Pendant thumbnail 1
Pendant thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Pendant

1650-1750 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the 17th century, new ways of cutting gems, particularly diamonds, led to a new style of jewellery throughout Europe, in which the gems themselves had greater prominence. This cross pendant, made from sheet gold cut in a delicate openwork pattern resembling filigree and set with facetted diamonds in raised settings, is typical of that trend.

It would originally have been worn on a ribbon round the neck, but a hook has been added at some later period so that it could be hung from a necklace or chain. At the same time a brooch fitting was added to the cross at the bottom. This would have prevented the cross from falling about while being worn. The cross is attached by a hinge to the body of the pendant, so it could not have been detached and worn separately.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Rose-cut diamonds set in gold
Brief description
Three-part gold cross pendant set with rose-cut diamonds, Portugal, 1650-1750.
Physical description
Gold three-part openwork pendant ending in a cross. Each part is set with rose-cut diamonds in closed settings. There are two vertical bars, at slight angles to each other, on the back of the top part. An additional hook has been added to the back of the top part, and there are traces of an added pin fitting on the back of the cross.
Dimensions
  • Height: 8.5cm
  • Width: 5.4cm
  • Depth: 0.8cm
Object history
Bought from Child & Child.
Summary
In the 17th century, new ways of cutting gems, particularly diamonds, led to a new style of jewellery throughout Europe, in which the gems themselves had greater prominence. This cross pendant, made from sheet gold cut in a delicate openwork pattern resembling filigree and set with facetted diamonds in raised settings, is typical of that trend.

It would originally have been worn on a ribbon round the neck, but a hook has been added at some later period so that it could be hung from a necklace or chain. At the same time a brooch fitting was added to the cross at the bottom. This would have prevented the cross from falling about while being worn. The cross is attached by a hinge to the body of the pendant, so it could not have been detached and worn separately.
Bibliographic reference
Lords of the Ocean. Treasures of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th - 18th centuries, ed. by Yulia Buzykina and Vladimir Tauber. Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Moscow, 5 December 2017 - 25 February 2018. Moscow, 2017. ISBN 978-5-88678-316-2
Collection
Accession number
M.82-1913

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Record createdJuly 28, 2006
Record URL
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