Symbolism, The Clover

The clover is a flourish used in Classical Revival mourning jewels of the mid 19th century. It has several interpretations, but each reflect the Victorian’s and their adherence to earlier ages, which was also a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and how the Arts and Crafts movement connected to Medieval times and the Romantic Revival.

The first variation is the three leafed (see above) shamrock and often a popular embellishment in mid-19th century jewellery, as it balanced well with the popularity of the Victorian Rococo Revival style and remained associated to the Holy Trinity symbolism to work with other Christian symbolism in jewellery. The piece above has a Christian crucifix intaglio on the top of the ring and given the Irish significance of the shamrock as a Christian representation of the Holy Trinity, the ring displays the religious re-emergence of symbolism in mid-19th century jewellery (as opposed to the focus on the Neoclassical symbols or hairwork on top being the primary focus).

Secondly, there is the good luck variety, which is the most common association of the flour-leafed clover. The four leafed clover is used in sentimental works as a token of affection or ‘be mine’ and white clover ‘think of me’. You may find stand-alone clover pieces given as love tokens or see the clover worked into gold and silver embellishments upon Celtic or Neo-Rococo pieces.

It is even quite common to find when worked into other symbols on pieces (such as brooches or pins) during the latter 19th century and early 20th century. Pieces with both variations of the symbol are still in heavy production today, but for the focus of today’s lesson, this is a little overview of the 18th and 19th centuries.

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