Queen Victoria
Brooch
1851 (made)
1851 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This brooch shows the young Queen Victoria. The design is based on a portrait of her in Garter Robes by Thomas Sully painted 1838. The image on the brooch is in reverse from the portrait and it probably follows a lithograph by Henri Grevedon published in Paris in 1839 which is also in reverse. We think that the French jeweller Félix Dafrique showed this brooch at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. There he received a Prize Medal for his 'polychromic cameos'. Dafrique played a leading role in reviving the Renaissance fashion for commessi brooches. A commesso is a type of cameo further decorated with enamelled gold and jewels.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
Title | Queen Victoria (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Shell cameo, mounted with gold, and set with emeralds and diamonds |
Brief description | Commesso of Queen Victoria, shell cameo, mounted with gold, enamelled and set with emeralds and diamonds, cameo carved by Paul Lebas and made by Félix Dafrique, France, 1851 |
Physical description | Brooch set with a commesso portrait of Queen Victoria, shell cameo (Bull's mouth or Cassis rufa), mounted with gold, enamelled and set with table-cut and cabochon emeralds and rose-cut diamonds. The shell cameo is embellished with enamelled gold, diamonds and emeralds, and the gold frame is decorated with enamelled roses of Lancaster and York. The reverse of the shell is signed : 'Paul Lebas / Graveur / 1851 / Paris'. The gold mounts struck with the maker's mark of Felix Dafrique and a French export mark in use from 1840 onwards. |
Dimensions |
|
Marks and inscriptions |
|
Gallery label |
|
Object history | New York Exhibition RF.1998/862 Shell cameo (Bull's mouth or Cassis rufa), mounted with gold, enamelled and set with table-cut and cabochon emeralds and rose-cut diamonds; gold frame with enamelled roses of Lancaster and York. The cameo is a free adaptation (reversed of Thomas Sully's portrait of Queen Victoria in Garter Robes, dated 1838 (a version of the painting in the Wallace Collection was engraved by Wagstaff and published in 1839). The reverse of the shell is signed : Paul Lebas/Graveur/1851/Paris. The gold mounts struck with the maker's mark of Felix Dafrique and a French export mark in use from 1840 onwards. Dafrique was probably responsible for reviving the Renaissance vogue for commessi, small works or art made from a combination of stones (in this case, shell is substituted for hardstone). The jeweller was awarded a Prize Medal at the Great Exhibition in 1851 for 'polychromic cameos', which probably included this example. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This brooch shows the young Queen Victoria. The design is based on a portrait of her in Garter Robes by Thomas Sully painted 1838. The image on the brooch is in reverse from the portrait and it probably follows a lithograph by Henri Grevedon published in Paris in 1839 which is also in reverse. We think that the French jeweller Félix Dafrique showed this brooch at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. There he received a Prize Medal for his 'polychromic cameos'. Dafrique played a leading role in reviving the Renaissance fashion for commessi brooches. A commesso is a type of cameo further decorated with enamelled gold and jewels. |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | M.340-1977 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | January 20, 2003 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest