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

Pendant

ca. 1840 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A variety of hardstones and shell were used to make cameos. The cameo here is a carved bloodstone which, with onyx, sardonyx and carnelian, were the most popular of the hardstones.

The colourful and flamboyant jewellery of the 1820s and 1830s could be set with up to a dozen different stones within a rich gold and coloured gold framework. Special manufacturing techniques and decorative effects were used to achieve an expensive finish using smaller amounts of gold. Although lightly made, this opulent jewellery looked heavier than earlier Neo-classical work.

The highly ornate filigree work of spirals (cannetille) and granules (grainti) added an appealing relief texture, but it was more popular on mainland Europe than in England, where clients preferred more substantial areas of plain gold.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Bloodstone and gold
Brief description
Pendant, a bloodstone cameo head of Christ with the Virgin Mary on the reverse, France (Paris), ca. 1840.
Physical description
Pendant, a bloodstone cameo head of Christ; reverse: the Virgin Mary; set in gold frame with cannetille (wire spiral) ornament. The gold mount with the Paris warranty mark for 1838 onwards.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.1cm
  • Width: 4.4cm
  • Depth: 0.8cm
  • Cameo height: 3.7cm
  • Cameo width: 3cm
Marks and inscriptions
Paris warranty mark for 1838 to 1847 (On the gold mount.)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Mrs Harriet Bolckow
Subjects depicted
Summary
A variety of hardstones and shell were used to make cameos. The cameo here is a carved bloodstone which, with onyx, sardonyx and carnelian, were the most popular of the hardstones.

The colourful and flamboyant jewellery of the 1820s and 1830s could be set with up to a dozen different stones within a rich gold and coloured gold framework. Special manufacturing techniques and decorative effects were used to achieve an expensive finish using smaller amounts of gold. Although lightly made, this opulent jewellery looked heavier than earlier Neo-classical work.

The highly ornate filigree work of spirals (cannetille) and granules (grainti) added an appealing relief texture, but it was more popular on mainland Europe than in England, where clients preferred more substantial areas of plain gold.
Collection
Accession number
738-1890

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Record createdAugust 3, 2005
Record URL
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