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JEWELRY (O. Fr. jouel, Fr. joyau, per...
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See also:JEWELRY (O. Fr. jouel, Fr. joyau, perhaps from joie, joy; See also:Lat. gaudium; retranslated into See also:Low Lat. jocale, a See also:toy, from jocus, by misapprehension of the origin of the word)
, a collective See also:term for jewels, or the See also:art connected with them—jewels being See also:personal ornaments, usually made of gems, See also:precious stones, &c., with a setting of precious See also:metal; in a restricted sense it is also See also:common to speak of a See also:gem-See also: The two remaining princesses were Ita and Khnumit . The art of the nameless Memphite jewellers of the XIIth Dynasty is marked by perfect accuracy of See also:execution, by sureness of intention, by decorative See also:instinct and sobriety in See also:design, and by the service-able nature of the jewels for actual See also:wear . All forms of work are represented—including chiselling, soldering, See also:inlaying with coloured stones, moulding and working with See also:twisted wires and See also:filigree . Here also occurs the earliest instance of granulated work, with small grains of gold, soldered on a fiat See also:surface (fig . I) . The See also:principal items in this dazzling See also:group are the following: Three gold pectorals (fig . 2 and See also:Plate I. See also:figs . 35, 36) worked a jour (with the interstices See also:left open) ; on the front See also:side they are inlaid with coloured stones, the See also:fine cloisons being the only portion of the gold that is visible ; on the back, the gold surfaces are most delicately carved, in See also:low See also:relief . Two gold crowns (Plate I. figs . 32, 34), found together, are curiously contrasted in See also:character . The one (fig . 32) is of a formal design, of gold, inlaid (the plume, Plate I. fig 33, was attached to it) ; the other (fig .
34) has a multitude of See also:star-like See also:flowers, embodied in a filigree of daintily twisted wires
.
A See also:dagger with inlaid patterns on the handle shows extraordinary perfection of finish
.
Nearly a thousand years later we have another remarkable collection of See also:Egyptian art in the jewelry taken from the See also:coffin of See also:Queen Aah-hotp, discovered in 1859 by See also:Mariette in the entrance to 'the valley of the tombs of the See also:kings and now preserved in the See also:Cairo museum
.
Compared with the Dahshur treasure the jewelry of Aah-hotp is in parts rough and coarse, but none the less it is marked by the ingenuity and mastery of the materials that characterize all the work of the Egyptians
.
Hammered work, incised and chased work, the evidence of soldering, the combinations of layers of gold plates, together with coloured stones, are all See also:present, and the handicraft is See also:complete in every respect
.
A diadem of gold and See also:enamel, found at the back of the head of the See also:mummy of the queen (fig
.
3), was fixed in the back See also:hair, showing the See also:cartouche in front
.
The See also:box holding this cartouche has on the upper surface the titles of the See also: Fig . 5 is a gold drop, inlaid with See also:turquoise or blue See also:paste, in the shape of a fig . A gold See also:chain (fig . 6) is formed of wires closely plaited and very flexible, the ends terminating in the heads of See also:water See also:fowl, and having small rings to secure the See also:collar behind . To the centre is suspended by a small See also:ring a scarabaeus of solid gold inlaid with lapis lazuli . We have an example of a See also:bracelet, similar to those in modern use (fig . 7), and stars formed of combined crosses, with crosses in the centre forming spikes—all elaborately ornamented in detail . The See also:spiral forms an incessant decoration from its facile See also:production and repetition by means of twisted gold See also:wire . Grasshoppers or See also:tree crickets in gold repousse suspended by chains and probably used for the of perforated ornaments for See also:attachment to the clothing . There are also perforated ornaments belonging to neck-laces, with See also:intaglio engravings of such subjects as a contest of a man and See also:lion, and a See also:duel of two warriors, one of whom stabs his antagonist in the The heads of these ornaments were of gold, with silver See also:blades or pointed pins inserted for use . The bodies of the two stags See also:rest on fronds of the date-See also:palm growing out of the See also:stem which receives the See also:pin . Another remarkable series is composed of figures of See also:women with doves . Some have one See also:dove resting on the head; others have three doves, one on the head and the others resting on arms . The arms in both instances are extended to the An extraordinary diadem was found upon the head of one of the bodies discovered in the same See also:tomb with many objects similar to those noticed above . It is 25 in. in length, covered with See also:shield-like or rosette ornaments in repousse, the relief being very low but perfectly distinct, and further ornamented by See also:thirty-six large leaves of repousse gold attached to it . As an example of design and perfection of detail, another smaller diadem found in another tomb may be noted (fig . 