Room With a View

Antique Medallion Brooch With Pietra Dura in Gold, Florence & England Around 1890

€ 1,590.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Unit price €1,590.00 / piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Antique Medallion Brooch With Pietra Dura in Gold, Florence & England Around 1890

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

Pietra Dura jewellery has been a popular souvenir from every visit to Florence since the Renaissance. Especially in the 19th century, many travellers brought these little marvels back home. The brooch presented here comes from exactly this period. A rectangular pietra dura field is set in a wonderful framing of yellow gold. A charming bouquet of forget-me-nots, lilies of the valley and roses made of different types of stones unfolds in front of the black ground of frosted black stone. Detailed stones of the composition are chosen just enough to create a naturalistic veining of the leaf surfaces - a small bravura piece of illusionism. All the flowers depicted are to be interpreted in connection with love. Forget-me-nots, for example, were to be understood literally in the floral language of the 19th century, pink and white roses symbolize purity and first love while the lily of the valley stands for the return of happiness. According to the stamping, the filigree framing of the brooch with applied leaves and flowers was made in England in 1890. Often the settings for Florentine souvenirs were first made in the home country of the travellers. On the back, a glazed medallion compartment allows for the storage of souvenirs.

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Pietra Dura (it. "hard stone") is a traditional craft from Florence, in which images and ornaments are composed of platelets of hard stone. Unlike the classic mosaic art of coloured cubes or pins, the Pietra Dura process uses precisely matched shaped pieces that are cut according to the corresponding squares of the preliminary drawing. This creates particularly resistant, durable decorative surfaces. The heyday of the Pietra Dura craft in Florence occurred in the 16th century, when not only the famous Medici Chapel in San Lorenzo was decorated, but also numerous tables, pieces of jewellery, altars and, in fact, every conceivable object was decorated with this elaborate and costly technique. Even today, in Via degli Alfani 78, you can find the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a workshop that specializes solely in the production of works of art using this technique. Pietra Dura jewellery has therefore been a popular souvenir of every visit to Florence since the Renaissance. Especially in the 19th century, during the era of the Grand Tour, young noblemen from Northern Europe brought back pieces from their extensive travels in Italy to show the beauty and artistry of Italy to those at home.

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Size & Details

Room With a View

€ 1,590.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Unit price €1,590.00 / piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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