ANTIQUE JEWELRY AND TRINKETS

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ANTIQUE JEWELRY
AND TRINKETS

Fio. I. — SHRINK OF Krr. PATRICK'S BEL

In the. Royal Ji'ixh Acadettijt (failed fan
in the. Nationttl MMPUM, J)nhlin,

BY

FRED W. J3URGESS

^Author of

" 'Antique Furniture" "Old Pottery and Porcelain,"
"Outs on Old Copper and £raa,"

WITH 142 ILLUSTRATIONS

TUDOR PUBLISHING COMPANY

NEW YORK MCMXXXVII

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATUS OF AMERICA

PREFACE

THE favourable reception accorded to the two first
volumes of the *' Home Connoisseur " Series — Antique
Furniture and Old Pottery and Porcelain — assures me
that there are many who will welcome this volume, which
treats upon a subject which is interesting to every home
connoisseur. There is a peculiar charm about the jewellery
of former generations, those things men and women have
treasured and worn, or fondly handled as having had
personal touch with those who died long ago.

Many of the curios displayed in drawing-room and in
cabinets are relics of the prehistoric dead ; objects which
although not jewels as we understand them, were the
ornaments they wore and the things they reverenced.
There is a touch of sadness about the thought of rifling
the tombs of past ages, and of looted palaces and homes
destroyed ; yet all these factors have contributed to the
supply of antique jewellery and trinkets now treasured
in the modern home.

It is in the old jewel-box, however, that there are found
the relics of more recent times, and many of the pieces
of gold and silver jewellery, and flashing stones in their
quaint settings, can be worn to-day — for now is the day
of replicas and the reproduction of the antiques of all
ages. Happy indeed are those who possess genuine
antiques i

Careful examination of museum exhibits, the varied
assortment of antique jewels in dealers' stocks, and those
that have fallen under the hammer from time to time,
has enabled me to gather much useful information about
these curios so varied, the work of man in past ages and
of almost every civilised nation in more recent times.

/

1070239 APR 4 m

BINDERY JUN 12 195P

:'..:•' :.''\/i PREFACE

::f My thanks are due to all those who have so kindly
placed their treasures at my disposal. I am especially
indebted to the Director of the Victoria and Albert
Museum, at South Kensington, for descriptions of many
of the exhibits, and permission to illustrate some of the
splendid examples of old jewellery in the collection ; to
the Librarian of the Guildhall, for permission to examine
and photograph some of the exhibits in the Guildhall
Museum ; to the Curator of the Hull Museums for per
mission to make use of his descriptions of Roman fibulas
found in the neighbourhood, and to illustrate some of
them ; to the Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,
for illustrations and particulars of the famous " Alfred
Jewel"; and to the Curator of the Saffron Walden
Museum for particulars of jewellery taken from Saxon

The Council of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
kindly accords permission to reproduce illustrations of
Celtic and Old Scotch Jewellery in their collection on
view in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh ;
and the Acting-Director of the National Museum of
Ireland, in Dublin, grants facilities for describing the
Celtic gold and other treasures now in the Museum, and
supplies photographs of some of the leading antiques,
with permission to reproduce them in this work.

My thanks are due to Dr. Hammond, the Librarian of
Freemasons' Hall for information about the treasures on
view in the Hall. Mr. Edward Good, of New Oxford
Street, loans some of his interesting old jewellery for
illustration. To all these and others who have assisted
in this work I tender my grateful appreciation of their
courtesy.

I would like to add that in my researches I have had
opportunities of studying the works of many experts,
and a few of the most telling points are extracted (and
duly acknowledged) in several chapters of this volume.
As it is written for the " home connoisseur," and not for
the specialist, Antique Jewellery and Trinkets is by no
means exhaustive, and those who desire to specialise.

PREFACE vii

or to dip deeper into any one or more of the branches
of this interesting subject, are advised to supplement
the information given here by careful perusal of those
specialistic books to which reference has been made.

The scope of the enquiry into those things found in
greater or lesser quantities in the home widens as the
subject is pursued, and although those matters treated
upon already in the " Home Connoisseur Series " are
of great importance, there are others under consideration,
providing material for future volumes — some of which
are in preparation.

FRED, W. BURGESS,

t,ONDON, 1919.

CONTENTS

CHAPTRK

1 FN THE BEGINNING -

H. GOLD, SILVER AND OTHBB METALS

in. THE JEWELLER'S ART-

IV. CRAFTSMANSHIP -

V. GUILDS, AND THE INFLUENCE THEY
EXERCISED ...

VI. THE ENGRAVER - - -

VII. PREHISTORIC ORNAMENTS

VIII. EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRTAK JEWELLERY -

IX. GREEK I ETRUSCAN : PHCENICIAN

X. CELTIC GOLD -

XL ROMAN ART -

XII. ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER

XIII. MEDIEVAL ART -

XIV. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY JEWELLERY
XV. VICTORIAN JEWELLERY

XVI. GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES -

XVII. GEM-CUTTING -

XVm, THE LAPIDARY

XIX, PASTES AND ARTIFICIAL GEMS -

XX. CAMEOS -

XXI. ENAMELS -

XXIL RINGS -

XXKCL BEADS AND NECKLACES

XXIV. BROOCHES OR

1

14
25
40

53

63

70

79

88

99

111

123

135

149

157

165

186

195

199

204

216

224

240

252

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

XXV. BRACELETS AND ARMLETS - »

XXVI. EARRINGS -

XXVEL CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS -

XXVTH. JEWELLED COSTTTMES - -

XXIX. PANS - . .

XXX. PINCHBECK AND OTHEB SHAM JEWELLERY

XXXI. TOILET AND PERFUMERY -

XXXII. OLD WATCHES AND SEALS -

XXXIH. AMULETS AND CHARMS - -

XXXIV. ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS -

XXXV. SCOTCH JEWELLERY -

XXXVI. MINIATURES -

XXXVII. MASONIC JEWELS -

XXXVIII. ORIENTAL JEWELLERY -

XXXIX. FLUOR-SPAR, MARBLES AND MOSAICS -

XL. AMBER JEWELLERY ...

XL1. JET AND CORAL -

XLII. PERSONAL RELICS ...

XLHI. TRINKETS — ODDS AND ENDS - -

INDEX -

265
275
281
292
300
304
310
317
323
331
348
353
357
361
368
372
377
332
386
393

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIQUEE

1 Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell . . Frontispiece.

FACING PAGE

2 Trade Card of Ellis Gamble, Goldsmith . . 54

3 Bill of Watch for the Duke of Wellington . 62

4 Greek Gold Pendant . . . .88

5 Necklace of Granulated Gold . . .92

6 Celtic Gold Torque . . . .104

7 Celtic Gold Ornaments . 104

8 Gold Lunettes — Celtic Ornaments . .108

9 The Tar a Brooch . . . .114

10 Jewel of Alfred the Great . . .118

11 Gold Scent Bottle . . . .118

12 Gold Jewel, A " Memento Mori " . . 118

13 Case for Jewel . . . .118

14 Ancient Roman Fibulae of Bronze . • 126

15 Roman Fibulae, Circular Types . , .130

16 Roman T-shaped Fibulse . , .132

17 Roman and Celtic Bracelets and Earrings . 136

18 Jewel of Enamelled Gold . . .140

19 Jewel of Baroque Pearl and Gold . - 140

20 Cross of Silver-Gilt with Garnets and Pearls . 144

21 Pendant Ornament of Gold . . .144

22 Reliquary in Silver-Gilt * . .144

23 Cross of Enamelled Gold . . ,144

24 Necklace of Gold . . . .146

25 Necklet of Links of Tinted Gold . . .162

26 Sections of Gold Ornaments , . .162

27 Earrings of Gold . . • .162

28 Breast Ornament of Gold . . .166

29 Necklet composed of Cameos . . • 174
30 to 34 Group of Rare Gem Cameos . . . 200
35 to 40 Group of Rare Gem Cameos . . , 204

xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE FACING PAGE

41 to 46 Early Greek and Roman Rings . . .226

47 to 51 Pontifical, Ecclesiastical and Royal Kings . 230

52 to 57 Posy, Jewish and Signet Rings . . . 238

58 Necklace of Enamelled Gold . . .242

59 Pair of Earrings of Granulated Gold . . 274

60 Pair of Earrings of Openwork Panels . . 274

61 Necklace of Jet Beads (Early) . . .278

62 Chatelaine of " Pinchbeck " Metal . , .286
63 to 66 Four Rare Pendants of Gold . . .290
67 to 70 Four Crosses of Silver-Gilt . . .294
71 to 75 Pomander Boxes . * . .302

76 Head Ornament of Jade . . * 308

77 "Luck Jewel" . . . . .312

78 Lamaist Ornament . . . .312
79 to 84 Early Crank Watch Keys . . .316
85 to 89 "Pinchbeck'* Fob Keys . . .310
90 to 94 Chatelaine Keys . . . .320
95 to 97 Fob Keys with Stones . . . .320
98 to 102 Ratchet and Emblem Keys . . .320

103 Fine Pectoral Cross . . * .326

104 The Cross of Cong . . . .334

105 Silver-Gilt Brooch . . . .342

106 Brooch of Brass (Celtic) . . . 342
107 to 110 Luckenbooth Brooches . . . .350

111 Late Celtic Armlet .... 350

112-113 Two Necklaces of Silver-Gilt . . .354

114-116 Tibetan Jewellery . . . .358

117 Collection of Chinese Jewellery . . , 366

118 Chinese Jewellery .... 370

119 Silver-Gilt Neck Ornament . . .372
120-121 Pair Silver-Gilt Hairpins . . .372

122 to 128 Roman Mosaic Jewellery . . . 374

129 to 131 Amber Jewellery . . . .374

132 Bracelet of Carved Beads (Chinese) . . 382

133 Victorian Brooch with Miniature „ . 382

134 Jet Bead Necklet . . . .382
» 135 Daguerrotype Portrait in Silver Frame . . 382

136 Berlin Iron Bracelet . 382

137 to 139 Coral Brooches . . . .384

140 to 142 Brooches and Earrings of Ivory . . . 384

ANTIQUE JEWELEY
AND TKINKETS

CHAPTER I.

IN THE BEGINNING.

THE EARLY WEARING OF JEWELLERY — THE EVOLUTION OTF
THE CRAFT — SOME ESTFLTJEETCES A/T WORK.

WE are apt to speak glibly of the " dawn of civilisation **
and of the " cradle of art " as the farthest points away
back in the dim past to which man can reach in his research
after the beginning of things tangible and realistic — as
the most distant specks to which our imagination can
reach in our conception of the surroundings of the germs
from which sprang the civilisation of to-day, and the many
beautiful objects by which we are environed. Yet these
times although so far distant, are recent compared with
the periods during which the earth was in the making,
and those substances from which even modern jewellery
is produced were being prepared by the Creator of all
things.

Many people have lately been brought face to face with
chaos, the result of great upheavals ; terrific explosions
which have in a moment altered the face of the ground
where they have occurred. They have seen fair lands
changed to seas of mud, and craters as of volcanic erup
tion have appeared before their eyes in places where a
few moments before have been level plains and fertile
valleys, and the entire country has undergone rapid

2 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

change. Yet with these visions fresh in the mind's eye
it is difficult to realise the far greater power of Nature
which kept this world of ours in ferment, and by the
united action of many forces and chemical constituents
created the sparkling gems which were hidden foe untold
years in their matrices, and which caused the pure gold
and other precious metals to run in molten streams in
fissures of rock, and imbedded in clays of later forma
tions, to await the " dawn of civilisation " and the period
in which was to be found the " cradle of art/"

There can be no crafts so closely connected with the
beginning of all things realistic, and no occupation so
dependable upon these early provisions of Nature, as
those of the artists who fashion jewellery and work in
precious metals, and cut and polish the hardest gems,

THE EARLY WEARING OF JEWELLERY,

, Jewellers have gained much experience in their art
since the first beginnings ; an examination of modern
jewellery however shows that there is still close affinity
to the earliest attempts at shaping metal and setting
stones. It may be that this is due somewhat to the
unchanging constituents and properties of the materials
on which they work. It is possibly due to some extent
to the fact that the objects and uses of jewellery are
much the same now as they were years ago, for although
the forms of garments are constantly changing there has
been a steady progress in the evolution of wearing apparel
rather than any sudden alteration, and the root purposes
which inspired the early wearers of jewellery are the same
to-day as in olden time.

