Locket Brooch
ca. 1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This brooch is set with a polished specimen of natural rock containing gold ore. Gold was first discovered in the United States in the 1820s in Georgia and North Carolina. However it was the discovery of gold in California in 1849 that precipitated the Gold Rush and resulted in jewellery of this type becoming popular. The San Francisco jewellers Barrett & Sherwood claim to have been the first to make 'Quartz Rock' jewellery, with George C. Shreeve & Co. also of San Francisco advertising similar products soon after. The maker of this particular brooch is unknown.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold, rock |
| Brief description | Locket brooch, gold, mounted with an oval of gold ore; containing a daguerreotype of a young woman. United States, ca. 1850. |
| Physical description | Oval brooch set with a panel of polished rock containing gold ore, with engraved decoration around the border and on the back. The brooch opens to reveal a daguerreotype of a young woman. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Unmarked |
| Credit line | Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Patricia V. Goldstein |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This brooch is set with a polished specimen of natural rock containing gold ore. Gold was first discovered in the United States in the 1820s in Georgia and North Carolina. However it was the discovery of gold in California in 1849 that precipitated the Gold Rush and resulted in jewellery of this type becoming popular. The San Francisco jewellers Barrett & Sherwood claim to have been the first to make 'Quartz Rock' jewellery, with George C. Shreeve & Co. also of San Francisco advertising similar products soon after. The maker of this particular brooch is unknown. |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.97-2007 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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