Pendant thumbnail 1
Pendant thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91 to 93 mezzanine, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Pendant

ca. 1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Spain and Portugal were intensely Catholic in the 17th century, the heartland of the Counter Reformation that set out to reinvigorate the Roman Catholic Church. Traditional jewellery often incorporated Catholic religious symbols, such as the cross and heart.

The shape of this gold filigree pendant is typical of northern Portugal. Similar pendants were also made in sheet gold, with engraved or applied filigree decoration, but always in the same shape of a heart with a curved point, and crown-shaped top. In the 16th century traders carried Spanish and Portuguese fashions in jewellery around the world. Heart-shaped brooches, like this pendant, are still worn today in Malaysia.

It was bought for £2 15s. at the International Exhibition, London, 1872.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gold filigree pendant
Brief description
Gold filigree pendant heart, Oporto (Portugal), c.1860.
Physical description
Hollow heart-shaped gold filigree pendant, with curved tip and stylised crown at the top. Decorated in the same way on both sides with a central star, with a rosette on the joint between heart and crown, and numerous discs of imitation granulation. The suspension ring is made from a broad strip of gold sheet, decorated on each edge with twisted wire.
Dimensions
  • Height: 10.6cm
  • Width: 6cm
  • Depth: 1.9cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'JMR' in square frame. (On base of suspension loop.)
    Translation
    Mark of unidentified maker.
  • Illegible town mark. (On base of suspension loop, on opposite side from the maker's mark.)
    Translation
    Possibly Oporto.
Subject depicted
Summary
Spain and Portugal were intensely Catholic in the 17th century, the heartland of the Counter Reformation that set out to reinvigorate the Roman Catholic Church. Traditional jewellery often incorporated Catholic religious symbols, such as the cross and heart.

The shape of this gold filigree pendant is typical of northern Portugal. Similar pendants were also made in sheet gold, with engraved or applied filigree decoration, but always in the same shape of a heart with a curved point, and crown-shaped top. In the 16th century traders carried Spanish and Portuguese fashions in jewellery around the world. Heart-shaped brooches, like this pendant, are still worn today in Malaysia.

It was bought for £2 15s. at the International Exhibition, London, 1872.
Bibliographic reference
For similar, see Vasconcelos e Sousa, Gonçalo de. ‘Colecção de Jóias do Biscainhos’, Porto 2011, ISBN: 978-9898366122, figs. 61-2.
Collection
Accession number
1073-1873

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Record createdJuly 31, 2006
Record URL
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