It is interesting to trace, briefly, the objects of those
early wearers of artistic productions which served a
double purpose. There seems to have been an inborn

IN THE BEGINNING. 3

love of wealth ; and the wealth of the earliest races was
represented by gold and rare metals and jewels then as
now. Nature provided the world with these symbols of
prosperity and has never altered the main factors symbolic
of wealth. Gold and precious stones are still the most
tangible possessions — they are still the reserves against
which paper money and other securities are issued.*?

The possession of great wealth would be an incumbrance
to early man, and its display or retention on the person
would be the easiest way of keeping it safe. 'The savage
goes on multiplying his bangles of gold, and in earlier
days of bronze, until his worldly possessions become too
great a burden to be borne on the person, then he is forced
to seek concealment. It is those hidden treasures which
serve us now, for the buried wealth of the past nations
and peoples are the rarest possessions of the antiquarian.
From the mere bestowal of jewellery about the person
for the purpose of its preservation and retention would
come the love of its display, enhanced by the compara
tive wealth shown. Envy would soon take possession
of the minds of those who had less ; and perhaps the
wealth of others did good in that it stimulated men to
greater research and enterprise.

JJie wealth of early peoples consisted in the bulk of
the possessions they were able to show ; and the forma
tion of the bangles, armlets and rings was the outcome
of convenience. There soon came a time when the
attraction of display was enhanced by the more graceful
formation of the " jewels/' and the gradual ornamenta
tion of these objects which first aimed at utility. The
love of the beautiful was a cultivated acquirement no
doubt, but although the process might have been slow,
as measured by our time, it came, and art inspired the
early metal workers, and their simple bands of metal

became jewels, and they looked about them for stones

4 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

and other things with which to ornament their symbols
of wealth.

The two-fold purpose of the safety of possessions which
signified wealth, and the cultivation and admiration of art
in its primitive forms, may be taken to have been the
primary objects which inspired the workers in metals and
the wearers of the first jewels, which have been preserved
for the admiration and envy of highly trained and culti
vated races. The skilled artist respects the savage who
suggested to him the forms of many of the best known
ornaments of to-day. It has been said that the savage
gained his love of art and the beauty of the crude things
he fashioned and wore from his surroundings, for form
and beauty of colouring are learned in Nature's school ;
nothing fashioned by man as the result of his own design
can equal the graceful shapes and delicate tints of natural
objects. The metal with irridescent hues, and the gems
with their flashing fires and hidden beauties, known to the
earliest races, gave them their first lessons in art ; and
it is these natural instincts which we have inherited, and
made use of in the higher attainments, which, are the
results of greater, knowledge of natural things and of
Nature's secrets, rather than any human additions to
artistic rendering.

The love of the beautiful has it would seem been ever
a present quality in women, and to please their " lady
friends *' would sustain the patient labour of the men
who worked with primitive tools upon the gold and silver,
and the mixing of metals and the making of bronze from
which to fashion simple jewellery, and in a somewhat
later time to scratch, and then engrave and ornament
with inlays of coloured materials those objects they had
made.

Convenience has been shown to be the inspiration of
forms which were no doubt copied from surrounding

IN THE BEGINNING. 5

objects, and the relative ductability of certain metals and
materials gave preference in the selection in the workshops
of the early metal workers. The objects mostly in fashion
were armlets, anklets, earrings and even rings for the
nose.

It is probable that feminine love of adornment was a
natural gift, and its expression was found in the chains
of shells and seeds with which women covered themselves.
In times when savages came in touch with civilised races
they loved to barter their possessions for beads of glass
with which they cunningly wrought bangles and waist-
belts and necklets with which to deck their persons. The
primitive chains of seeds and shells — Nature's models —
became chains of gold and stones.

The colour schemes of some of the earliest necklaces
would not shame the most artistic efforts of to-day — that
is probably due to the appreciation of the beautiful in
natural objects, the colouring of which man has never
succeeded in improving. Colour has always had great
attractions for men and women in all ages, and the finds
from prehistoric graves confirm the opinion that these
are qualities inherited from the earliest days — improved
or made less crude by cultivation of the arts and by better
understanding of the blending effects which can be secured
by selection, a matter of importance in the use of jewels.

An inquiry into the beginning of art in jewellery leads
us to observe the relative beauty of certain gems which
sparkle although uncut, and of others which are vastly
improved by simple rubbing. The hidden beauty of such
stones was no doubt soon discovered, for in the finds from
early burying places many partially polished stones and
other substances show that the appearance of these stones
was appreciated, and that the natural gem was early
" improved " by man.

The discovery of some water-rubbed stone which

6 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,

presented an appearance of unusual beauty would suggest
the possibility of giving this polish to other stones ; and
the accidental removal of the incrustation would show
the brilliance of the stone, and perhaps some matrix
broken open would reveal the gem lying there, and suggest
the search for others in similar places. Mining started
early, of this there is abundant evidence. The possession
of precious stones uncut, and partly polished, added a
new wealth to the races who were already burdened with
metal upon their persons, and hidden away as they would
bury their stores of ivory, which a few years later they
would value still more as a material becoming less easy
to obtain.

