Jewellery

The study of the various forms of personal ornament by means of which the memory of the dead or of death itself has been preserved by the living is one which offers a wide field...

I. SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PENDENT JEWELS OF ENAMELLED GOLD _Frontispiece_ 1. Pendant in the form of a Triton. Italian. (Marquess of Clanricarde.) _p. 249._ 2. Pendant in form of a wi...

The jewellery that came into fashion towards the close of the seventeenth century and flourished during the greater part of the eighteenth follows the style known as "rococo." R...

The jewels of the seventeenth century, as has been observed, are comparatively rare in public collections. Unlike those of the Cinquecento, which find a more appropriate place i...

The necklaces, collars, or neck-chains which have just been spoken of as noticeable features in Renaissance decoration served the purpose of suspending a species of ornament eve...

With the accession of Henry VIII a new period opens in the history of the jeweller's art. The spirit of the revival, which had previously affected only the Court, began to sprea...

Jewellery of the nineteenth century presents a very variegated picture both as regards material and technique, as well as in the display of every conceivable style. It is not so...

The origin of the ornaments for the hat or cap, known generally as enseignes, has been mentioned in dealing with the jewellery of the Middle Ages. At the period of the Renaissan...

Through the whole jewellery of the late Renaissance there runs a gradual and profound change of taste. Slowly and by imperceptible stages the earlier style, with its minute enam...

Another species of brooch peculiar to the Middle Ages is the pectoral, an article for fastening on to the middle of the breast. It is similar to our modern brooch, but differs i...

Of all classes of mediæval jewellery finger rings have been preserved in the greatest number. Among the various causes that have contributed to this result must be reckoned thei...

Though introduced early into Germany, the style of the Italian Renaissance made its way but slowly in a country where the ideas of the Middle Ages long held possession of people...

The splendour-loving sixteenth century far surpassed the Middle Ages in the use of the finger ring. No other ornament of the Renaissance attained such richness and profusion. In...

Round the helmets of knights in the fifteenth century ornamental wreaths called _orles_ were worn; these, originally composed of two bands of silk twisted together were afterwar...

To the student of jewellery the Middle Ages offer far greater problems than the periods of classic antiquity. The main reason for this is to be found in the fact that throughout...

After the landing of St. Augustine in 597 and the baptism of Ethelbert, King of Kent, the conversion of the upper classes in England appears to have been rapid, and by the third...

The history of Renaissance jewellery in general may be approached by reviewing the condition of Italian jewellery in the fifteenth century. In the foregoing outline of European...

Great ostentation and external splendour were the chief features of the Renaissance. So, if the jewellery of this time appears to us more magnificent than that of any other, thi...

Most of the forms met with among the jewellery of the civilised nations of later times are found represented in the ornaments of the Egyptians. It is fortunate that important sp...

The early ornaments of the greater part of Europe remained until late times entirely untouched by the culture prevalent in Italy and Greece. Though of great archæological import...

Before dealing with Greek jewellery of the classic period some reference must be made to the primitive and archaic ornaments that preceded it. The period and phase of Greek cult...

The wearing of religious emblems in the form of pendants by the Christians of the Middle Ages was possibly, in the first place, the unconscious perpetuation of pagan superstitio...

Upon the invasion of Britain by the Teutonic races in the fifth century personal ornaments lost their Roman character, and assumed a peculiar type which betrays the impress of a...

Owing to the important position that jewellery occupies in the domain of virtu, it is natural that it should receive particular attention at the hands of the fraudulent. On the...

The brooches or fibulæ hitherto considered have been constructed either with a spring pin or _acus_, which was held in its place by a hook or catch, or with a hinged acus, which...

A few brooches and finger rings are almost the only surviving examples of English jewellery of the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries. Yet there is evidence from existing recor...

The girdle or _ceinture_ of elaborate workmanship formed no inconsiderable part of the jewellery of the wealthy in the Middle Ages. Though actual examples are extremely rare, th...

Until the middle of the nineteenth century the peasants and natives of every country district of Europe wore modest gold and silver jewellery, of small pecuniary value, but of g...

The campaigns of Charles VIII and Louis XII in Italy, and the patronage of Italian artists by Cardinal d'Amboise, brought a knowledge of Renaissance art into France. France was...

During the period of the great migrations, when hordes of barbarians swept like waves across Europe over the tracks of Roman civilisation, all traces of classical art rapidly va...

One aspect of the present subject, more attractive perhaps than any other, is that which concerns the representation of personal ornaments in pictures. Scarcely as yet have pict...

The Etruscans appear to have had a peculiar passion for jewellery. Even in early times, when the excessive use of personal ornament was considered a mark of effeminacy, they wer...

The girdle is an important ornament in the dress of the Renaissance. From the beginning of the sixteenth century it differs considerably from the mediæval pattern already discus...

One of the most curious and interesting facts in connection with the jewellery of the Middle Ages is the peculiar respect which seems to have been paid to precious stones. "In a...

The foundation of the designs of Roman jewellery is to be found among the ornaments of the ancient Latin and Etruscan races which Rome subdued. That there is considerable resemb...

Necklaces or neck-chains worn by both sexes are a prominent feature in Renaissance jewellery. Just as in primitive times the neck was encircled by a torque, so at this later per...

The peculiar interest of Byzantine jewellery lies, not only in its own composite nature, but in the great influence it exercised on European ornaments during the greater part of...

In order to understand the condition of the arts in the more remote parts of the British Isles, subsequent to the introduction of Christianity towards the middle of the fifth ce...

Head-ornaments from the tenth to the sixteenth century belong for the most part rather to the general history of costume than to that of jewellery proper; and it will be unneces...