14) . It is of gold plate, so thick as to require no " piping " at the back to sustain it; but in See also:general the repousse examples have a piping of See also:copper wire . The admirable inlaid daggers of the IVth See also:grave at See also:Mycenae are unique in their kind, with their subjects of a lion See also:hunt, of a lion See also:chasing a See also:herd of antelopes, of See also:running lions, of See also:cats See also:hunting See also:wild See also:duck,.of inlaid lilies, and of geometric patterns . The subjects are inlaid in, gold of various tints, and silver, in See also:bronze plates which are inserted in the See also:flat surfaces of the dagger-blades . In See also:part also the subjects are rendered in relief and gilded . The whole is executed with marvellous precision and vivid See also:representation of See also:motion . To a certain limited extent these daggers are paralleled by a dagger and See also:hatchet found in the treasure of Queen Aah-hotp mentioned above, but in their most characteristic features there is little resemblance . The gold ornaments found by See also:Schliemann at Hissarlik, the supposed site of See also:Troy, See also:divide themselves, generally speaking, into two See also:groups, one being the " See also:great treasure " of diadems, See also:ear-rings, beads, See also:brace-lets, &c., which seem the product of a See also:local and uncultured art . The other group, which were found in smaller " treasures," have spirals and rosettes similar to those of Mycenae . The See also:discovery, however, of the gold treasures of the Artemision at See also:Ephesus has brought out points of See also:affinity between the Hissarlik treasures and those of Ephesus, and has made any reasoning difficult, in view of the uncertainties surrounding the Hissarlik finds . The group with and worn by all persons of rank . It is formed of two pieces joined by a See also:hinge, and is decorated with figures in repousse on a ground inlaid with lapis lazuli . That the Assyrians used personal decorations of a very distinct character, and no doubt made of precious materials, is proved by the bas-reliefs from which a considerable collection of jewels could be gathered, such as bracelets, ear-rings and necklaces . Thus, for example, in the See also:British Museum we have representations of See also:Assur-nazirpal, king of See also:Assyria (c . 885–86o B.C.), wearing a See also:cross (fig . 8) very similar to the Maltese cross of modern times . It happens, however, that the excavations have not hitherto been fertile in actual re-mains of gold work from Assyria . See also:Chance also has so far ordained that the excavations in See also:Crete should not be particularly See also:rich in ornaments of gold . A few isolated objects have been found, .such as a duck and other pendants, and also several necklaces with beads of the Argonaut See also:shell-See also:fish See also:pattern . More striking than these is a See also:short bronze See also:sword . The handle has an See also:agate See also:pommel, and is covered with gold plates, engraved with spirited scenes of lions and wild goats (fig . 9, A . J . See also:Evans in Archaeologia, 59, 447) . In general, however, the gold jewelry of the later Minoan periods is more brilliantly represented by the finds made on the See also:main-See also:land of See also:Greece and at Enkomi in See also:Cyprus . Among the former the gold ornaments found by Heinrich Schliemann in the See also:graves of Mycenae are pre-eminent . The objects found ranged over most of the personal ornaments still in use; necklaces with gold beads and pendants, butterflies (fig. to), cuttlefish (fig . II), single and concentric circles, rosettes and leafage, with perforations for attachment to clothing, crosses decoration of the hair, and a See also:griffin (fig . 12), having the upper part of the See also:body of an See also:eagle and the See also:lower parts of a lion, with wings decorated with spirals; are among the more remarkable examples See also:throat . There are also pinheads and brooches formed of two stags lying down (fig . 13), the bodies and necks See also:crossing each other, and the horns See also:meeting symmetrically above the heads, forming a See also:finial . See also:elbow, the hands being placed on the breasts .
These ornaments are also perforated, and were evidently sewed on the dresses, although there is some evidence that an example with three doves has been fastened with a pin
.
Mycenaean See also:affinities (fig
.
15) includes necklaces, brooches, bracelets (g), hair-pins (a.), ear-rings (c, d, e, f), with and without pendants, beads and twisted wire drops The See also:majority of these are ornamented with spirals of twisted wire, or small rosettes, with fragments of stones in the centres
.
The twisted wire ornaments were evidently portions of necklaces
.
A circular See also:plaque decorated with a rosette
(h) is very similar to those found at Mycenae, and a conventionalized eagle (k) is characteristic of much of the detail found at that See also:place as well as at Hissarlik
.
They were all of pure gold, and the wire must have been See also:drawn through a plate of harder metal—probably bronze
.
The principal ornaments differing from those found at Mycenae are diadems or head fillets of pure hammered gold (b) cut into thin plates, attached to rings by See also:double gold wires, and fastened together at the back with thin twisted wire
.