The metal worker gave place to the jeweller, or the latter
was the outcome of the advance made in the knowledge
of the former. It is readily conceivable that the ductile
metals wrought into bangles, armlets and rings Suggested
a suitable way of keeping the small and easily lost stones.
Metal was a fit setting, and with some very primitive
method of fastening the stones would be inset. We shall
presently see brooches and other forms of jewellery^
becoming of real use when the dawn of civilisation had set
in. When stones and the smaller gems were understood,
and their rarity appreciated, to armlets were added finger
rings, a convenient setting for those little objects. Of the
very early stones set in metal there are few remaining,
no doubt the difficulties in the way of mechanical work
were many, and the evolution from the metal worker
to the man who handled small stones and thus became a
jeweller would be slow, and much of the work would be
defective and soon perish, as may be understood from the
numerous fragments of jewellery which have been found
compared with the lesser number of perfect specimens.
t It has been suggested that the wearing of jewellery
was the outcome of superstition rather than the love of

IN THE BEGINNING. 7

possession and display of jewels. '/There is no doubt that
the rings of metal in the first instance represented wealth,
and there is no reason to doubt that when the intrinsic
value of precious stones was realised and appraised they
would take their place in the wealth of the people— they
have always remained an emblem of wealth, and many
have preferred to invest in them rather than in less
tangible securities. |It is ^ alsojruejhat from the earliest
records available stones and gems of great beauty were
associated with some form of worship, and that gradually
their symbolised meaning would lead to superstitious
JM6S±J(8ee Chapter xxxm., " Amulets and Charms/')

Tte early jewellery would in time become associated
with religious rites, for gifts of gold and jewels for the
maintenance of worship and in return for personal benefits
derived began early, and led to fictitious powers being
attributed to them. The people who wore their possessions
might choose those they displayed and select the form of
their fashioning according to their beliefs in their efficacy
as charms, and thus to effect a double purpose in their
wear became common. It is worthy of note that gold and
gems of various kinds come from all parts of the globe,
and that the wearing of such things was evidently uni
versal, pointing to a common desire to possess and wear
them. Curiously enough some of the popular legends
about the special benefits of certain stones are general,
and show a wide belief in similar virtues. Symbolic pre
vention of evil was early a cardinal point in the belief of
our ancestors. Beads were worn .with the idea of pro
pitiating good and evil spirits alike. It is probable that
the belief in the magic powers of such symbols of good
and evil accounts for the common practice of wearing
beads and other adornments, although the clothing was
the most scanty. The magic power of crystals was recog
nised by Greeks and barbarians alike in those days when

8 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
culture and ignorance were so curiously intermixed. The
belief in the evils attending the wear of certain stones,
and some forms of jewellery, has even yet an influence
on the craft, and prevents the full appreciation of some
very beautiful stones and several exquisite forms which
are very appropriate for the purpose of jewellery adorn
ment. As an instance there is the opal, looked upon
askance and regarded as an omen of ill luck although its
beauty is envied. A glance in the jewellers* shops to-day
shows that the forms of many of the common objects
are the same as in olden time, and that in this branch of
art the truism of the proverb " There is nothing new
under the Sun " is as clear now as it was when Solomon,
who was familiar with gold and precious stones and the
treasures of the earth, wrote it,

THE EVOLUTION OF THE CRAFT,

The shops are full of jewellery bright and new — new
in style, design and finish. Yet all these things are but
replicas or developments of far older objects, the originals
from which they in their turn sprang. It is probable that
there have been fewer radical changes in any manufactur
ing trade than in that of the craftsman who works in gold,
silver and precious stones, for the purposes for which he
works are the same that have prevailed throughout the
Ages. The love of personal adornment is lost in antiquity,
and the very nature of the opportunities for personal
display are limited, in that most of the articles >rorn by
men and women as personal ornament or as indications
of wealth are but replicas of prehistoric objects, all of them
the outcome of slow evolution resulting from greater
knowledge of how best to take advantage of human
possibilities. It is true that as the greater use of dress
came into vogue the ankle bracelets fell into disuse, but

IN THE BEGINNING. 9

these are still worn by the few races in a savage state, and
by the men and women of barbaric peoples who have not
yet become accustomed to the usages of more civilised
nations.

The novelty of production and the difference in modern
art and that of the primitive peoples who set such a fine
example of constructive genius and the power of utilisa
tion of the things with which Nature had provided them
is the result of the greater knowledge of man, as he slowly
and yet surely unravelled the mysteries of science and
applied the greater knowledge to production. Applied art,
and applied science, are the two great factors in modern
commerce. They are the gradual substitution of
mechanical means in production for manual labour, and
the application of scientific treatment of materials in
course of manufacture into finished products. The skill
of the metallurgist has been growing rapidly lately, but
in jewellery as, seen to-day, there does not appear much
change, the result is only seen in the different materials
introduced to supplement the older known metals, in
the duplication of patterns, and the regularity of design.
To fully appreciate the story of production of jewellery
it is necessary to go to the different places where the
manufacture of such things is carried on, but that only
gives us an insight into the manufacture of to-day. In
succeeding chapters the jewellers' art as represented by
their works is unfolded, for it is by the works of men of
different periods, working under varied conditions and
amidst different surroundings, that the evolution can be
traced. It is clear that jewellery even among barbaric
nations has been generally used and worn, and there does
not appear to have been any serious break in the chain.
That accounts for the fact that all through the evolution
of the craft there has been continuity of purpose, and the
same ai tides have been repeated again and again, the

10 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

only difference being change in design. Thus there have
always been brooches and pins, a succession of bracelets
and armlets, and rings and chains. The same old metals
have been employed, and in bronze and alloys at different
periods the basic metals have been gold, silver, copper and
tin. The stones have not varied, for the ancients quickly
found out the different gems available and made use of
them — their story will be told in another chapter.

SOME INFLUENCES AT WORK.

