Love and Light

Large Antique Butterfly Brooch with Pearls & Gemstones, New York circa 1910

€ 3,980.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Large Antique Butterfly Brooch with Pearls & Gemstones, New York circa 1910

Description

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

Lightness was the ideal of the Belle Époque, that period between the late 19th century and the outbreak of the First World War. It was no longer just the aristocracy that celebrated glittering parties. The bourgeoisie, which had gained wealth and prestige through industrialization, now also had purchasing power and wanted to participate in the sunny side of life. Rushing balls, foaming champagne goblets and elegant city trips to the pulsating capitals characterized the image of that time. Last but not least, this feeling of joie de vivre and lightness was also to be reflected in jewellery and fashion. The brooch presented here could hardly be more lightly designed. Delicate so-called knife-wire gold bars are studded all over with small natural pearls and colorful gemstones, forming the wings of a butterfly glowing in the sunlight. Two old-cut diamonds also shine on the antennae of the animal, which thus seems to consist solely of light and color. The sapphires and rubies, which glow with an almost unreal vividness, are early syntheses after Verneuil. At that time, synthetic rubies and sapphires were quite new and were often used in modern jewellery – also, as here, next to diamonds and real pearls. The antique butterfly was once worn as a corsage ornament centered in front of the chest, which is why it has a delicate curve that allows it to perfectly hug the décolletage. The jewelry bears a U.S. hallmark of fineness and the maker's signet of the Sloan & Co. company, which was founded in New York in the 1890s and created wonderful jewelry there for almost a century.

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In the late 19th century, a fashion spread in the metropolises of the West, whose pretty representatives we also offer here from time to time: Dainty insects made of luxurious materials, richly set with diamonds and often with colored stones, were allowed to settle on their wearers in those years in the form of brooches, pins or hair ornaments. Spiders, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, but also flies served as "novelty jewelry" at dinner parties and soirées as points of contact for lively conversations.

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Size & Details

Love and Light

€ 3,980.00 ^*

Content 1 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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Love and Light

Brooches & Pins

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