To these pendants (of which those at the two ends are nearly three times the length of those forming the central portions) are attached small figures, probably of idols
.
It has been assumed that these were worn across the forehead by women, the See also:long pendants falling on each side of the See also:face
.
The jewelry of the See also:close of the Mycenaean See also:period is best represented by the rich finds of the See also:cemetery of Enkomi near See also:Salamis, in Cyprus
.
This See also: In its geometric patterns the art of Enkomi is entirely Mycenaean, but special stress is laid on the mythical forms that were inherited by See also:Greek art, such as the sphinx and the gryphon . Figs . 37–48 (Plate I.) are examples of the See also:late Mycenaean treasures from Enkomi . Ear-rings . Diadem, to be tied on the forehead . The impressed figure of a sphinx is repeated twelve times . Ear-rings, originally in See also:bull's head See also:form (fig . 40) . Later, the same general form is retained, but decorative patterns (figs . 41, 46) take the place of the bull's head . Pin, probably connected by a chain with a See also:fellow, to be used as a cloak fastening . See also:Pomegranate pendant, with fine granulated work . • Pins as No . 42 . The heads are of vitreous paste . (See above.) Pendant ornament, in See also:lotus-form, of a See also:pectoral, inlaid with coloured pastes . „ 48 „ Small See also:slate See also:cylinder, set in filigree . Another find of importance was that of a collection of gold ornaments from one of the Greek islands (said to be See also:Aegina) which also found its way to the British Museum . Here we find the themes of archaic Greek art, such as a figure holding up two water-birds, in immediate connexion with Mycenaean gold patterns . Figs . 49–53 (Plate I.) are specimens from this treasure . 49 „ Plate with repousse ornament for sewing on a See also:dress . Pendant . Figure with two water-birds, on a lotus See also:base, and having serpents issuing from near his See also:middle, modified from Egyptian forms . Fig . 51 (Plate I.) Ring, with cut blue See also:glass-pastes in the grooves . Pendant ornament, repousse, and originally inlaid with pieces of cut glass-paste . Pendant ornament, with See also:dogs and apes, modified from Egyptian forms . For the beginnings of Greek art proper, the most striking series of personal jewels is the great See also:deposit of ornaments which was found in 1905 by D . G . See also:Hogarth in the See also:soil beneath the central basis of the archaic See also:temple of See also:Artemis of Ephesus . The gold ornaments in question (amounting in all to about l000 pieces) were mingled with the closely packed See also:earth, and must necesk sarily, it would seem, have been in the nature of vo- tive offerings, made at the end of the 7th or the beginning of the 6th See also:century B.c . The hoard was rich in pins, brooches, beads and stamped disks of gold . The greater part of the find is at See also:Constantinople, but a portion was assigned to the British Museum, which had undertaken the excavations . Figs . 54–58 (Plate II.) Examples of the Ephesus hoard . 54 ,, See also:Electrum pin, with pomegranate head . 55 „ See also:Hawk ornament . 56 „ Electrum pin . 57, 58 „ Electrum ornaments for sewing on drapery . The cemeteries of Cyprus have yielded a rich See also:harvest of jewelry of Graeco-Phoenician See also:style of the 7th and following centuries B.C . Figs . 16 and 15 are typical examples of a ring and ear-ring from Cyprus . Greek, See also:Etruscan and See also:Roman ornaments partake of very similar characteristics . Of course there is variety in design and sometimes in treatment, but it does not rise to any special individuality . Fretwork is a distinguishing feature of all, together with the See also:wave ornament, the See also:guilloche, and the occasional use of the human figure . The workmanship is often of a character which modern gold-workers can only See also:rival with their best skill, and can never surpass . 37, 38 39 40, 41, 46 „ 42 43 44, 45 46 47 50 52 53 The Greek jewelry of the best period is of extraordinary delicacy and beauty . Fine examples are shown in the British Museum from Melos and elsewhere . Undoubtedly, however, the most brilliant collection of such ornaments is that of the Hermitage, which was derived from the tombs of See also:Kerch and the See also:Crimea . It contains examples of the purest Greek work, together with objects which must have been of local origin, as is shown by the themes which the artist has chosen for his reliefs . Fig . 18 illustrates the jewelry of the Hermitage (see also EAR-RING) . As further examples of Greek jewelry see the pendant oblong ornament for containing a See also:scroll (fig . 19) . The ear-rings (figs . 20, 21) are also characteristic . Figs . 59-70 (Plate II.) Examples of fine Greek jewelry, in the British Museum . Pair of ear-rings, from a grave at Cyme in See also:Aeolis, with filigree work and pendant Erotes . „ 61 „ Small bracelet . „ 62-63 Small gold See also:reel with repousse figures of Nereid with See also:helmet of See also:Achilles, and See also:Eros . From Cameiros (See also:Rhodes) . „ 64 Filigree ornament (ear-ring?) with Eros in centre . From See also:Syria . „ 65 Medallion ornament with repousse head of Dionysos and filigree work . (Blacas See also:coll.) 66 See also:Stud, with filigree work . 67-68 „ Pair of ear-rings, of gold, with filigree and enamel, from See also:Eretria . 69 Diadem, with filigree, and enamel scales, from See also:Tarquinii . „ 70 „ Necklace pendants . Etruscan jewlery at its best is not easily distinguished from the Greek, but it tends in its later forms to become florid and diffuse, without precision of design . The granulation of surfaces practised with the highest degree of refinement by the Etruscans was long a See also:puzzle and a problem to the modern jeweller, until Castellani of See also:Rome discovered gold-workers in the Abruzzi to whom the method had descended through many generations . 
