Antique lava stone cut cameo ear pendants

Antique jewelry object group: earrings long hanging

Condition: good condition
  -  (more info on our condition scale)

Country of origin: Although it does not carry any legible control marks we believe this to be of Italian origin.

Style: Victorian - Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the middle east and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a regrettable excess of ornament. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era.
  -  See also: Victorian or more info on styles

Style specifics: The Grand Victorian Period - Experts divide the reign of Queen Victoria, also called The Victorian era (1837 - 1901) into three periods of about twenty years each; The Romantic Victorian Period (1837 - 1860), The Grand Victorian Period (1860 - 1880), and the Late or Aesthetic Victorian Period (1880 - 1901).

We consider this to be of the Grand Victorian Period.

This second Victorian period is famous for its ostentatious pieces set with pearls and diamonds (from South Africa). From ca. 1850 wealthy English had reported about jewelry from India and Japan, which heavily inspired the jewelers of this period. This period also corresponds with the death of Queen Victoria's husband King Albert making mourning jewelry (set with heavy dark stones) the type of jewelry specific for this period.

Period: ca. 1870
  -  (events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era)

Source of inspiration: Classicism

Theme: Human heads

Material: 14K red gold
  -  (more info on precious metals)

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: Lavastone jewelry - Lavastone jewelry, usually a mounted cameo or intaglio, made of the lava from Mt Vesuvius and carved in Italy. The pieces are of a variety of colours, usually pale shades or greys and browns, and the surface is matt. It was a popular form of inexpensive jewelry of the 19th century.

Hallmarks: No trace.
  -  (more info on hallmarks)

Dimensions: height 4,05 cm (1,59 inch)

Weight: 4,50 gram (2,89 dwt)

Reference Nº: 17129-0168

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewelry

jewelry with human motifs, mythological jewelry, red gold jewelry, cameo jewelry, latest acquisitions,
antique jewelry, estate jewelry, vintage jewelry or modern jewelry

Jewelry with birthstones (or month stones) for:
January - February - March - April - May - June - July
August - September - October - November or December.


Additional information:
jewelry glossary - wall of fame - visit us in Antwerp - subscribe to our mailinglist.


What is antique jewelry? - What is estate jewelry? - What is vintage jewelry?