloway on recent Chinese
chevron production http://collectiblebeads.com/chch/

Photographs by Victor Caplin

Reviews

Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria:

A Mirror to the World
Reviewed by Nigel Israel
Jewellery in the
Age of Queen
Victoria: a Mirror
to the World.
Charlotte Gere and
Judy Rudoe. The
British Museum
Press, London
2010. 50. ISBN:
9780714128191

This is a monumental work, the result

of 30 years of research by two extremely
distinguished jewellery historians from
the British Museum.
Although one
might think much has previously been
published on Victorian jewellery, this
publication approaches the subject in a
new way. To quote from the preface:
It is not about the great masterpieces
of Victorian jewellery, but about the way
in which jewellery of that period, more
than any other branch of the applied
arts, reflected the preoccupations and
aspirations of its owners. Rather than
concentrating on the major figures at the
top end of the trade, or indeed offering a
chronological survey of the development
of styles and fashions, we have tried
to understand how the Victorians used
jewellery and what it meant to them,
both literally and metaphorically.
The authors have succeeded brilliantly
in this, drawing not just on surviving
jewellery, but on contemporary records,
both written and visual, including
designs, diaries and letters, newspapers
and fiction. This has uncovered many
exciting new discoveries. Although the
first chapter, Queen Victoria: A Life in
Jewellery, charts the Queens passion
for jewellery and the development of her
taste throughout her long life, the Age
of Victoria is treated in its widest sense.
It encompasses jewellery from the USA,
Europe and the East. During her long
reign the world changed dramatically,
not least in the great expansion of a

prosperous middle class. This created

an expanded market, together with an
ever-growing trade trying to satisfy and
influence the markets taste. This is well
illustrated by the diversity of imaginative
materials employed, such as the leftovers of the first transatlantic telegraph
cable being extensively marketed as
bracelets and necklaces, etc. However,
a curious omission, to this reviewer, is
of one of the watersheds in jewellery of
the period: the discovery of diamonds
in South Africa in 1867. The stones
became available in dramatically larger
numbers and at lower prices than ever
before, and the ability to own diamondset jewellery went considerably down
the social scale. This in turn spawned
a plethora of new designs and fashions.
The scope of the book is so large, and
the available space for the review so
limited, that an overview of its contents
is best given by its further main chapter
headings: The Role of Jewellery, Public
and Private; Jewellery and Dress;
The Language of Jewellery; The Cult

of Novelty;
Britain and the World;
Nationalism and Historical Styles in
Jewellery; Archaeological Discoveries
and National Identity; Victorian Cameos;
Souvenirs of Travel at Home and Abroad.
Many of the chapters have several subheadings, all of which are dealt with in
detail.
There are extensive and extremely
useful notes, but unfortunately all
gathered together at the end of the book.
How much easier they would be to refer
to in context if they were footnotes.
A comprehensive bibliography and a
detailed index end the volume.
The book is very large and heavy, and
it would have been dramatically easier
to make use of both the index and the
notes if two bookmarks had been bound
in. However these are minor quibbles,
as it really is a splendid work, elegantly
written, well illustrated and beautifully
produced. It is also, particularly
compared to many current similar
publications,
extremely
reasonably
priced.

Gold and hardstone cylinder-seal jewellery, worn in the book cover portrait, in original Phillips
case. British Museum, bequeathed by Lady Layard. Trustees of the BM.

Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010 7

Reviews

How The Watch Was Worn

Reviewed by David Thompson

How the Watch

Was Worn: A
Fashion for 500
Years
Genevieve
Cummins. Antique
Collectors Club,
2010. 45. ISBN
9781851496372.

This large-format book has 13

chapters followed by a bibliography,
a select general index, and an index
of names, split into subjects such as
artists, makers, miscellaneous, etc.
The first seven chapters deal with
the subject in a chronological manner
followed by a section on different
types of watch, such as brooch
watches, ring watches, button-hole
watches and fashion accessories.
There is even a section on watches
made for childrens dolls.
The first chapter deals with the
16th and 17th centuries from the
origins of the watch to the end of
the 17th century. The number of
examples of watches is relatively
small and some of those appear in the
form of sketches taken from Max von
Boehms 19th century work. There
is a lack of examples and perhaps
too brief an account of the period.
In this context, there is a goodly
number of portraits from this early
period and the inclusion of a few
more examples would certainly have
given the book a more balanced feel.
Whilst the book is not intended as a
universal history of the mechanical
watch, the gradual move to the watch
becoming an item of every-day wear
in the 1660s and the momentous
improvement to timekeeping brought
about by the introduction of the
balance spring in 1675 are central to
the story. Another area which could
have been expanded was the period
from the middle of the 17th century
8 Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010

when the painted enamel pictorial

watch became the height of fashion
and the skills of the enamellers in
workshops in Blois, Paris and Geneva
reached
unprecedented
heights.
There also seems to be no mention
of the introduction of the pocket into
clothing in the 1650s and 1660s, an
event which had a significant effect
on the appearance of the watch in
the last quarter of the 17th century,
leading to the ubiquitous pair-cased
watches, a style which persisted until
the beginning of the 19th century.
Following this brief account of the
early period, Genevieve Cummins
then moves into the 18th century and
here there is a wealth of information
about the development of the
chatelaine watch with a profusion
of contemporary illustration and
recreations using period costume and
contemporary watches. After a short
three-page assessment of the Regency
guard chain, the author considers the
19th century and the Victorian era.
Here, with the advent of photography,
the number of illustrations becomes
even more extensive and includes
many examples of advertisements for
watches, watch chains, ribbons etc.
The final part of the book deals with
the introduction of the wrist-watch
towards the end of the 19th century,
with a good deal of illustrated examples
from contemporary advertisements,
including wrist strap adaptors used to
convert a pendant watch of the time
to wrist use.
In terms of the history of the watch
this book has been long awaited,
and here Genevieve Cummins has
delivered an attractively presented
and well put together story, full of
delightful illustration with a wealth
of contemporary material. It is a book
which will both inform and entertain
and for all those interested in the
story of the watch, it is without doubt
a recommended read.

Miniature of a young Spanish girl wearing

two watches, one an apparent macaroni
chatelaine. Late 18th century.
Private collection

Gentleman listening to his watch ticking.

Ambrotype, c.1860. Photographer unknown

David Thompson is Curator of Horology

in the Department of Prehistory and
Europe at the British Museum. He is
a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
London; Chairman of the Antiquarian
Horological Society; Fellow of the British
Horological Institute, and a Liveryman of
the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.
SJH Special Offer to buy
For 36 (RRP 45) incl. P&P, phone
0139438977, or email sue.slee@
antique-acc.com and quote How the
Watch was Worn, Jewellery History
Today offer.

Reviews

Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500

Reviewed by John Cherry

Medieval
Jewellery in
Europe
1100-1500.
Marian
Campbell. V&A
Publications, 2009.
19.99. ISBN
9781851775828

This is a very handsome introduction to

medieval jewelry from 1100 to 1500. It
enables the reader to see the important
elements not only in a collection that
was so well catalogued by Ronald
Lightbown in his European Medieval
Jewellery of 1992 (a book that now
retails at between 750 and 900),
but also illustrates in colour many key
pieces from other collections in France
and Germany. At 20 this is good value.
A feature of the book is the large
number of portraits and illustrations
of people wearing jewellery, which
sets rings and brooches in a human
context. This human quality is further
emphasized by the way that the book is
arranged under chapters on workmanship
and acquisition, style and fashion, and
cultural contexts. The reproduction of so
many portraits in colour contrasts with
the few black and white ones in Joan
Evans History of European Jewellery
of 1951.
The concept of jewellery is wide
and includes horse pendants - equine
jewellery - pilgrim signs and seal
matrices. The final chapter of the text
of the book ends rather abruptly with a
comment on the use of pewter for seal
matrices. Did the editor cut it here?
A conclusion might have included a
reference to the V & As collections
website. If one searches on medieval
jewellery here, one is rewarded with 264
entries with images. Pursuit of individual
rings referred to in the book does not
always reveal anything on the website,
and for some items in both website and

Ring: 5 views, inside and out. Gold, set with a cameo of layered agate, inscribed: dung
seul regart vous doibt suffire (you must be satisfied with a single glance),
accession number M190-1962. V&A Images

book, which sometimes have slightly

different dates and attributions, the
book is not referred to on the website.
When major museums produce such
books, there should be better correlation
between website and book.
Medieval Jewellery in Europe 11001500 is well written and there is an
excellent bibliography strongest on
English, Italian, and French works
helpfully arranged under chapters.
The reproduction of paintings is good,
but some of the pieces of jewellery
might have been better reproduced.
The pictures of the rings, particularly
those with multiple views of the same

ring, are outstanding. On one small

point of attribution, I would differ. The
marvellous brooch found at Motala in
Sweden does not have to be French.
It fits perfectly well in an eastern or
northern European context.
The V&A and Marian Campbell are
to be congratulated on such a fine
introduction to a rather neglected
subject.
John Cherry is a past president of the
Society of Jewellery Historians, and
retired Keeper of the Department of
Medieval and Modern Europe at the
British Museum.
Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010 9

Reviews

Recent Publications
Gem engraving in Britain from Antiquity
to the Present, with a catalogue of the
British engraved gems in The State
Hermitage Museum. Julia Kagan. The
Beazley Archive, Oxford 2010, 65. ISBN
9781903767122
This is the fifth volume on engraved gems
from the Beazley Archive. In the first
half of the book, Julia Kagan, curator
of post-classical engraved gems in the
Hermitage, takes us through the whole
fascinating story of both the working, and
collecting and scholarship, of engraved
gems in Britain right up to the present.
The second half is devoted to a catalogue
of the holdings in the Hermitage in three
parts: 14th to 17th century, 18th to 20th
century, and Charles and William Brown.
Included is the great collection of Tassie
casts. Every gem is individually described
and illustrated in black & white, although
some of the illustrations are not as crisp
as might be desired.
There is a useful list of British gem
engravers and imitators from the 14th to
the 21st century, a quite amazing 46 page
bibliography, a list of exhibitions, and a
good index. Supplied with the book is a
CD with a table of engravers. This is an
extremely important work, the result of a
lifetimes study, and is a must-have for
any engraved gem enthusiast.
Brilliant Impressions. An Exhibition of
Antique Paste and Other Jewellery. Diana
Scarisbrick. S.J.Phillips, London 2010

30. ISBN 9780199237517

This is the catalogue of the glittering
exhibition held at S.J.Phillips in Bond
Street in June. Remarkably little has been
published specifically on paste jewellery.
The only two books that come to mind
are: Old Paste, A.Beresford Ryley, 1913,
and Antique Paste Jewellery, M.D.S
Lewis, 1970. Strangely, the former is not
included in the very short bibliography in
the current volume. The book is beautifully
produced, with excellent illustrations, and
gives a very welcome overview of paste
jewellery from 1750 to 1900.
It has
a short, but informative, introduction,
before the catalogue that forms the
rest of the volume. Some gemstoneset jewellery is included, and it must be
said that it is a pity that the term semiprecious stones appears yet again! It is an
impossible-to-define term (see JHT8) that
all authoritative gemstone, jewellery and
mineralogical bodies have spent years
trying to eliminate. Nevertheless, this is
a small book on a rare subject, and is well
worth having.
The Jewellery of South East Asia. Anne
Richter. Thames and Hudson, London
2010. 14.95. ISBN 9780500288665.
A much-abbreviated reprint
hardback edition of 2000.

of

the

Jean Desprs, jeweller, maker and designer

of the Machine Age. Melissa Gabardi.
Thames and Hudson, 2009. 36. ISBN
9780500514788.

A comprehensive view of the work of

a remarkable 20th century jeweller,
published on the occasion of an exhibition
of his work in Paris (and later in New
York).
The Jewels of the Romanovs: Family
and Court. Stefano Papi. Thames and
Hudson, November 2010. 42. ISBN
9780500515327.
Jewellery from Nature: amber, coral, horn,
ivory, pearls, shell, tortoiseshell, wood,
exotica.
Ruth Peltason. Thames and
Hudson, October 2010. 24.95. ISBN
9780500515334.
Explores 200 years of jewellery from plant
or animal sources.
Henkel & Grosse Pforzheim: 100 years
of Passion for Grosse and Dior. Vivienne
Becker. Arnoldsche, September 2010.
45. ISBN 9783897903357
Zeitgeist. A century of Idar-Oberstein Costume
Jewellery. Wilhelm Lindemann (ed)/AnneBarbara Knerr. Arnoldsche, September
2010. 45. ISBN 97838979033142
Cartier: the Power of Style. Eva Eisler.
Flammarion, July 2010. 32. ISBN
9782080200754.
Brilliant Effects: a Cultural History of Gem
Stones and Jewellery. Marcia Pointon. Yale
University Press, September 2009. 45.
ISBN 9780300142785

News & Events

Staffordshire hoard conservation

The Staffordshire hoard has been
saved for the nation. Now the serious
work of conservation, cataloguing and
interpretation starts.
Birmingham
Museums & Art Gallery and Stoke
Potteries Museum will take the lead in
this, and have issued job prospectuses
10 Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010

for a number of temporary posts

over the next two years, ranging
from student placements through
conservation
professionals
to
members of the Conservation Advisory
Panel. These posts are mostly parttime and unpaid, but subsistence and

expenses are available in some cases.

