{"product_id":"broche-porte-photo-camee-victorien-en-or-jaune-18k-vers-1870","title":"Victorian 18K yellow gold photo holder brooch cameo, circa 1870 ","description":"\u003cp\u003eAntique 18K yellow gold photo-holder brooch, circa 1870, adorned with a finely and professionally carved cameo shell, thought to represent Flora, the mythological goddess of flowers and spring, with flowers adorning her hair. The quality of the carving is particularly visible in the crisp profile, especially in the elegant line of the nose and mouth. The rich Grand Victorian mount is enlivened with vine leaves, grape clusters, and curling tendrils, giving the jewel a Bacchic air of abundance. Opening like a photo locket, it still preserves a small portrait photograph, a discreet trace of an intimate memory within its gold frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eType of jewelry: brooch with photo holder.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCondition: very good condition.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCountry of origin: unknown.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStyle: Victorian jewelry. This style refers to jewelry dating from approximately 1837 to 1901, in Great Britain and more broadly throughout the Western world. Typical characteristics include gold and silver jewelry, ranging from hand-finished photo holders to stamped pieces, set with garnets, turquoises, or star-set diamonds. Typical motifs include snakes symbolizing eternal love, hearts, anchors, and crosses symbolizing love, hope, and faith, hands for friendship and fidelity, forget-me-nots, ivy, acorns, and naturalistic flowers. The style was shaped by the reign of Queen Victoria, the Industrial Revolution and new technologies, the British Empire and global trade routes, the Great Exhibition of 1851, as well as archaeological excavations and scholarly work, notably at Pompeii and Troy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStyle specifics: Grand Victorian. This jewel belongs to the Grand Victorian period, approximately 1860 to 1880. This phase is often associated with larger jewelry, diamonds, pearls, dark stones, and mourning jewelry. The period follows the death of Prince Albert in 1861 and is closely linked to the mourning of Queen Victoria. At the same time, wealth, empire, and international influences, particularly from India and Japan, helped shape jewelry design.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeriod: circa 1870.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSource of inspiration: classical mythology, perhaps Flora, combined with a Bacchic vine décor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheme: classical female figure, perhaps Flora, expressed in a Bacchic decorative language composed of vine leaves, grape clusters, and curling tendrils.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaterial: 18K yellow gold, tested with a touchstone.\u003c\/li\u003e \n\u003cli\u003eTechnique: the cameo is a method of carving, or an item of jewelry or a vessel made using this method. It features an image in positive relief. The three main materials used for carving cameos are shells, agate, called hardstone cameo, and glass. Cameos may be produced by attaching a carved relief, such as a portrait, onto a contrasting colored background; this is then called an assembled cameo. They may also be carved directly into a material with integrated layers or bands, such as banded agate or layered glass, where the different layers display different colors. Dyes are sometimes used to enhance these colors. Cameos are often worn as jewelry. Highly virtuosic stone cameos were made in Greece as early as the 6th century BC. They were very popular in ancient Rome, and one of the most famous stone cameos from this period is the Gemma Claudia, made for the Emperor Claudius. The technique has since undergone periodic revivals, notably at the beginning of the Renaissance, then in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdditional information: the shell cameo shows a serene classical female profile, the hair adorned with flowers that appear to be roses. It may represent Flora, goddess of flowers and spring, although the sumptuous gold mount, with its vine leaves, grape clusters, and curling tendrils, introduces a distinctly Bacchic note, evoking wine, fertility, and abundance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe brooch retains the small portrait photograph that was inside the photo compartment when it came into the seller’s possession. The reverse bears a handwritten note in French, partially legible, seemingly including “Hector Vd…”, “1888”, “Brooch of my mother Maria”, and perhaps “widow …”. This suggests that the jewel may once have been kept as a personal or family memento.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHallmarks: no trace of a hallmark, which is not uncommon for jewelry made around the time of the French Revolution.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDimensions: 2.93 cm x 3.82 cm.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeight: 11.60 g.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e ","brand":"Adin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55129787990345,"sku":"26127-0262","price":4200.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0342\/5311\/1432\/files\/mp_66693_0.jpg?v=1787581699","url":"https:\/\/58facettes.com\/products\/broche-porte-photo-camee-victorien-en-or-jaune-18k-vers-1870","provider":"58 Facettes","version":"1.0","type":"link"}