On the face of it, this Pinchbeck brooch shows a significant amount of damage and its physical price would not be very great (I don’t really like talking about prices as they are transient and mostly in the eye of the beholder). We have the oxidisation to the top of the piece, a layer of… Continue reading Mid Victorian Brooch: How Damage Affects Price But Not Sentimentality
Tag: Brooch
Spotlight On: Snake Brooch
The snake motif was a popular symbol of eternal love, as it showed the snake ingesting its own tail, therefore representing eternity. Much thought has been given to Queen Victoria for popularising the snakes (as given to her by Prince Alfred), however, this motif pre-dated her usage by over fifty years. This snake with its… Continue reading Spotlight On: Snake Brooch
Spotlight On: 1788 Sarah Honlett Brooch
Faith, hope and charity are of the most typical symbols during the 19th century; their nondescript sentimentality and adherence to religious motifs make them popular sentimental tokens throughout jewellery and art. This piece shows just how they evolved during the 18th century and how well they could be combined with other motifs. Specifically, the symbol… Continue reading Spotlight On: 1788 Sarah Honlett Brooch
Spotlight On: Pearl and Paste Brooch
As the 19th Century approached, styles altered greatly, with the size of the previous pieces growing smaller and the importance of symbolism being held in the materials used and not in paintings on ivory or vellum. Stages of mourning, the move away from romanticism and the techniques of jewellery construction made pieces more accessible to… Continue reading Spotlight On: Pearl and Paste Brooch