Monday, October 10, 2011

Mastery of Design: The Grapevine Necklace, 1840-1850

Necklace
London, 1840-1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum
The mid-Nineteenth Century saw an upsurge in jewels designed in naturalistic shapes. This trend was made all the more fashionable by Queen Victoria who had several pieces, many of them designed by her husband, Prince Albert, in the form of flowers, fruit or animals. This necklace is a perfect example. Here, we see a necklace in the form of vines laden with grapes and leaves. It is constructed of enameled gold mounted with amethysts.




This type of naturalistic jewelry emerged with the Romantic movement in the early 19th century and steadily grew in popularity, remaining popular for many decades. This piece is part of a suite which includes a matching pair of earrings.

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