Lot Essay
Christie's London, 14 February 1996, lot 72
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During the Renaissance period, there were many ties between the goldsmithing and fine art fields. A large number of well-known Italian artists, Antonio Pollaiulo and Boticelli for example, began their careers as goldsmiths. This brought a precision and superlative comprehension of drawing to their subsequent employment as painters. In a similar vein, some Renaissance artists designed jewels, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) being the most famous. The latter was particularly active in England under the patronage of Henry VIII.
19th century jewellery design was marked by an eclectic taste for revival jewellery, the following two pendants representing the Neo-Renaisssance style. The particular style is usually described as 'Holbeinesque'; it was especially popular with pendants, often set to the centre with a carbuncle. Alternatively, more lavish examples, such as these, incorporated precious stones and were engraved to the reverse. According to Shirley Bury, however, 'the reason why the name of Holbein was appropriated to these pieces is unknown, especially when their ultimate origin lies in French and English work of the second half of the sixteenth century.'
Cf. Shirley Bury, Jewellery: The International Era 1789-1910, Volume II 1862-1910 (Woodbridge 1991), p. 454; Yvonne Hackenbroch, Renaissance Jewellery (Munich 1979), p. 272
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
AN ANTIQUE EMERALD, RUBY AND DIAMOND HOLBEINESQUE PENDANT
Details
AN ANTIQUE EMERALD, RUBY AND DIAMOND HOLBEINESQUE PENDANT
The central square-shaped emerald within a diamond border to the ruby, diamond, black and blue enamel surround suspending a pearl drop, the closed-back setting engraved with floral motifs, circa 1865, 6.5 cm long, with fitted blue velvet case (2)
The central square-shaped emerald within a diamond border to the ruby, diamond, black and blue enamel surround suspending a pearl drop, the closed-back setting engraved with floral motifs, circa 1865, 6.5 cm long, with fitted blue velvet case (2)