It is curious how it can always be found that some
strong influences have been at work when any radical
changes have been made in society and those things
favoured by it. Man is content to go on in the same old
way, and to make and wear and use the same things with
out much alteration in style and ornament unless outside
influence is brought to bear upon him. It has always
been so, and when any great change is met with in the
work of olden time it may be inferred that some change
in dynasty, or strong influence from other nations has
interfered with the even tenor of the ways of the people
of that time.

Thus it is that to understand the jewellery of all periods
and of different peoples we must try to understand their
surroundings and the influences which were brought to
bear upon them. The prehistoric races were living in
close touch with Nature, and thus they copied Nature,
and their art thus gained, although crude, is vastly
superior to anything they made when they deviated
from their greater teacher, and for which they had no
pattern in form, shape and colour. Much splendour was
observed in the courts of the Eastern monarchs and by
peoples of more modern times who have lived under
similar conditions.

IN THE BEGINNING. 11

In the palaces of Egyptian kings there was an absence
of that luxury which most people to-day consider necessary
to their comfort. The cold white walls needed colour,
and they sought it in rugs and carpets of vivid hues
which by contrast gave the appearance of warmth. The
paintings on their walls were done with a similar object ;
and in the jewellery of the Egyptians we have colour
and the use of rare enamels and artistic rendering which
was in keeping with the decoration of the period ; the
writings and the methods of embalming their dead and
decorating their temples and tombs, in which some of
the jewellery made was to rest for thousands of years
and keep its colour, tell of former association with the
white walls of palace and temple. The white marble
and rough granite, and the garments of those ancient
ladies by whom the Egyptian jewellery was worn, would
be suitable setting for the jewels in gorgeous colours,
and by contrast, it would take off any appearance of
crude form and colour. Some of their decorations would
be gaudy in our eyes, but to their owners they would be
welcome relief.

Again, picture the Roman villas with their columns
of great architectural beauty. Roman mosaic jewellery
would be in keeping with the surroundings, and be
but miniature reproductions of the scenes and architec
ture with which their wearers would be familiar. The
surroundings of the women of Anglo-Saxon England
were very rough, and yet they wore jewelled apparel and
some very attractive gold ornaments. It has been
contended that they knew no other homes, and that they
were contented. Their place in the home was subservient
to their lords who enjoyed rough sport, and yet at times
employed the humble craftsman to fashion cunning
works of art. Alfred the Great wore a beautiful jewel,
as the inscription suggests (see page 130), made to his

12 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

order. In Mediaeval England the people were satisfied
with the semblance of luxury as represented by gorgeous
apparel and jewelled girdles and ornaments of gold,
cunningly wrought by clever workers who had learned
from the craftsmen of other races with whom they had
come in contact.

The altered surroundings of the Middle Ages, and then
Tudor encouragement of the arts, tell the tale as the
jewels of these periods are inspected. Again, when
Cromwellian influence was at work the Puritanical style
was in vogue in all things ; and the frivolity of the court
of the Stuarts and its gold and jewels and other baubles
were scrapped in the melting pot.

A tour through one of the larger museums where
things made and used during the various periods of life
in this and other countries tells at once a story of the
changes and of the influences which caused them. Furni
ture, paintings, and metal work convey great historical
truths and clear away any uncertainty about the story
of art, and the way it has been applied during the several
well defined periods of modern history.

It has been thought that the changes in contemporary
art are most clearly traceable to the alteration of creeds,
and the corresponding changes made in religious thought.
This, no doubt, is true in a very marked degree, for we
come to gaps in the smooth run of evolution from one
style to another, and now and then a sudden break or
lapse into some former style, or the adoption of a foreign
element. The student seeks to bridge the gaps, and he
finds the cause to be some great social, religious or political
upheaval, causing a gap which could never have existed
had it not been for those extraordinary influences which
had been at work. Sometimes those influences were abrupt
and imperative, at others the quiet working of some
influence which worked unseen. From whatever cause it

IN THE BEGINNING. 13

is evident that the change in thought and faith gave the
artist new inspirations, and sometimes he was forced
against his will to adopt new styles — designs which were
at times repugnant to his own feelings, The art of those
periods was sometimes of long duration and thus became
adopted as a national idea, at others it was short and
spasmodic and passed away when the influence was gone
and there was a return to a former, or a reversion to a new
order of things. It is also worth noting that when these
influences are very widespread it is not always easy to
fix the date of any object from the style adopted by the
worker, for they moved slowly at times and in some
places, as for instance the Renaissance which spread
gradually from country to country, and was later felt in
England than in Italy and France.

The change of thought and religious feeling, the result
of the splendid piles of architectural buildings and the
furnishings of the abbeys and cathedrals, had a marked
influence on gold and silver ornament, and also on the
selection of coloured stones and their settings. Other
influences followed in quick succession, thus there were
the periods of luxury at the courts of the Tudors, and
under the Stuarts, and then the gap in progress during the
Puritan regime, and afterwards the new forms of Carolean
art at the Restoration, The Dutch influence on English
art was very marked during the reigns of William and
Mary and Queen Anne. Then a decadence of art, and
the newer influence of modern style drawn from many
places until a fresh style in art was founded. Art to-day
is, however, very cosmopolitan and largely founded upon
the work of former generations,

CHAPTER II.

GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER METALS.

HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS — THE SOURCE OP MODERN

SUPPLY — ^HALL-MARKING, A GUARANTEE OF QUALITY —

SILVER — SOME ALLOYS.