He induced some of these men to go to See also:Naples, and so revived the art, of which he contributed examples to the See also:London See also:Exhibition of 1872 (see FILIGREE) . Figs . 71-77 (Plate II.) are well-marked examples of Etruscan work, in the British Museum . Pair of See also:sirens, repousse, forming a hook and eye fastening . From See also:Chiusi (?) . Early fibula . See also:Horse and See also:chimaera . (Blacas coll.) Medallion-shaped fibula, of fine granulated work, with figures of sirens in relief, and set with dark blue pastes . (See also:Bale coll.) Pair of late Etruscan ear-rings . 76, 77 „ Pair of late Etruscan ear-rings, in the florid style . The jewels of the Roman See also:empire are marked by a greater use of large cut stones in See also:combination with the gold, and by larger surfaces of See also:plain and undecorated metal . The See also:adaptation of imperial gold coins to the purposes of the jeweller is also not uncommon .
Figs
.
78-82 (Plate II.) Late Roman imperial jewelry, in the British Museum
.
Large pendant ear-ring, set with stones and pearls
.
From See also:Tunis, 4th century
.
Pierced-work pendant, set with a See also:coin of the See also:emperor See also: Its style is in part the classical tradition, debased and modified; in part it is a singularly rude and vigorous form of barbaric art . Its See also:chief characteristics See also:area See also:free use of strongly conventionalized See also:animal forms, such as great See also:bird-shaped fibulae, and an ornamentation consisting of pierced gold work, combined with a free use of stones cut to special shapes, and inlaid either cloisonne-See also:fashion or in a perforated gold plate . This part of the hoard has its affinities in objects found over a wide field from See also:Siberia to See also:Spain . Its rudest and most naturalistic forms occur in the See also:East in uncouth objects from Siberian tombs, whose lineage however has been traced to See also:Persepolis, Assyria and See also:Egypt . In its later and more refined forms the style is known by the name, now somewhat out of favour (except as applied to a limited number of finds), of Merovingian . The so-called Merovingian jewelry of the 5th century, and the Anglo-Saxon of a later date, have as their distinctive feature thin plates of gold, decorated with thin slabs of See also:garnet, set in walls of gold soldered vertically like the lines of cloisonne enamel, with the addition of very decorative details of filigree work, beading and twisted gold . The typical group are the contents of the tomb of King Childeric (A.D . 481) now in the Bibliotheque Nationale at See also:Paris . In Figs . 22 and 23 we have examples of Anglo-Saxon fibulae, the first being decorated with a See also:species of cloisonne, in which garnets are inserted, while the other is in hammered work in relief . A pendant (fig . 24) is also set with garnets . The buckles (figs . 25, 26, 27) are remarkably charac We turn now to the See also:Celtic group of jewelled ornaments, which has an equally long and See also:independent See also:line of descent . The characteristic Celtic ornaments are of hammered work with details in repousse, having fillings-in of vitreous paste, coloured enamels, See also:amber, and in the later examples See also:rock crystal with a smooth rounded surface cut en cabochon . The 59-60 71 72 74 73, 75 78 79 8o 81 82 whole group is a special development within the British Isles of the art of the See also:mid-See also:European Early See also:Iron See also:age, which in its turn had been considerably influenced by early Mediterranean culture . In its early stages its special marks are combinations of curves, with See also:peculiar central thickenings which give a quasi-naturalistic effect; a skilful use of inlaid enamels, and the chased line . After the introduction of See also:Christianity, a continuous tradition combined the old See also:system with the interlaced winding scrolls and other new forms of decoration, and so led up to the extreme complexity of early Irish See also:illumination and metal work . A remarkable group of gold ornaments of the pre-See also:Christian See also:time (probably of the 1st century) was discovered about 1896, in the See also:north-See also:west of See also:Ireland, and acquired by the British Museum . It was subsequently claimed by the See also:Crown as treasure trove, and after litigation was transferred to See also:Dublin (see Archaeologia, lv., pl . 22) . Figs . 29 and 3o are illustrations of two brooches of the latest period in this class of work . The first is 13th century; the latter is probably 12th century, and is set with paste, amber and blue .