If
you
would
like
further
information, please contact us at
info@societyofjewelleryhistorians.
ac.uk, mentioning the Staffordshire
hoard.

Saleroom News

Royal Jewels at Auction.

On 8 July Christies King Streets
summer
spectacular
included
a
considerable quantity of outstanding
pieces from the Spencer family,
coyly titled an Attic Sale. Among
the lumber was a collection of Garter
insignia, including robes, floppy hat,
and several Great and Lesser Georges,
along with some precious cases and a
splendid jewel.
This was a large lozenge-shaped
rose-cut diamond, formed as a locket
on a swivel mount, surmounted by a
white enamelled scroll carrying the
inscription LAMOUR EN FAIT LE
LIEN and a ruby-set ribbon bow-knot
and suspension loop. Below the locket
was a pendant pearl. On the reverse of
the enamelled mount was a monogram
WM beneath a closed royal crown
of the Netherlands, giving rise to an
assumption that the initials represent
King William III and Queen Mary II.
In the publication Ancestral Jewels
of 1989, Diana Scarisbrick discusses
the jewel, and relates that it was given
by Edward, 1st Baron Revelstoke to
his daughter Margaret Baring (18681906), the wife of Viscount Althorp,
later 6th Earl Spencer, on her 21st
birthday. The jewel was included in
a jewellery exhibition at Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery in 1960.
A few days later Sothebys truffled
up a choice collection for its Jewels
sale on 14 July, announced by an
invitation to view featuring one of the
stars of the sale, a sizeable pendant
characteristic of early 20th century
Spanish jewellery, by Fuset y Gruau,
dateable to around 1920. The motif
was a girl, her flesh of carved ivory,
blowing pearl bubbles from a gold cup,
backed by a brightly coloured plique
jour stained glass window and set in an
elaborate gold, diamond and sapphire
frame. There were similar pieces of Art
Nouveau work, including a landscape
pendant signed G Fouquet, with an
opal and plique jour sunset behind
skeletal trees.
Several examples of Castellani were
on offer, including a truly exquisite

fringe necklace with micromosaic

drops, alternating naturalistic floral
motifs with putti clutching bows, their
impudent expressions formed from no
more than 2mm of tesserae.
This rich assemblage also featured
royal jewels, in a lot including small
gifts from King Edward VII and Queen
Alexandra, and from King George V, and
separate from these was an important
Holbeinesque pendant locket with an
enamel portrait of King William IV
framed with royal blue enamel, the
reverse having a miniature of Queen
Adelaide and opening to reveal a
lock of royal hair. An inscription
records this as The Last Gift Of My
Beloved Grandfather King William
The Fourth. Williams two daughters
with Adelaide both died in infancy,
but Lady Augusta Fitz-Clarence had
been born in 1803 to Dorothea Bland,
and the recipient of the gift will
have been a child of one of her two
marriages. The locket was a Christmas
gift to the kings granddaughter in
1836, the year before his death, and
a further inscription inside the locket
records the circumstances. The outer
inscription is assumed to have been
added later.
Finally, Sothebys will offer a group
of 20 assorted trinkets documenting
the most famous love story of the
20th century, for sale in London on
30 November. These were bought by a
collector at the sale of The Jewels of
the Duchess of Windsor in Geneva in
April 1987, and are mostly by Cartier.
The group includes a panther bracelet
in onyx and diamonds of 1952, a
flamingo clip with ruby, sapphire,
emerald,
citrine
and
diamonds
created by Jean Toussaint for Cartier
in 1940, and an 18ct red and yellow
gold cigarette case, inscribed inside
David from Wallis Christmas 1935,
featuring an engraved map showing
their holidays around the world, the
locations marked with cabochons,
and special ones with brilliant-cut
diamonds.

