Clasp
1790-1810 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The melancholic young woman painted on ivory in this bracelet clasp represents Poor Maria, one of the characters in Laurence Sterne's 1768 novel A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy. The protagonist Yorick meets Maria "sitting under a poplar [...] with her elbow in her lap […] and her head leaning on one side […] dressed in white". This description of Maria was followed faithfully in the prints and paintings inspired by Sterne's fantastically popular novel - Maria is almost always represented in white, seated with her head leaning on her hand, accompanied by her little dog Sylvio to ease her solitude. She is shown with a 'pale green ribband' which the text describes as being draped from her shoulder. Green was a colour associated with melancholy and therefore a fitting choice. A flute or pipe in her lap has been her comfort while she sits mourning her lost lover.
Sterne's novel prompted the creation not only of paintings and prints, but also of objects such as decorative fans, snuff boxes and small pieces of jewellery. The figures of Poor Maria and her counterpart, the Bourbonnais Shepherd were made into jasperware cameos by the firm of Josiah Wedgwood, to be set into brooches, belt clasps and buckles for shoe or knee and became popular items in the firm's repertoire. This very finely painted ivory panel would have appealed to the same customers as the Wedgwood cameos but was a more expensive and exclusive object. The images of Maria were taken from a range of visual sources, very often the painting of 'Maria of Moulines' by Angelica Kauffman, but this oval composition appears to be closest to the designs of Daniel Gardner (two prints of which are in the British Museum collection BM 2010,7081.3784 and 1872,1012.1607). Is it possible that Gardner was the artist responsible for the miniature itself?
The painted ivory panel of Maria was set into the clasp for a wide bracelet - each side of the clasp is set with a strip of gold bored with holes which served to attach the band of the bracelet to the clasp. Bracelets were often worn in pairs and it is possible that there was a matching bracelet, possibly with a painting of the Shepherd. The reverse of the bracelet has a small panel with a plait of hair set under glass. Hair was a gift of love, friendship and mourning - the sentimental associations of Maria may make it likely that the bracelet, set with the hair of the lover, was a romantic gift.
Sterne's novel prompted the creation not only of paintings and prints, but also of objects such as decorative fans, snuff boxes and small pieces of jewellery. The figures of Poor Maria and her counterpart, the Bourbonnais Shepherd were made into jasperware cameos by the firm of Josiah Wedgwood, to be set into brooches, belt clasps and buckles for shoe or knee and became popular items in the firm's repertoire. This very finely painted ivory panel would have appealed to the same customers as the Wedgwood cameos but was a more expensive and exclusive object. The images of Maria were taken from a range of visual sources, very often the painting of 'Maria of Moulines' by Angelica Kauffman, but this oval composition appears to be closest to the designs of Daniel Gardner (two prints of which are in the British Museum collection BM 2010,7081.3784 and 1872,1012.1607). Is it possible that Gardner was the artist responsible for the miniature itself?
The painted ivory panel of Maria was set into the clasp for a wide bracelet - each side of the clasp is set with a strip of gold bored with holes which served to attach the band of the bracelet to the clasp. Bracelets were often worn in pairs and it is possible that there was a matching bracelet, possibly with a painting of the Shepherd. The reverse of the bracelet has a small panel with a plait of hair set under glass. Hair was a gift of love, friendship and mourning - the sentimental associations of Maria may make it likely that the bracelet, set with the hair of the lover, was a romantic gift.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold, watercolour portrait painted on ivory and plaited hair under glass |
| Brief description | Gold bracelet clasp set with a watercolour on ivory of 'Poor Maria', reverse set with plaited hair under glass. England, 1790-1810. |
| Physical description | Gold clasp set with ivory and painted in watercolour with a portrait of a woman, a spaniel at her elbow. A plait of hair is inserted at the back under an oval glass panel. Each side of the gold oval widens into a strip pierced with holes to attach the band of the bracelet. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Dame Joan Evans |
| Object history | This jewel was formerly part of the collection of Dame Joan Evans (1893-1977), art historian and collector. She collected gems and jewels from a young age, which resulted in the 1921 book, English Jewellery from the 5th Century BC to 1800. She published widely on jewellery, French medieval art and architecture. Evans was elected the first woman president of the Society of Antiquaries in 1959 (through 1964). She was a trustee of the British Museum (1963-67). In her personal life, she donated time and money to many charitable historic causes, nearly all of them anonymously. Her will left collections to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and the Birmingham City Art Gallery. She gave her gem and jewellery collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum through a series of gifts, beginning in 1960. Her association with the museum went back to her childhood and she developed personal friendships with the museum curators and Directors. In 1975, two years before her death aged 84, Joan Evans made over her remaining jewels to the museum, choosing to remain anonymous during her lifetime. As she wrote jokingly to curator Charles Oman, her village was ‘divided into those who think it must have been me and those who say it cannot have been because I am so shabby.’ In her final years, offering her collection to the museum, she wrote movingly that ‘My jewels come to your Department with love and gratitude. It has been kind to me for 65 years.’ |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Literary reference | A sentimental journey through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne |
| Summary | The melancholic young woman painted on ivory in this bracelet clasp represents Poor Maria, one of the characters in Laurence Sterne's 1768 novel A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy. The protagonist Yorick meets Maria "sitting under a poplar [...] with her elbow in her lap […] and her head leaning on one side […] dressed in white". This description of Maria was followed faithfully in the prints and paintings inspired by Sterne's fantastically popular novel - Maria is almost always represented in white, seated with her head leaning on her hand, accompanied by her little dog Sylvio to ease her solitude. She is shown with a 'pale green ribband' which the text describes as being draped from her shoulder. Green was a colour associated with melancholy and therefore a fitting choice. A flute or pipe in her lap has been her comfort while she sits mourning her lost lover. Sterne's novel prompted the creation not only of paintings and prints, but also of objects such as decorative fans, snuff boxes and small pieces of jewellery. The figures of Poor Maria and her counterpart, the Bourbonnais Shepherd were made into jasperware cameos by the firm of Josiah Wedgwood, to be set into brooches, belt clasps and buckles for shoe or knee and became popular items in the firm's repertoire. This very finely painted ivory panel would have appealed to the same customers as the Wedgwood cameos but was a more expensive and exclusive object. The images of Maria were taken from a range of visual sources, very often the painting of 'Maria of Moulines' by Angelica Kauffman, but this oval composition appears to be closest to the designs of Daniel Gardner (two prints of which are in the British Museum collection BM 2010,7081.3784 and 1872,1012.1607). Is it possible that Gardner was the artist responsible for the miniature itself? The painted ivory panel of Maria was set into the clasp for a wide bracelet - each side of the clasp is set with a strip of gold bored with holes which served to attach the band of the bracelet to the clasp. Bracelets were often worn in pairs and it is possible that there was a matching bracelet, possibly with a painting of the Shepherd. The reverse of the bracelet has a small panel with a plait of hair set under glass. Hair was a gift of love, friendship and mourning - the sentimental associations of Maria may make it likely that the bracelet, set with the hair of the lover, was a romantic gift. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.97-1969 |
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| Record created | July 19, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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