Mythology and Memory in an 18K Gold Cameo Locket Brooch, circa 1870

Antique 18K yellow gold cameo locket brooch, circa 1870, designed with a finely and professionally carved shell cameo thought to depict Flora, the mythological goddess of flowers and spring, her hair adorned with blossoms. The quality of the carving is especially visible in the clean profile, notably the elegant line of the nose and mouth. The rich Grand Victorian mount is alive with vine leaves, grape clusters and curling tendrils, lending the jewel a Bacchic air of abundance. Opening as a locket, it still preserves a small portrait photograph, a quiet trace of private memory within its golden frame.

Jewellery Type
brooch with locket

Condition
very good condition
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Country of origin
unknown

Style
Victorian jewellery - This style refers to jewellery from circa 1837 to 1901 (Britain and the wider Western world). Typical features include gold and silver range from hand finished lockets to stamped pieces, set with garnet, turquoise or star set diamonds. Typical motifs include serpents symbolising eternal love, hearts, anchors and crosses (love, hope and faith), hands for friendship and fidelity, forget-me-nots, ivy and acorns, naturalistic flowers. The style was shaped by reign of Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution and new technologies, British Empire and global trade routes, Great Exhibition of 1851, archaeological excavations and scholarship, including Pompeii and Troy.
more info on styles

Style specifics
Grand Victorian - This jewel belongs to the Grand Victorian period, roughly 1860 to 1880. This phase is often associated with more substantial jewels, diamonds, pearls, dark stones and mourning jewellery. The period followed the death of Prince Albert in 1861 and is closely associated with Queen Victoria’s mourning. At the same time, wealth, empire and international influences, including India and Japan, helped shape jewellery design.

Period
ca. 1870
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Source of inspiration
Classical mythology, possibly Flora, combined with Bacchic grapevine ornament.

Theme
A classical female figure, possibly Flora, set within a Bacchic decorative language of vine leaves, grape clusters and curling tendrils.

Material 18K
yellow gold (touchstone tested)
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Technique
Cameo is a method of carving, or an item of jewellery or vessel made in this manner. It features a raised (positive) relief image. There are three main materials for Cameo carving; Shells or Agate (called a Hardstone cameo), and glass. Cameos can be produced by setting a carved relief, such as a portrait, onto a background of a contrasting colour. This is called an assembled cameo. Alternately, a cameo can be carved directly out of a material with integral layers or banding, such as (banded) agate or layered glass, where different layers have different colours. Sometimes dyes are used to enhance these colours. Cameos are often worn as jewellery. Stone cameos of great artistry were made in Greece dating back as far as the 6th century BC. They were very popular in Ancient Rome, and one of the most famous stone cameos from this period is the Gemma Claudia made for the Emperor Claudius. The technique has since enjoyed periodic revivals, notably in the early Renaissance, and again in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Extra information
The shell cameo presents a serene classical female profile, her hair dressed with flowers that appear to be roses. She may represent Flora, goddess of flowers and spring, although the sumptuous gold mount, with its vine leaves, grape clusters and curling tendrils, introduces a distinctly Bacchic note, evoking wine, fertility and abundance.

The brooch retains the small portrait photograph that was found inside the locket compartment when it came into our possession. The reverse bears a partly legible handwritten note in French, apparently including “Hector Vd…”, “1888”, “Broche de ma mčre Maria” (“Brooch of my mother Maria”), and possibly “veuve …” (“widow …”). This suggests that the jewel may once have been kept as a personal or family memento.

Hallmarks
No trace of hallmarks, which is not uncommon for pieces of jewellery made around the French Revolution.
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Dimensions
2,93 cm (1,15 inch) x 3,82 cm (1,50 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
11,60 gram (7,46 dwt)

Adin Reference Nº
26127-0262

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

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