Pendant locket, Holbeinesque design with

portrait of William IV. Courtesy of Sothebys.

Pendant with diamond and enamel, reverse

view, reputedly linked with William and Mary.
Courtesy of Christies.

Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010 11

News & Events

Pforzheim
The Schmuckmuseum in Pforzheim is the
oldest, and probably the largest, of the select
group of museums dedicated to jewellery. It
holds around four or five special exhibitions
each year, ranging very widely over all
periods and types of jewellery, and also has
a permanent exhibition, greatly expanded
since a refurbishment a few years ago, of its
own collections, divided into five sections:
the products of the Pforzheim jewellery and
watch industry, dating mainly from the 19th
century; the history of jewellery worldwide,
dating from prehistoric times to the 19th
century (in one room) and from modern
times (in another); ethnic jewellery from the
Eva and Peter Herion collection, which is
displayed on a rotating basis; and watches
from the Philipp Weber collection.

Since the expansion, the permanent

collections are beautifully and spaciously
displayed, mostly with captions in English
as well as German. There are many small
pleasures, such as a wall of jewellery tools,
displayed almost as if they were jewels
themselves. Opposite is another wall of
jewellery techniques, with pull-out trays
beneath showing all the steps involved,
from start to finish, in employing various
techniques such as enamel, niello, mokume
gane, chasing and engraving, and so on, with
examples provided by the working jewellers
of the town. There is also a wonderful playbox for children, brightly coloured and at
child height, with drawers and cupboards
which open to show some of the more
unusual kinds of jewellery.

The Schmuckmuseum is housed in a

small park, in the Reuchlinhaus, a building
purpose-built in 1961 in the International
Style. It publishes catalogues of all its
special exhibitions, which are sold, with
other relevant books and some examples of
modern jewellery, in the bookshop. Some
books are also available online, from the
museum website http://195.60.187.72/
download/SMP_Publications.pdf. There is
also a pleasant caf overlooking the park.
Details of current and future special
exhibitions at the Schmuckmuseum
Pforzheim, as well as other exhibitions
of interest to jewellery historians, are
available on the SJH website at: www.
societyofjewelleryhistorians.ac.uk/
exhibitions.htm

Tuareg: People
of the Veil

Going for Gold

Symposium

The Last Flowering

of Court Art

Horniman Museum, until 27 February 2011.

Craftsmanship and Collecting of Gold Boxes

26-27 November 2010

Wartski, 14 Grafton Street, London W1S

4DE. 23 November-3 December 2010

The Horniman museum has an important

collection of ethnic textiles and costume,
which is displayed in rotation, in special
exhibitions, because of the problems of
conservation. The exhibition this year
is of the costume and jewellery of the
nomadic Tuareg of the desert regions
of north-west Africa.
This exhibition
shows the distinctive silver and leather
jewellery in conjunction with the costume
with which it is worn, and explains the
meaning and purpose of the individual
pieces. Although the exhibition is quite
small, and there is no catalogue, books on
the culture and jewellery of the Tuareg are
made available for visitors, and there is a
video running continuously which shows
exactly how the men put on their head
cloths Tuareg culture must be unique in
that the men go veiled, while the women
show their faces.
More details on the SJH website, at:
www.societyofjewelleryhistorians.ac.uk/
exhibitions.htm

A year after the opening of the Rosalinde

and Arthur Gilbert galleries at the V&A,
the Museum, in collaboration with the
Wallace Collection, is celebrating the art
of the gold box in 18th and 19th century
Europe.
Leading international experts will
speak on different centres of production
including Paris, Geneva, Berlin, Dresden,
Hanau, St Petersburg and London.
Papers will illustrate design sources for
boxes, diplomatic gifts, the challenge
of recognising fakes and the leading
collections assembled by monarchs and
bankers.
The symposium will take place at
the Wallace Collection on Friday 26
November, and at the V&A on Saturday
27 November. Tickets from www.vam.
ac.uk/tickets
112 for two days, 94 concessions,
30 students (lunch included); 56 for
one day, 47 concessions, 15 students
(lunch included).

This is a loan exhibition of a private

collection of Faberg owned by a
Russian couple living in London. They
began collecting just after the fall of
the Soviet Union and were among the
first of the many New Russians to
collect Faberg. Possessing the highest
levels of discernment, and guided by an
uncompromising determination to acquire
only the best of Fabergs oeuvre, they have
succeeded in assembling an important
collection of the Imperial goldsmiths work.
This exhibition will present a selection
of the pieces which have brought a shared
joy to their lives and the choice of objects
is a reflection of their joint tastes. Their
passion for Faberg has produced a
collection covering the entire spectrum of
his work and includes some of the firms
most prized pieces.
Entry 8 including the catalogue, which
is sold for the benefit of the Samaritans.
No concessions. www.wartski.com. Tel:
020 7493 1141

1212 Jewellery
JewelleryHistory
HistoryToday
Today Autumn
Autumn2010
2010

Members News

Lynne Bartlett
Lynne
Bartlett,
a
longstanding
member of the Society, has been
awarded a PhD, by Central Saint
Martins College, University of the
Arts London, for her research on
working with titanium. Her thesis,
which took over eight years part-time
to complete, was entitled Variability
in coloured titanium surfaces in
jewellery. Many members will recall

the fascinating talk she gave to the

Society on the subject in 2005. For
further information, see www.csm.
arts.ac.uk/44713.htm.
Dr Bartlett is also Hon Treasurer
of the Association for Contemporary
Jewellery, and was able to put some
of her discoveries into practice at
workshops during its conference in
late July this year.

SJH Extraordinary General Meeting, 22 July 2010

In accordance with the notice of an
Extraordinary General Meeting distributed in
June the meeting took place in the Prints
and Drawings Gallery of the British Museum
at 6.05 pm on the 22nd July 2010. The
meeting considered two motions regarding
the alteration of the status of the Society to a
Company Limited by Guarantee and enjoyed
an attendance in excess of 50 members.
The motions were:
That the unincorporated Charity, The Society
of Jewellery Historians, shall be wound up,
contemporaneously with Registering as a

Researcher Available

charity the incorporated Company of the same

name.
The motion was proposed by Chris Cavey,
seconded by Anne Shannon and passed
unanimously.
That, subject to motion 1 being passed, the
assets and liabilities of the unincorporated
Charity be transferred to the incorporated
Charity at the moment that the former is
wound up and the latter is registered.
The motion was proposed by Diane Clark,
seconded by Susan Farmer and passed
unanimously. David Lancaster, Hon. Sec.

Fine arts valuation graduate with

knowledge and retail experience in
silver, the auction world, together
with a passion for jewellery, offers
her assistance re research, curatorial
work etc.
Please contact on nancie.crick@
hotmail.co.uk

Evening event for SJH at the British Museum

Members of the Society enjoyed a private visit on 22 July to view the special display of jewellery and related material from the Print Room,
assembled to complement the recently published book Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria: A Mirror to the World. A substantial number
of members thronged the gallery to listen to the authors commentary on the material on display. An unrivalled double act, Judy Rudoe and
Charlotte Gere alternated to cover the objects in the three showcases, illustrating their fascinating commentary with anecdotes not only
about the objects on display but conveying also the excitement of fresh discoveries made as their research progressed. Tribute was paid to
the increasing value of internet search engines as the magic source of solutions to hitherto intractable mysteries, and surely converting many
nervous sceptics in the audience.

Jewellery History Today: Advertising Rates 2010

Display
Outside back cover
350
Full page, run of paper
250
Half page, run of paper
150
Quarter page, run of paper
100
Inserts
100
plus any additional mailing costs
All prices are for full-colour. Discounts
available for volume bookings. Advance
bookings will be guaranteed at 2010 prices.

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Jewellery History Today is published three times
a year, in February, May and October. It is
distributed to all members of the Society of
Jewellery Historians. Current membership is
around 500, and includes museum specialists,
collectors, art historians, dealers, gemmologists,

working jewellers and designers, all united by

their enthusiasm for all aspects of jewellery.
Most of the members are in the UK, but around
one-third live elsewhere.
For further details, or a sample copy of the
magazine, contact Eleni Bide, at eleni.bide@
thegoldsmiths.co.uk, or write to:
The Society of Jewellery Historians
Scientific Research
The British Museum
London WC1B 3DG

Jewellery
Jewellery History
History Today
Today Autumn
Autumn 2010
2010 13
13

The Society of Jewellery Historians 2010/11 Lecture Dates

Simone Michel - Magical Gems from Roman Egypt

28 September

Magical gems made from hardstones were not intended as seals, but as amulets and talismans. The imagery
and inscriptions indicate a variety of influences - Egyptian, Oriental, Greek, Roman, Jewish and Christian as
well as a variety of fields, for example medicine, religion, magic, Gnostic lore and astrology. The production of
magical gems peaked in the second and third centuries AD, a period of known syncretistic tendencies, their
place of origin is thought to be the ancient melting pot of Alexandria. Magical gems generally were employed in
three areas: for rebirth and redemption, as medical remedies or for prophylaxis, and as love charms.
Gillie Hoyte Byrom - Fired with Enthusiasm - a personal journey creating enamel portrait miniatures

26 October

Gillie Hoyte Byrom is one of the few established artists in the world creating traditional portrait miniatures
in vitreous enamel. Painting techniques involve fusing glass to metal in thin successive layers using a
kiln. Gillie has worked to commission for over thirty years for an international clientele. She will chart
her Enamellers Progress by illustrating early work with her paintings on copper through to innovative
techniques on 18ct gold, resulting in award-winningpieces. Along her journey she has learnt as much
from studying miniatures in museum collections as from contemporary enamellers.
Susan Cross - The Creative Journey

23 November

25 January

Susan Cross lives and works in Edinburgh. Since graduating in 1986 from Middlesex Polytechnic, London,
she has paralleled her practise with teaching and has taught part-time at Edinburgh College of Art since
1989. Susans career to date has taken her on many travels across the world: Finland, India, Japan,
Switzerland, New Zealand and most recently South Korea, inspiring journeys that fuel and inspire her
jewellery. The Creative Journey will chart the development of her highly individual work with silver and
gold wire, more recently sheet, exploring texture through linear construction often borrowed from textiles.
Maria Hayward - A Queens Ransom: jewellery of the Tudor queens.
Tudor queens had splendid jewels. This talk draws on many sources to piece together the role that these
played in their lives, and in their deaths.

Further dates for 2011: 22 February, 22 March, 24 May, 28 June, 27 September, 25 October, 22 November
Lectures are held at the Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, and start at 6.00 pm.
Members and guests only.
For last minute changes or cancellations, check on the website at www.societyofjewelleryhistorians.ac.uk/members.htm

The society welcomes new members

Formed in 1977, the aim of the SJH is to stimulate
international interest in jewellery of all ages and cultures
by publishing new research and by bringing together those
seriously interested in the subject, whether in a professional
or private capacity. Membership includes archaeologists,
museum specialists, collectors, art historians, dealers,
gemmologists, practising jewellers and designers, scientists
and restorers, all united by their enthusiasm for all aspects
of jewellery. The Society runs a programme of eight lectures
from September to June, inviting speakers from many different
disciplines and many parts of the world. Lectures are usually
held in London at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington
House. The lectures are followed by refreshments with an
opportunity for members to meet. Members receive this
magazine, Jewellery History Today, three times a year, and the
journal, Jewellery Studies, which is published on an occasional
basis every few years and contains full-length research articles.
From time to time, the Society arranges private views of special
14 Jewellery History Today Autumn 2010

exhibitions and symposia on aspects of history and technology.

The current subscription rate for individual members is 33
a year.
For full details of membership (including joint and corporate)
and application form, please visit:
www.societyofjewelleryhistorians.ac.uk
Or write to:
The Membership Secretary
Society of Jewellery Historians
Scientific Research
The British Museum
London WC1B 3DG
SJH Officers 2010/2011
President:
Chairman:
Vice-chairman:
Hon Secretary:
Hon Treasurer:

Prof. Sir John Boardman

Nigel Israel FGA, DGA
David Beasley
David Lancaster FGA, DGA
Caroline Higgins

Listings
Readers wishing to attend any of the shows, fairs or sales listed are strongly advised to contact the organisers to
confirm the details, in case of any alteration or cancellations which may occur after this issue goes to print.
SHOWS, FAIRS AND EVENTS
LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair
23 26 September 2010
Berkeley Square, London
Tel: + 44 (0)207 823 3511
Web: www.lapada.org
Goldsmiths Fair
27 September 10 October 2010
Goldsmiths Hall, London
Tel: + 44 (0)207 606 7010
Web: www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk
Origin
23 29 September 2010
Old Spitalfields Market, London
Tel: + 44 (0)207 739 5561
Web: www.originuk.org
Dazzle
6 November 2010 8 January 2011
National Theatre, London
21 November 2010 - 2 January 2011
Manchester Town Hall
Web: www.dazzle-exhibitions.com
FORTHCOMING SALES
Please note that the times of auctions,
when known at time of going to press, are
given in the local time.
UK SALES
Bonhams Jewellery
15 September 2010, 11.00 am,
Knightsbridge
22 September 2010, 11.00 am, Oxford
22 September 2010, 2.00 pm, New
Bond Street
5 October 2010, 11.00 am, Oxford
13 October 2010, 11.00 am,
Knightsbridge
10 November 2010, 11.00 am,
Knightsbridge
16 November 2010, 11.00 am, Oxford
24 November 2010, 11.00 am,
Knightsbridge
8 December 2010, 11.00 am, Edinburgh
9 December 2010, 11.00 am, New Bond
Street
Bonhams Art & Antiques Jewellery &
Watches
28 September 2010, 11.00 am, Knowle
26 October 1010, 11.00 am, Knowle
Bonhams Decorative Arts Silver and
Arts and Crafts Jewellery

2 November 2010, 11.00 am, Knowle

Bonhams Sporting Jewellery
11 November 2010, 11.00 am,
Edinburgh
Christies Jewels
6 October 2010, 2.00 pm, South
Kensington
1 December 2010, 11.00 am, King
Street
8 December 2010, 10.30 am, South
Kensington
Christies Lalique
9 December 2010, 2.30 pm, South
Kensington
Lawrences Watches, Jewellery &
Ceramics
14 October 2010, 11.00 am, Crewkerne
Lyon & Turnbull Jewellery & Silver
12 October 2010, 11.00 am, Edinburgh
Woolley & Wallis Jewellery
28 October 2010, time TBC, Salisbury
INTERNATIONAL SALES
Bonhams Salon Jewellery & Wristwatches
20 September 2010, 10.00 am, San
Francisco and Los Angeles
Bonhams Fine Jewellery
19 October 2010, 1.00 pm, New York,
Los Angeles and San Francisco
Bonhams Natural History Jewellery
5 December 2010, 1.00 pm, W. Sunset
Boulevard, Los Angeles
Christies Jewels
20 October 2010, 10.00 am and 2.00
pm, New York
17 November 2010, time TBD, Geneva
25 November 2010, time TBD, Milan
7 December 2010, 10.00 am and 2.00
pm, New York
Christies Jewels and Watches
27 October 2010, 7.00 pm, Dubai
2 November 2010, 10.30 am and 2.00
pm, Amsterdam
Christies Ancient Jewellery
10 December 2010, 2.00 pm, New York

Dorotheum Jewellery
14 October 2010, 6.00 pm, Vienna
Sothebys Jewels
28 September 2010, 10.00 am and
2.00 pm, New York
16 November 2010, 10.30 am, 2.30 pm
and 7.00 pm, Geneva
UK EXHIBITIONS
Victoria and Albert: Art and Love
Ends 21 October 2010
The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace
Tel: +44 (0)20 7766 7301
Web: www.royalcollection.org.uk
Tuareg: People of the Veil
Ends 27 February 2011
Horniman Museum, London
Tel: +44 (0)208 699 1872
Web: www.horniman.ac.uk
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
To go with petticoats and wasp waists Fashion jewellery from the 1950s
Ends 14 November 2010
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim im
Reuchlinhaus, Jahnstr 42,
Tel:Tel: +00 49(0) 7231-2126
Web: www.schmuckmuseum-Pforzheim.de
Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of
India in the Age of the Mughals
Ends 30 December 2010
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala
Lumpur
Tel: +60 (3) 2274 2020
Web: www.iamm.org.my/
Pour lhonneur et la gloire : les bijoux de
la priode napolonienne
30 September 31 December 2010
Diamantmuseum Provincie Anterwerpen
Tel: +31 (0)3 202 48 90
Web: www.provant.be/vrije_tijd/cultuur/
musea/diamantmuseum/
The Immortal Alexander the Great.
Ends 18 March 2011.
Hermitage Amsterdam, Amstel 51
Tel: +00 31 205 30 87 55
www.hermitage.nl/en/hermitage_
amsterdam/
FOR MORE EXHIBITIONS,
PLEASE VISIT THE SJH WEBSITE.
Jewellery
Jewellery History
History Today
Today Autumn
Autumn 2010
2010 15
15