IT is only reasonable that we should feel interested in the
origin of the metals used in the manufacture of jewellery,
and in the various compound alloys which go towards
supplying craftsmen with the materials from which
to produce such beautiful works of art. Gold has ever
been the chief metal from which the artist has created
objects which might serve the double purpose of indicating
wealth and giving pleasure in its possession. There can
be little or no delight in owning bar gold or any form of
bullion, except; perhaps to the miser who hoards his
wealth and takes care that none shall know of its posses
sion. This wonderful substance — gold — has been dis
covered in many places, and is indeed very widely
distributed. It is chiefly found in alluvial deposits and
in rock fissures. The nuggets found in clays and sands
vary in size, some being very tiny, mere specks of dust,
others the digger or prospector has been delighted to
discover have been large nuggets which have represented
immense wealth. Gold is obtained by washing, an
early form of securing the precious metal, and by more
extensive mining operations involving the use of costly
plant and machinery. In the early days the miners of
California and other places carried on the washing in a

GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER METALS. 15

very simple way, and performed the entire operations
themselves or in company with chums who joined
in the claim. It was under those rough conditions that-
some of the fortunes were built up, and large nuggets
found. In modern days gold is mined on more scientific
and sounder commercial lines.

HAPPY HUNTING GROOTTDS.

We should all like to know of hunting grounds yet
unexplored, where gold — pure gold — could be found.
Alas ! the places where the precious metals and the rare
stones and gems are to be found are well known, but
they are all in the hands of accredited owners. There
are few places left where there is likely to be a rush for
the " diggings/' as in years gone by. Many readers will
remember Klondike, where gold was discovered and men
rushed off to the unknown land to find the gold which
had been seen there in such quantities. Klondike to-day
is a big town and the mining of gold is worked there
just as it is in California, on the Rand and in Australia,
all of which localities in their turn were " discovered "
as places where gold had been deposited by Nature in the
ages long gone by.

In the past some of the beautiful gold bracelets
and bangles of Eastern workmanship, and jewels of
Oriental splendour like those worn in Egypt in the days
of the Pharaohs — jewels some of which were taken by
the Israelites as part payment for their long servitude
when they left for the Promised Land — were made of
gold mined in Africa. Egyptian records tell of the vast
treasures in gold which were paid annually in tribute
by kings of the surrounding nations. Some of this gold
is said to have coine from mines now long since exhausted,
probably those in the Bishari desert which are known to

16 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

have been worked by Arabs at a very early period. Many
examples of jewellery made from this gold and possessed
by Egyptian kings and their courtiers are preserved ;
they have come to us from the tombs of the kings so
safely guarded in the pyramids for many centuries.
Pliny has much to say about the gold of the ancients,
and he says that it came from Africa. The Lydian kings
had great wealth of gold, and the wealth of Croesus has
become proverbial.

The deposits of the Gold Coast and Abyssinia are well
known. The Ural Mountains too, supplied gold for the
ancient peoples who no doubt procured most of their
supplies from those places mentioned.

The gold in Britain although comparatively of small
amount was enough for the Celtic races who wrought so
many beautiful gold ornaments, and showed their
appreciation of art in the jewels they made, some of
which have been recovered after having been buried for
centuries. We can quite understand that gold when
discovered would appeal to the ancients who had used
hard stones and strung shells and beads for necklaces,
for it was easily worked. The soft metal would be readily
pierced and its use for the making of new " jewels " for
the women would be welcomed. Gold in nugget form
and in shaped lumps would gradually suggest the further
development of the art, resulting in the formation of a
setting for stones, and later for enamels.

THE SOTJBCE OF MODEBST SUPPLY.

In modern times the world's supply of gold has been
drawn from more prolific grounds, the result of research
by discoverers and prospectors. Most of the great
discoveries have been made as the result of accident. In
the middle of the nineteenth century there came the

GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER METALS. 17
news that many large nuggets of gold had been found
in Australia, and in those gold fields the early settlers
in the Australian colonies became rich.

That was a year or two after the rush for California.
The mining of gold and silver for some time was the
chief industry in the district — there are other occupa
tions and trades there now. The romance of the gold fields
has been told often, and the same feverish excitement
has prevailed at all these early mining centres in the days
when they attracted so many who were on the look-out
for adventure and wealth.

The discovery of gold in the Transvaal was made in
1854. At first the mining was carried on in a very desul
tory way, but ere long the rolling veldt became the centre
of mining works and an enormous commercial enterprise
was founded, resulting in the exportation of millions of
pounds worth of pure gold annually — that however is the
supply for modern trade, and the present day jeweller
and his work has little interest for the home connoisseur
who prefers old and antique specimens to the choicest
work of the modern maker.

Half a century elapsed between the discovery of the
great goldfields of the Victorian era and that which
produced the rush for Klondike.

The purity of gold as a metal has been a gain to the
jeweller, and the regulations which have been in force
for many years have tended to maintain the standard of
purity and serve as a guarantee of quality. In days gone
by the reliability of the standard of the currency induced
many who required a small quantity of gold for the
making of jewellery to melt down sovereigns, but that
is not the custom now, for jewellery is made in larger
quantities and seldom by small working jewellers.

The colour of gold is somewhat deceptive to the amateur,
for it varies considerably, as may be seen by comparing

18 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
current coins of the same standard. The Australian gold
as minted at Perth is much redder in colour than the coins
minted in London at The Mint. Years ago the gold
obtained from the Guinea Coast was used for the minting
of "guineas," the name of the place of origin giving
the common name to the coin— guineas were not struck
after the reign of George ni. It may be pointed out that
gold coins have been frequently worn as articles of
jewellery, and many still hang from watch chains.
Eastern women have always shown a preference for
small gold and silver coins and have worn many of them
in chains on their foreheads and as bracelets. To convert
old coins into jewellery has often been adopted as a
means of their preservation, although the numismatist
looks upon the practice as an act of vandalism, and
points out the destruction of the coin when pierced or
otherwise injured in the mounting.

HALL-MARKING — A GTJABASTTEE OF QUALITY.

