May, lovely month of May... Lucky charm in France

BY VALERIE GOUPIL, DOCTOR IN ART HISTORY, JEWELRY HISTORIAN, EXPERT-GEMMOLOGIST

Part 1

Some definitions

Named by different names until the 1870s: amulets, talismans, fetishes, gris-gris sometimes lucky charms then mascots, vein holders.
Amulet, comes from the Latin amuletum which Pliny uses to designate an object which protects people from illness and thus from evil. There is a prophylactic meaning in the word.
Talisman, comes from the Arabic tilasm. Corresponding among the Greeks: Telesma, which means “consecrated object”.
The term fetish is borrowed from the Portuguese noun feitiço meaning “something made and…” and faticiera, “witch”.
The word Gris-gris according to Pierre Guiraud, “undoubtedly represents the proverb faire gris-gris, faire gueri-curi, a childish expression which could have passed into the sabir.
Finally mascot, comes from mascoto, spell.
All these words evoke the magical and protective power of objects.

Lucky charm

If men wore "talisman rings" in the years 1835-1840, it was not until the mid-1870s, after a very violent and painful political and social context, that a host of luxurious bracelets appeared on women's wrists. so-called “lucky charms” in gold and sometimes in platinum, decorated with precious stones. In 1874, "nothing is more gallant and in better style than the gift of a lucky charm of small volume, thin, filiform, of extra-modest appearance and which carries, nestled on a point of its circle, a high-priced diamond”, whose origin would be oriental, writes E. Chapus. Women can wear several because “the joys of which life is made up are multiple (…) love, riches, talents, spirit (…)”. In 1876, the Grands Magasins du Louvre offered “so-called Lucky Charm bracelets (in) metal, nickel-plated, chiseled and cut out”; Worn in numbers, they are called “weekly bracelets”. The word lucky charm is defined at this date in the Littré as a “jeweler’s term, bracelet without hinge and plain, usually in silver or in gold, which we wear on our arm, and which we never take off.”

These jewels are then rarely accompanied by inscriptions or patterns apart from the four-leaf clover. It seems that we will have to wait until the end of this century to see them appear more regularly.

Representation of lucky charms

In 1903, a very interesting description of a lucky bracelet appeared in the Revue de la bijoux, joaillerie, orfèvrerie:

^{The real Lucky Bracelet
The elegant, who want to take full advantage of superstitious traditions in the interest of their adornment, have decreed that a bracelet, to combine business with pleasure, while protecting against all bad luck, must be garnished with thirteen lucky charms:
1° A four-leaf clover, a guarantee of happiness;
2° A hammer, symbol of loyalty;
3° An amethyst heart, which ensures constancy;
4° A bell, sign of righteousness;
5 A French penny, which it seems preserves grace;
6° A little pig, sovereign against the evil eye;
7° A juniper berry, a sure winner of good health;
8° A small snake, symbol of eternal love;
9° An old currency which gives luck to all games;
10° A hazelnut, assurance of long life;
11° A horse's hoof, guarantee of success in business,
12° The ivory or coral horn against dangers.
13° The number 13 itself closes the series; such is the bracelet, universal panacea, which while forming the delights of beautiful idle women, provides a certain source of income for their jeweler, thus justifying its object: useful dulci.}

This lucky bracelet is made up of three categories of lucky charms: plants, representations of animals, miniature objects and a writing sign with the number 13. We will study these signs through different articles.

Lucky plants

Whether they are picked, found, offered, some of them symbolize happiness. They are then dried and worn in a medallion or represented in metal, sometimes enameled or set with gems. The power is the same.

The four leaf clover

It is undoubtedly the favorite plant for wishing or attracting happiness. Already in 1852, Eugénie had received indirectly from her future husband, a brooch in silver and enameled gold, representing a three-leaf clover surrounded by small diamonds.
But what is most sought after is the rarity of the four leaflets. A journalist from Gallic in 1898, was concerned about “the immense consumption of 4-leaf clover, which the craze given to this rare plant made us suspect”. Reassuring the reader, he tells us that “the true lucky charm is the one you find yourself without having looked for it!” ".
Each leaf would have a virtue: fame, wealth, sincere love and health. The clover finds its place on bracelets, pins, brooches and particularly in medallions where it is carefully preserved (fig. 3). It can be reproduced and cut in metal (Fig.4), or painted on glass (fig.5). 

Lily of the Valley

In April 1912, Gallic informs its readers that “the best good luck charm is(..) to hold a little lily of the valley in your hand, to pin it to the bodice” or to wear it in your buttonhole. Its little white bells each seem to contain a wish and its sweet, slightly musky scent permeates. Associated with May 1, it was offered well before 1947, the year of the legal Labor Day and a public holiday in France. Symbol of renewal and spring, this day, called "May Green" was celebrated already in the Middle Ages: it was customary to plant a green tree, called May, in front of the door of a person you wanted to honour.
At the end of the 19th century, E. Hupin testifies in his work “Au temps du lily of the valley”: young people did not fail to celebrate this moment, people danced in the woods and “country orchestras were heard everywhere (…) After the picking of May and the first bouquets (…) the lovers would not have dared to miss the annual celebration where so many arrangements had ended.”

To offer a sprig of lily of the valley is to offer happiness, which can be offered in gold with its little pearl bells (fig.6 and 7) or engraved on a medallion containing the portrait of a loved one (fig.7b) .

The mistletoe

A symbol of vitality, immortality, hope, this plant with branches made up of green leaves, dotted with small white balls, has the particularity of retaining its greenery during the winter, on bare trees.
Sought after Antiquity, it is known to be venerated by the Gauls and was the subject of a Druidic ceremony.

Highly sought after at the end of the 19th century, around Christmas and New Year's Day, it was suspended from the bedroom ceiling for a year. Once the year has expired, it should not be thrown away but burned to be replaced. So it will bring good luck. We kiss under the mistletoe. In Brittany, it was customary to look for mistletoe. The party was reserved for whoever found it and hung it above the front door. The young girls, relates P. Constantin in the World of Plants, “pass one by one underneath, where they are kissed without ceremony by all the boys present. After a modest but abundant feast (...) the Mistletoe is burned (...) The "king of Mistletoe" then cheerfully distributes the ashes to all those present who must keep them carefully, as "lucky charms", in small bags which they wear on their chest.”

The mistletoe branch, its numerous small, elongated, rounded leaves and its berries set with fine pearls, can be found on numerous pieces of jewelry in the 19th and 20th centuries (fig.8 and 9). The Art Nouveau period particularly appreciated it.

Holly

Like mistletoe, the holly branch has perpetually green leaves. Spiky, toothed, they are sought after decorated with small red fruits, symbolizing life. Cut in the same season as the sacred plant, holly has been a good luck charm since the end of the 19th century, as mentioned in Le Gaulois in 1896: “The traditional bouquet: mistletoe, branches of holly mixed with the Christmas rose, is offered this year in a large old silk bag (…) The floral emblem is attached to a frame as a souvenir or placed in a favorite trinket. We will keep it all year round as a good luck charm.” It is therefore quite natural to find it as the main motif on enameled gold jewelry, set with coral balls (fig.10). 

The Edelweiss

The little white flower from the peaks of the Alps is a lucky charm “in adventure and love”. It is also the reward of valiant mountaineers (some of whom die trying to collect it). From the end of the 19th century, this curious snow star adorned with white wool whose stem seems wrapped in cotton wool was preserved in medallions. Carved in ivory or made of glass paste, it is worn as brooches, pins or pendants (fig.11).

In this short article, we have focused on the main plants known by all for their ability to bring good luck. Others, locally in France, have this power associated with their medicinal virtue. Note also the publication of numerous works from the mid-19th century, devoted to the “language” of flowers.

To conclude this chapter on plants, let us mention one last element, a symbol of life since Antiquity: wood. Between that of the oak which protects men from lightning and that of the cross of the resurrected Christ, this material symbolizes life. “Knock on wood”, an expression and practice which combines gesture with words, allows one to ward off fate, to ask God to answer one's prayer. In 1916, during the war, the House of Van Cleef & Arpels created “Touch Wood” jewelry, associated with precious stones, gold and platinum. 

Legend details

Fig. 1: 750/°° yellow gold brooch, black enameled and fine pearl. French work around 1850. Diameter 3 cm
Fig. 2: 750/°° yellow and white gold bracelet. Italian work.
Fig. 3: Pendant in 750/°° yellow gold and pink gold. Four-leaf clovers were slipped between the two glasses. French jewelry from the end of the 19th century.
Fig. 4: Early 20th century medallion pendant in 750/°° yellow and green gold, blue enamel and calibrated sapphires representing a four-leaf clover. Diameter: 2.80 cm
Fig. 5: Pendant in 750/°° pink gold and silver, decorated with a white clover motif fixed under glass, rose-cut diamonds. French work from the end of the 19th Century. size: 2.70 x 1.90 cm
Fig. 6: Necklace in 750/°° yellow gold and pendant in matte yellow gold, 5 cultured pearls, and old cut diamond. French work.
Fig. 7 and 7b: Pendant in 750/°° gold, half fine pearls. Work from the beginning of the 20th century. Diameter: 2.9 cm.
Fig. 8: Pendant in 750/°° yellow gold, decorated with a small emerald surrounded by 4 pearls. Dimensions: 30mm x 30mm
Fig. 9: French medallion from the beginning of the 20th century, Art Nouveau period, in green gold and four half-pearls. Dimensions (with the bail): 3 cm x 2.2 cm x 3 mm.
Fig. 10: Holly brooch in plique-à-jour enamel, in silver (900 thousandths), 3 coral pearls. Art Nouveau work from Pforzheim, circa 1905-1015. Dimensions: 4.2 cm x 1.5 cm.
Fig. 11: Pendant by Gabriel Argy-Rousseau (1885-1953), oval shape in oblong glass paste, model created in 1924.
Fig.12: Twisted 750/°° yellow gold brooch, paving with rose-cut diamonds on platinum
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Find it Belle Époque and Art Nouveau period from which several jewels come.