The cockerel and the hen
Brooch
ca. 1900 (made)
ca. 1900 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Depicting a cockerel in determined pursuit of a hen within a heart-shaped frame of vines, this is a humorous and charming love token, perhaps offering an an interpretation of the proverb ‘the cock croweth but the hen delivereth the egg’.
Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach (1861-1918) was an artist, interior decorator and highly individual designer of jewellery based in Berlin. His work relates closely to the Art Nouveau style prevalent in Paris and Brussels, and he exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Known for his jewelled serpents and winged creatures, this charming, domestic scene offers a more light-hearted aspect of his work.
Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach (1861-1918) was an artist, interior decorator and highly individual designer of jewellery based in Berlin. His work relates closely to the Art Nouveau style prevalent in Paris and Brussels, and he exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Known for his jewelled serpents and winged creatures, this charming, domestic scene offers a more light-hearted aspect of his work.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The cockerel and the hen (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Enamelled gold with pearls, demantoid garnets, rubies and diamonds |
| Brief description | Brooch of a cockerel and hen, by Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach, gold, enamel, demantoid garnet, ruby and pearl, Germany c.1900 |
| Physical description | Two branches of an enamelled gold vine are arranged into a delicate and approximately heart-shaped frame. Within is a cockerel formed from a pinkish-brown irregular pearl in pursuit of a white hen which is likewise formed around an irregular pearl. The vine branches are adorned with enamelled clusters of grapes, leaves set with demantoid garnets, three tiny rubies at the top, and rose-cut diamonds set into the cut ends. Below hangs an oval pearl drop topped with a tiny diamond. The pin fitting is attached to a discreet gold frame which follows at the back the line of the branches. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | WLC monogram in two places on gold frame |
| Credit line | Given by Sonya Newell-Smith |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Depicting a cockerel in determined pursuit of a hen within a heart-shaped frame of vines, this is a humorous and charming love token, perhaps offering an an interpretation of the proverb ‘the cock croweth but the hen delivereth the egg’. Wilhelm Lucas von Cranach (1861-1918) was an artist, interior decorator and highly individual designer of jewellery based in Berlin. His work relates closely to the Art Nouveau style prevalent in Paris and Brussels, and he exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Known for his jewelled serpents and winged creatures, this charming, domestic scene offers a more light-hearted aspect of his work. |
| Associated object | M.2-2019 (Case) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.1-2019 |
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| Record created | January 15, 2019 |
| Record URL |
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