Hair Ornament thumbnail 1
Hair Ornament thumbnail 2
+1
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Hair Ornament

ca. 1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The hair ornament is made of a spray of leaves and fuchsias.

A love of nature was one of the most universal and respected sentiments in the 19th century. Naturalistic jewellery, influenced by the Romantic movement and the revived Rococo style, developed early in the period. Its success was due to the beauty and wearability of jewelled flowers and foliage, but also to the continuing interest in botany.

Until around 1830 the designs were stylised and delicate. Later, the ever-more precise copies of flowers, leaves, fruit and insects formed extravagant, colourful and complex compositions. Often the ornament included roses, lilies, chrysanthemums and fuchsias, the most fashionable flowers at the time.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Diamonds, silver and gold
Brief description
Part of hair ornament, brilliant-cut diamonds open-set in silver, Western Europe, about 1820
Physical description
Part of hair ornament, brilliant-cut diamonds open-set in silver, backed with gold.
Dimensions
  • Height: 10.1cm
  • Width: 14.5cm
  • Depth: 4.5cm
The hair ornament was measured as previously displayed.
Credit line
Cory Bequest
Summary
The hair ornament is made of a spray of leaves and fuchsias.

A love of nature was one of the most universal and respected sentiments in the 19th century. Naturalistic jewellery, influenced by the Romantic movement and the revived Rococo style, developed early in the period. Its success was due to the beauty and wearability of jewelled flowers and foliage, but also to the continuing interest in botany.

Until around 1830 the designs were stylised and delicate. Later, the ever-more precise copies of flowers, leaves, fruit and insects formed extravagant, colourful and complex compositions. Often the ornament included roses, lilies, chrysanthemums and fuchsias, the most fashionable flowers at the time.
Collection
Accession number
M.116-1951

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdAugust 4, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest