ANOTHER PROPERTY
UNUSUAL ANTIQUE HARDSTONE CAMEO BROOCH
Details
UNUSUAL ANTIQUE HARDSTONE CAMEO BROOCH
Of oval outline set with a hardstone cameo depicting a fashionable lady dressed in Elizabethan clothes, within a yellow gold cannetille frame, enhanced by blue enamel, etched on reverse "Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia 1876, Starr & Marcus New York, 777, C8 (with a pendant hoop), in a case signed Starr & Marcus, inscribed on outside J.R.B. Jan. 1st. 1877
In 1876 America celebrated its one-hundredth year birthday at the great Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia. This event was significant because many new countries were asked to participate in this gala celebration and historically because Philadelphia was chosen as the site. On May 10th, after many careful years of preparation, President Grant delivered the opening address welcoming all to explore new cultures while gaining pride in their current strides and looking forward to future achievements.
What makes this brooch unusual is not only the exceptional quality found in the finely carved well-detailed cameo, or the intricate gold and enamel Gothic style surround but rather its noted presence at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. It was there that Starr & Marcus featured an important collection of rare and unusual cameos including one from an example carved from a piece of Plymouth Rock.
This piece belonged to Jesse Wright Barr, an affluent American with residences in both Philadelphia and New Jersey, whose initials are found on the front of the original leather case.
See front cover illustration
Of oval outline set with a hardstone cameo depicting a fashionable lady dressed in Elizabethan clothes, within a yellow gold cannetille frame, enhanced by blue enamel, etched on reverse "Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia 1876, Starr & Marcus New York, 777, C8 (with a pendant hoop), in a case signed Starr & Marcus, inscribed on outside J.R.B. Jan. 1st. 1877
In 1876 America celebrated its one-hundredth year birthday at the great Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia. This event was significant because many new countries were asked to participate in this gala celebration and historically because Philadelphia was chosen as the site. On May 10th, after many careful years of preparation, President Grant delivered the opening address welcoming all to explore new cultures while gaining pride in their current strides and looking forward to future achievements.
What makes this brooch unusual is not only the exceptional quality found in the finely carved well-detailed cameo, or the intricate gold and enamel Gothic style surround but rather its noted presence at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. It was there that Starr & Marcus featured an important collection of rare and unusual cameos including one from an example carved from a piece of Plymouth Rock.
This piece belonged to Jesse Wright Barr, an affluent American with residences in both Philadelphia and New Jersey, whose initials are found on the front of the original leather case.
See front cover illustration