Rings are the chief specimens now seen of See also:medieval jewelry from the loth to the 13th century
.
They are generally massive and simple
.
Through the 16th century a variety of changes arose; in the traditions and designs of the cinquecento we have plenty of evidence that the workmen used their own designs, and the results culminated in the triumphs of See also:Albert Darer, Benvenuto See also:Cellini and Hans See also:Holbein
.
The goldsmiths of the
See also:Italian republics must have produced See also:works of surpassing excellence in workmanship, and reaching the highest point in design as applied to handicrafts of any kind
.
The use of enamels, precious stones, See also:niello work and See also:engraving, in combination with skilful execution of the human figure and animal See also:life, produced effects which modern art in this direction is not likely to approach, still less to rival
.
In fig
.
31 illustrations are given of various characteristic specimens of the See also:Renaissance and later forms of jewelry
.
A crystal cross set in enamelled gold (a) is See also:German work of the 16th century
.
The pendant reliquary (b), enamelled and jewelled, is of 16th century Italian work, and so probably is the jewel (c) of gold set with diamonds and rubies
.
The See also:Darnley or See also:Lennox jewel (d), now in the See also:possession of the king, was made about 1576–1577 for See also:Lady See also:Margaret
See also:Douglas, countess of Lennox, the See also:mother of See also:
The ear-ring (e) of gold, enamelled, hung with small pearls, is an example of 17th century See also:Russian work, and another (f) is Italian of the same period, being of gold and filigree with enamel, also with pendant pearls
.
A See also:Spanish ear-ring, of 18th century work (g), is a combination of ribbon, See also:cord and filigree in gold; and another (h) is Flemish, of probably the same period; it is of gold open work set with diamonds in projecting collets
.
The old See also:French-See also:Normandy pendant cross and locket (1) presents a characteristic example of See also:peasant jewelry ; it is of branched open work set with bosses and ridged ornaments of crystal
.
The ear-ring (j) is French of 17th century, also of gold open work set with crystals
.
A small pendant locket (k) is of rock crystal, with the cross of See also:Santiago in gold and translucent See also:crimson enamel; it is 16th or i7th century Spanish work
.
A See also:pretty ear-ring of gold open scroll work (m), set with See also:minute diamonds and three pendant pearls, is Portuguese of 17th century, and another ear-ring (n) of gold circular open work, set also with minute diamonds, is Portuguese work of 18th century
.
These examples fairly illustrate the general features of the most characteristic jewelry of the See also:dates quoted
.
During the 17th and 18th centuries we see only a See also:mechanical kind of excellence, the results of the mere tradition of the workshop—the lingering of the See also:power which when wisely directed had done so much and so well, but now simply living on traditional forms, often combined in a most incongruous fashion
.
Gorgeous effects were aimed at by massing the gold, and introducing stones elaborately cut in themselves or clustered in groups
.
Thus diamonds were clustered in rosettes and bouquets; rubies, pearls, emeralds and other coloured special stones were brought together for little other purpose than to get them into a given space in See also:conjunction with a certain quantity of gold
.
The question was not of design in its relation to use as personal decoration, but of the value which could be got into a given space to produce the most striking effect
.
The traditions of Oriental design as they had come down through the various periods quoted, were comparatively lost in the wretched results of the See also:rococo of See also:
Since then we have learnt more about these works, and have been compelled to acknowledge, in spite of what is sometimes called inferiority of workmanship, how completely the Oriental jeweller under-stood his work, and with what singular simplicity of method he carried it out
.
The combinations are always harmonious, the result aimed at is always achieved; and if in attempting to work to European ideas the jeweller failed, this was rather the See also:fault of the forms he had to follow, than due to any want of skill in making the most of a subject in which See also:half the thought and the intended use were See also:foreign to his experience
.
A collection of peasant jewelry got together by Castellani for the Paris exhibition of 1867, and now in the See also:Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrates in an admirable manner the traditional jewelry and personal ornaments of a wide range of peoples in
1 See also:Europe
.
This collection, and the additions made to it since its acquisition by the nation, show the forms in which these objects existed over several generations among the peasantry of See also:France (chiefly Normandy), Spain, See also:Portugal, See also: What specially stamps the works of Lalique is their striking originality . His work may be considered from the point of view of design and from that of execution . As an artist he has completely reconstructed from the See also:foundation the See also:scheme of design which had fed the poverty-stricken See also:imagination of the last See also:generation of goldsmiths . He had recourse to the art of the past, but to the spirit rather than the See also:letter, and to nature for many new elements of design—free double curves, suave or soft; opalescent harmonies of colouring; reminiscences, with quite a new feeling, of Egypt, Chaldea, Greece and the East, or of the art of the Renaissance; and See also:infinite variety of floral forms even of the humblest . He introduces also the See also:female nude in the and a period . Throughout these years the See also:craft was exclusively devoted to perfection of workmanship . The utmost finish was aimed at in the mounting and setting of gems; jewelry was, in fact, not so much an art as a high-class industry; individual effort and purpose were absent . Up to that time precious stones had been of such See also:intrinsic value that the jeweller's chief skill See also:lay in displaying these costly stones to the best See also:advantage; the mounting was a secondary See also:consideration . The settings were seldom long preserved in their See also:original See also:condition, but in the See also:case of family jewels were renewed with each generation and each See also:change of fashion, a See also:state of things which could not be favourable to any truly artistic development of taste, since the work was doomed, sooner or later, to destruction . However, the evil led to its own remedy . As soon as diamonds See also:fell in value they lost at the same time their overwhelming See also:prestige, and refined taste could give a preference to trinkets which derived their value and character from artistic design . This revolutionized the jeweller's craft, and revived the simple ornament of gold or silver, which came forward but timidly at first, till, in the See also:Salon of 1895, it burst upon the See also:world in the exhibits of Rene Lalique, an artist who wasform-of sirens and sphinxes .
As a craftsman he has effected a See also:radical change, breaking through old routine, combining all the processes of the goldsmith, the chaser, the enameller and the gem-setter, and freeing himself from the narrow lines in which the art had been confined
.
He ignores the See also:hierarchy of gems, caring no more on occasion for a See also:diamond than for a See also:flint, since, in his view, no stone, whatever its original estimation, has any value beyond the characteristic expression he lends it as a means to his end
.
Thus, while he sometimes uses diamonds, rubies, sapphires or emeralds as a background, he will, on the other See also:hand, give a conspicuous position to common stones—See also:carnelian, agate, See also:malachite, See also:jasper, See also:coral, and even materials of no intrinsic value, such as See also:horn
.
One of his favourite stones is the See also:opal, which lends itself to his arrangements of See also:colour, and which has in consequence become a fashionable stone in French jewelry
.
In See also:criticism of the art of Lalique and his school it should be observed that the works of the school are See also:apt to be unsuited to the wear and See also:tear of actual use, and inconveniently See also:eccentric in their details
.
Moreover, the preciousness of the material is an almost inevitable consideration in the jeweller's craft, and cannot be set at naught by the artist without violating the canons of his art
.
The movement which took its rise in France spread in due century, a See also:branch of industry which collapsed after the French course to other countries
.
In See also:England the movement See also:con-
veniently described as the " arts and crafts movement " affected the design of jewelry
.
A group of designers has aimed at purging the jeweller's craft of its character of mere gem-mounting in conventional forms (of which the more unimaginative, representing stars, bows, flowers and the like, are varied by such absurdities as See also:insects, birds, animals, figures of men and objects made up simply of stones clustered together)
.
Their work is often excellently and fancifully designed, but it lacks that exquisite perfection of execution achieved by the incomparable craftsmen of France
.
At the same time See also:English sculptor-decorators--such as See also:Alfred See also: Examples may be seen in the badge executed by Gilbert for the See also:president of the See also:Institute of Painters in Water Colours and in the mayoral chain for See also:Preston . Symbolism here enters into the design, which has not only an ornamental but a didactic purpose . The movement was represented in other countries also . In the See also:United States it was led by L . C . See also:Tiffany, in See also:Belgium by Philippe Wolfers, who occupies in Belgium the position which in France is held by Rene Lalique . If his design is a little heavier, it is not less beautiful in imagination or less masterly in execution . Graceful, ingenious, fanciful, elegant, fantastic by turns, his objects of jewelry and goldsmithery have a solid claim to be considered creations d'art . It has also been See also:felt in Germany, See also:Austria, See also:Russia and Switzerland . It must be admitted that many of the best artists who have devoted themselves to jewelry have been more successful in design than in securing the lightness and strength which are required by the wearer, and which were a characteristic in the works of the Italian craftsmen of the Renaissance . For this See also:reason many of their masterpieces are more beautiful in the case than upon the See also:person . Modern Jewelry.—So far we have gone over the progress and results of the jeweller's art . We have now to speak of the production of jewelry as a modern art industry, in which large See also:numbers of men and women are employed in the larger cities of Europe . Paris, See also:Vienna, London and See also:Birmingham are the most important centres . An See also:illustration of the manufacture as carried on in London and Birmingham will be sufficient to give an insight into the technique and artistic manipulation of this branch of art industry; but, by way of contrast, it may be interesting to give in the first place a description of the native working jeweller of Hindustan . He travels very much after the fashion of a See also:tinker in England; his See also:budget contains tools, materials, See also:fire pots, and all the requisites of his handicraft . The gold to be used is generally supplied by the See also:patron or employer, and is frequently in gold coin, which the travelling jeweller undertakes to convert into the ornaments required . He squats down in the corner of a courtyard, or under See also:cover of a veranda, See also:lights his fire, cuts up the gold pieces entrusted to him, hammers, cuts, shapes, drills, solders with the See also:blow-See also:pipe, files, scrapes and burnishes until he has produced the desired effect . If he has stones to set or coloured enamels to introduce, he never seems to make a See also:mistake; his instinct for See also:harmony of colour, like that of his See also:brother craftsman the See also:weaver, is as unerring as that of the bird in the construction of its See also:nest . Whether the materials are common or rich and rare, he invariably does the very best possible with them, according to native ideas of beauty in design and combination . It is only when he is interfered with by European dictation that he ever vulgarizes his art or makes a mistake . The result may appear rude in its finish, but the design and the thought are invariably right . We thus see how a See also:trade in the working of which the " plant " is so simple and wants are so readily met could spread itself, as in years past it did at See also:Clerkenwell and at Birmingham before gigantic factories were invented for producing everything under the sun . It is impossible to find any date at which the systematic production of jewelry was introduced into England . Probably the Clerkenwell trade dates its origin from the revocation of the See also:edict of See also:Nantes, as the skilled artisans in the jewelry, See also:clock and See also:watch, and trinket trades appear to have been descendants of the emigrant See also:Huguenots . The Birmingham trade would appear to have had its origin in the skill to which the workers in fine See also:steel had attained towards the middle and end of the 18th Revolution . Modern jewelry may be classified under three heads: (1) objects in which gems and stones form the principal portions, and in which the work in silver, See also:platinum or gold is really only a means for carrying out the design by fixing the gems or stones in the position arranged by the designer, the metal employed being visible only as a setting; (2) when gold work plays an important part in the development of the design, being itself ornamented by en-graving (now rarely used) or enamelling or both, the stones and gems being arranged in subordination to the gold work in such positions as to give a decorative effect to the whole; (3) when gold or other metal is alone used, the design being wrought out by hammering in repousse, casting, engraving, chasing or by the addition of filigree work (see FILIGREE), or when the surfaces are left absolutely plain but polished and highly finished . Of course the most ancient and See also:primitive methods are those wholly dependent upon the craft of the workman; but gradually various ingenious processes were invented, by which greater accuracy in the portions to be repeated in a design could be produced with certainty and See also:economy: hence the various methods of stamping used in the production of hand-made jewelry, which are in themselves as much mechanical in relation to the end in view as if the whole See also:object were stamped out-at a blow, twisted into its proper position as regards the detail, or the various stamped portions fitted into each other for the mechanical completion of the work . It is there-fore rather difficult to draw an See also:absolute line between hand-made and See also:machine-made jewelry, except in extreme cases of hand-made, when everything is worked, so to speak, from the solid, or of machine-made, when the hand has only to give the ornament a few touches of a See also:tool, or_fit the parts together if of more than one piece . The best and most costly hand-made jewelry produced in England, whether as regards gold work, gems, enamelling or engraving, is made in London, and chiefly at Clerkenwell . A design is first made with See also:pencil, See also:sepia or water colour, and when needful with See also:separate enlargement of details, everything in short to make the See also:drawing thoroughly intelligible to the working jeweller . According to the nature and purpose of the design, he cuts out, hammers, files and brings into shape the constructive portions of the work as a basis . Upon this, as each detail is wrought out, he solders, or (more rarely) fixes by rivets, &c., the' ornamentation necessary to the effect . The human figure, representations of animal life, leaves, See also:fruit, &c., are modelled in See also:wax, moulded and See also:cast in gold, to be chased up and finished . As the hammering goes on the metal becomes brittle and hard, and then it is passed though the fire to anneal or soften it . In the case of elaborate examples of repousse, after the general forms are beaten up, the interior is filled with a resinous See also:compound, See also:pitch mixed with fire-See also:brick dust; and this, forming a solid but pliable body underneath the metal, allows of the finished details being wrought out on the front of the design, and being finally completed by chasing . When stones are to be set, or when they form the principal portions of the design, the gold or other metal has to be wrought by hand so as to receive them in little See also:cup-like orifices, these walls of gold enclosing the stone and allowing the edges to be See also:bent over to secure it . Setting is never effected by See also:cement in well-made jewelry . Machine-made settings have in See also:recent years been made, but these are simply cheap imitations of the true hand-made setting . Even strips of gold have been used, serrated at the edges to allow of being easily bent over, for the retention of the stones, true or false . Great skill and experience are necessary in the proper setting of stones and gems of high value, in See also:order to bring out the greatest amount of brilliancy and colour, and the See also:angle at which a diamond (say) shall be set, in order that the light shall penetrate at the proper point to bring out the " spark " or " flash," is a.subject of grave consideration to the setter . Stones set in a haphazard, slovenly manner, however brilliant in themselves, will look See also:commonplace by the side of skilfully set gems of much less fine quality and water . Enamelling (see ENAMEL) has of late years largely taken the place of " paste " or false stones . Engraving is a simple See also:process in itself, and diversity of effect can be produced by skilful manipulation . An interesting variety in the effect of a single ornament may be produced by the combination of coloured gold of various tints . This colouring is a process requiring skill and experience in the manipulation of the materials according to the quality of the gold and the amount of silver alloy in it . The objects to be coloured are dipped in a boiling mixture of See also:salt, See also:alum and See also:saltpetre . Of general colouring it may be said that the object aimed at is to enhance the See also:appearance of the gold by removing the particles of alloy on the surface, and thus allowing the pure gold only to remain visible to the eye . The process has, however, gone much out of fashion . It is apt to rot the See also:solder, and See also:repairs to gold work can be better finished by electro-See also:gilding . The application of machinery to the economical production of certain classes of jewelry, not necessarily imitations, but as much " real gold " work, to use a trade phrase,'as the best hand-made, has been on the increase for many years . Nearly every kind of gold chain now made is manufactured by machinery, and nothing like the beauty of design or perfection of workmanship could be obtained by hand at, probably, any cost . The question therefore in relation to chains is not the mode of manufacture, but the quality of the metal . Eighteen See also:carat gold is of course preferred by those who wear chains, but this is only gold in the proportion of 18 to 24, pure gold being represented by 24 . The gold coin of the See also:realm is 22 carat; that is, it contains one-twelfth of alloy to harden it to stand wear and tear . Thus 18 carat gold has one-See also:fourth of alloy, and so on with lower qualities down to 12, which is in reality only gold by See also:courtesy . It must be remembered that the See also:alloys are made by See also:weight, and as gold is nearly twice as heavy as the metal it is mixed with, it only forms a third of the bulk of a 12 carat mixture . The application of machinery to the production of personal ornaments in gold and silver can only be economically and success-fully carried on when there is a large demand for similar objects, that is to say, objects of precisely the same design and decoration throughout . In machine-made jeivelry everything is stereotyped, so to speak, and the only work required for the hand is to See also:fit the parts together—in some instances scarcely that . A design is made, and from it steel See also:dies are sunk for stamping out as rapidly as possible from a plate of rolled metal the portion represented by each See also:die . It is in these steel dies that the skill of the artist die-sinker is manifested . Brooches, ear-rings, pinheads, bracelets, lockets, pendants, &c., are struck out by the See also:gross . This is more especially the case in silver and in plated work—that is, See also:imitation jewelry—the base of which is an alloy, afterwards gilt by electro-plating . With these ornaments imitation stones in paste and glass, pearls, &c., are used, and it is remarkable that of late years some of the best designs, the most simple, appropriate and artistic, have appeared in imitation jewelry . It is only just to those engaged in this manufacture to state distinctly that their work is never sold wholesale for anything else than what it is . The worker in gold only makes gold or real jewelry, and he only makes of a quality well known to his customers . The producer of silver work only manufactures silver ornaments, and so on throughout the whole class of plated goods . It is the retailer who, if he is unprincipled, takes advantage of the See also:ignorance of the buyer and sells for gold that which is in reality an imitation, and which he bought as such . The imitations of old styles of jewelry which are largely sold in curiosity shops at foreign places of fashionable resort are said to be made in Germany, especially at See also:Munich . |
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