The hall-marking of gold and silver plate and of jewellery
comprised all or in part of those metals calls for some
mention, although the subject is too large to be fully
dealt with in a work of this kind. The good work of the
Goldsmiths' Company (more fully referred to in Chapter
v., " Guilds, and the Influence they Exercised ") was based
upon the maintenance of the standard quality of the
materials used, as well as the quality of the work per
formed. When the Worshipful Company had the larger
monopoly the jewellery made in Birmingham had to be
sent to London to be tested and marked — that was prior
to 1773. There were, however, several provincial
towns of assay where plate and in some instances articles
of jewellery were marked. It may save confusion to
mention that it was never compulsory for some of the

GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER METALS. 19

smaller pieces to be marked, but the buying public
gradually became aware of the value of this guarantee
of quality, and now rings and many of the objects made
from standard qualities of gold and from pure silver are
assayed and hall-marked.

Many of the older relics and curios were made from
pure gold hence their fragile character, for the metal in
its pure state is too soft for useful wear. In England
the nominal division of gold is into 24 carats ; two carats
are allowed for alloy, thus the best quality employed
for commercial uses is 22 carat, and of this quality few
things other than wedding rings are now made. The
manufacture of gold plate of less than the standard named
is of comparatively recent dates, for it was not until 1798
that 18 carat gold was employed for jewellery of the
best quality, in more recent times standards of 15, 12
and 9 have been adopted.

The test upon which trial the hall-mark is impressed
is carried out in London by the Goldsmiths' Company.
The other chief assay offices are at Birmingham, Sheffield,
Chester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow. There are
other and older assay offices chiefly engaged in marking
silver plate.

The marks, briefly, are the maker's mark, the date
letter and the mark of the town of assay. In addition
there is the duty mark — the sovereign's head — which
was in force from 1784 to 1890, a sure guide to the approxi
mate age of the jewellery so marked within that period.

In the order mentioned above the following reference
to the marks of the different towns of assay are worth
noting. London has been distinguished from quite early
times by the use of the leopard's head as the Government
or crown mark for gold and silver. In the sixteenth
century the lion-passant was introduced as a mark on
articles of both metals, and was used in addition to the

20 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

hall-mark. The date-letter was first used in 1436, but
the variations of the letters employed in the different
towns of assay make it too difficult to detail them here,
as they can only be understood by charts giving the
different letters, and types of letters, in use in all the
towns of assay at the different period, for the same date
letters were never used concurrently in all or several of
the assay offices. The duty mark introduced in 1784
was used at all the assay offices during the period it
was employed. After 1798 " 18 " was stamped on gold
of that standard, and later the lower standards were
indicated in a similar way, the initial letter " G " (carat)
being added. From 1823 onward the leopard's head
has been uncrowned.

In Birmingham the hall-mark is an anchor. The
Sheffield office was opened in 1773, the same year as that
at Birmingham, and the hall-mark is a crown — this
office has been used chiefly for assaying silver goods.
Chester is a very old office and at one time jewellery
from many small towns was taken there to be tried
and approved, the hall-mark being originally three lions
rampant, impaled with three garbs. Since 1704 the
mark has been a sword between three wheat sheaves,
the city arms.

A great deal of gold and silver plate was hall-marked
in Dublin, but very little jewellery. The figure of Hibernia
was the mark, the standard of the 22 carat gold being
the Irish harp, crowned. The standard gold mark is the
leopard's head, crowned ; and that of silver a crowned
harp.

Scotch plate is marked at Edinburgh and Glasgow. In
Edinburgh the thistle is the standard mark of both mefcals,
the hall-mark being a castle of three turrets. In Glasgow
the town arms, the tree with fish and bell, is the hall
mark, the standard mark for both gold and silver being

GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER METALS. 21

a lion rampant. The older and partly obsolete towns
of assay, the most important being Exeter and York,
will not trouble the connoisseur of old jewellery much. As
it has been stated many of the smaller pieces of jewellery
were not marked at all. Eor some years however it has
been customary to hall-mark rings and some other articles,
and there has been considerable demand for hall-marked
silver ; to meet the requirements of customers jewellers
have bought their goods stamped with this guarantee
of quality, but the absence of any hall-mark, either on
old or new articles of jewellery is no indication that the
quality of the metal or of the workmanship is inferior
to other articles which are so marked.

SILVER.

Silver has been used for ornamental work and for
jewellery from very early times. Like gold, pure silver
is very easily hammered into almost any intricate shape
or form. In times gone by the silversmiths were exceed
ingly cunning in the way in which they manipulated
filigree ornament, and not only jewellery but trinkets —
now curios — were wrought of delicate lace-like filigree,
and some have been preserved.

A great wealth of labour was expended upon shrines,
reliquaries and crosses, and some very beautiful works
for Church and State were made in the days when
the splendour and pomp of civic and royal show was at
its height. Much of the famous old plate, the work of the
silversmiths of old, was unfortunately melted down in
times of emergency, and jewellery shared the same fate.

The whole of the silver work was formerly done by
hand, now, however, the silversmiths of London, Bir
mingham and Sheffield use dies and presses and machines
for most of their small work, as well as for larger objects.

22 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Many small articles too are cast, some being afterwards
chased by hand and various ornaments and enamels added.

Silver is a white metal, soft and very pliable, but its
texture and commercial value can be altered by the use
of alloys. Silver coins are hardened by alloys, the
quality of the material for jewellery as for plate, however,
is kept up to a required standard, and that is assayed
and the article stamped, thereby imparting a guarantee
of quality.

Many articles of modern jewellery are " oxidised," a
result produced by immersion in sulphite of sodium
solution.

Silver is, of course, obtained from mines in many
countries in small quantities ; the chief places where the
metal is now obtained in bulk are Australia and South
America.

Silver has been much used for jewellery of late years,
and in the eighteenth century the working jewellers used
it for such things as buckles, which were at first small,
but in the reign of George iv. they attained a ridiculous
size. Jewelled silver work was at one time much in vogue,
and many curious brooches and pendants are obtainable.
In the large Scotch jewellery in which the pebbles are
inserted, silver has always been a favourite metal. It was
used too, for the jewelled hilts of the " dirks," and the
ornamental silver work for which Scotland is famous.
(See Chapter xxxvi., " Miniatures.")

SOME ALLOYS.

