Brooch thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125b

Brooch

1883 (designed)
Artist/Maker

Object Type
'Name' brooches bearing inscriptions such as 'Baby', as on this brooch, 'Bella' or 'Beatrice' were made in large numbers in the late 19th century.

Time
The production of silver increased dramatically in the Victorian period, and mass production meant that silver jewellery could be bought by a much wider public. In the early 1880s, when this brooch was designed, the world annual production of silver was three times as high as it had been in the 1850s.

Design & Designing
The manufacturer of this brooch has stamped a design registration mark (a lozenge shape) on the back. There is also a minute version of the mark (in reverse) just beneath the back handle of the cradle. Under the Copyright of Design Act passed in 1842 the registration mark was intended to protect the design from being copied by other manufacturers for three years. The information contained in the mark shows that the design of the brooch was registered in 1883. In 1884 a new act took effect that abolished the lozenge mark and introduced a number sequence.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Stamped silver
Brief description
'Baby' brooch
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.8cm
  • Width: 4.6cm
Dimensions checked: measured; 10/12/1998 by sf
Gallery label
British Galleries: MOTHER' AND 'BABY' BROOCHES
Brooches such as these would have been given as sentimental gifts on the birth of a child. Silver brooches were cheap to produce and were very popular by the 1880s. However the applied gold letters and flowers on the 'Mother' brooch made this one more expensive.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Mrs John Hull Grundy
Production
Design registration mark for 1883
Summary
Object Type
'Name' brooches bearing inscriptions such as 'Baby', as on this brooch, 'Bella' or 'Beatrice' were made in large numbers in the late 19th century.

Time
The production of silver increased dramatically in the Victorian period, and mass production meant that silver jewellery could be bought by a much wider public. In the early 1880s, when this brooch was designed, the world annual production of silver was three times as high as it had been in the 1850s.

Design & Designing
The manufacturer of this brooch has stamped a design registration mark (a lozenge shape) on the back. There is also a minute version of the mark (in reverse) just beneath the back handle of the cradle. Under the Copyright of Design Act passed in 1842 the registration mark was intended to protect the design from being copied by other manufacturers for three years. The information contained in the mark shows that the design of the brooch was registered in 1883. In 1884 a new act took effect that abolished the lozenge mark and introduced a number sequence.
Collection
Accession number
M.31-1977

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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