As tin forms such an important part of the composition
of the early bronze of which so much of the ancient
jewellery was formed, it is not uninteresting to allude
to the place where it was mined and from whence it
found its way to Rome and other countries where the

GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER METALS. 23
metal could not be procured, but was eagerly sought in
these far-off Isles.

It may almost be claimed that the chief attraction of
these islands to traders in olden times was the metals
which were so highly valued. Many stories are told of
the trade carried on in tin and copper by the Phoenician
traders, and of how they met the early Britons in islands
off the coast of Cornwall, long keeping from the world
the secret of where they secured these precious cargoes.
No doubt many of the tales are legendary, but it is
a matter of history that tin was thus exported from
Cornwall at a very early date. There were no underground
workings, simply open cuttings from whence the ore
was easily obtained, extracted, melted, and run into
cubes. The Ictus or port to which the tinners carried
their metal is said by some to have been St. Michael's
Mount where the Phoenicians landed and made their deal.

By the admixture of tin with copper in varied propor
tions bronze was produced hard enough for cutting
tools and for the making of smaller articles of domestic
use and ornament.

Many objects were made, and numerous bangles and
rings have been discovered. There were mirrors, too,
for the ladies of those ancient peoples, and some of them
were so beautifully made that they may be appropriately
classed as trinkets, nearly approaching jewellery, for
they were decorative, as well as highly polished.

There is reason to believe that British tin and copper
and perhaps gold found its way to the near East, and
some reached Jewish cities, and no doubt formed part
of the materials from which some of the Hebrew jewels
mentioned in Scripture were made. In Ezekiel xxvii., 12,
it is written : — " Tarshish was thy merchant by reason
of the multitude of all kinds of riches : with silver, iron,
tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs/'

24 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Many remains of Roman miners have been found in
the old workings in Cornwall, and it was from those mines
that they obtained much of the native metal which they
used in coming " brass/' and in making many useful and
ornamental articles so many of which have been preserved
to us in the " Guildhall/" " British " and other Museums.
Here again we have tin and copper used as the metals
from which the old Roman and Saxon artists fashioned
their " jewellery/*

CHAPTER Til.

THE JEWELLER'S ART.

A JEWELLER — MATERIALS OF WHICH JEWELLERY IS
COMPOSED—NATIVE ART — CULTIVATED TASTES — D 1STINC-
TIVE PERIODS OF PRODUCTION SEATS OF THE INDUSTRY,

IN the previous chapter the review of the precious metals
and the methods adopted to secure them suggest the
common names of the workers in these metals, and also
give the familiar phrase, " gold and silver plate/' These
workers, however, operated larger things and many
objects of utility, as well as fashioning the more important
works of art which have given such prominence to the
goldsmiths and silversmiths of all ages. Here we must
consider their smaller and yet equally as artistic and costly
works which come under the head of " jewellery ." At
first sight it seems difficult to differentiate between a
goldsmith or silversmith and a jeweller. This difference
is, however, easily distinguishable when the two essential
elements of the crafts are considered. The goldsmith
works in gold and shapes and fashions it, as the silver
smith hammers and chases silver ; but when either of
these workers in precious metals take up jewels and
design or execute a frame or setting for the stones they
have selected, or use precious stones for the embellishment
of the silver or gold work they have in hand, then they
become jewellers. The art of the jeweller has been
apparent at all times, and under almost every condition
of civilisation the art has been practised. In this chapter

26 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

it is intended to show the product and skill of the artist,
rather than the craftsman as a worker ; he must be
considered from a different standpoint.

A JEWELLER.

A jeweller then is a man who works in precions stones
and upon other objects which he embellishes with a
beautiful setting, and thus securely combines the pleasing
effects of the sparkling gems and the pure gold or silver,
and in earlier days bronze, for we must never forget that
the jewellery of prehistoric peoples and of the more
cultivated Greeks and Romans was chiefly of bronze, a
compound metal in which tin from Britain was employed.

The jeweller must be an artist and a designer before
he can excel in his work ; and the work performed in
the past often shows the characteristics of the jeweller,
who stamps upon his handiwork his mark — the mark
of his skill and of the peculiar treatment he was wont-
to impart to the work he had undertaken. The designer
and the artist are inseparable. Either the one makes
the pattern for the other, or the artist in metal work
first makes the design and then executes it. It is only
the very crudest design that can be evolved as the work
proceeds.

In the making of jewellery in which so much costly
material is involved the artist has to take every care of
the stones with which he is entrusted, and he has to
economise the amount of gold or other metal required
in their employment. Jewellery has to be of sufficient
strength to withstand the wear and tear of many years,
and the artist who makes it must know all about the
relative strength and wear of the materials he employs
and also of the strain likely to be put upon the different
objects when worn.

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 27

The jeweller prefers gold, as in most cases it renders
him the best results, and is more effective as a setting
for jewels rare and beautiful ; its ductability too, is in
its favour.

Precious stones are of different colours, and used in
many settings, some of which are more effective in silver
than in gold : and the different effects should be under
stood by the jeweller who works to produce the best
possible results, rather than merely to obtain payment
for his work. The credit of doing good work was one of
the delights of the craftsman of olden time, in the days
before commercial jewellery was made by " the dozen **
on stereotyped lines and by machines which duplicated
the objects with provoking exactitude. In olden time
the work of the goldsmith and the silversmith were
more closely allied then they are now, and the jeweller
worked in both metals, often the same craftsman opera
ting both metals with equal ease — it is only in modern
days that the workman has been confined to limitations,
and his range of work limited to set grooves, with the
result that evenness and regularity and the following
of approved styles have spoiled the natural art of the
craftsman of former days, who was then rather an artist
than a workman.

In this volume of the " Home Connoisseur Series/'
ancient domestic plate — silver and gold, and silver over-
layed with gold — is not dealt with, only the work of
the goldsmith and the silversmith as applied to jewellery
and trinkets.

THE MATERIALS or WHICH JE^ELLEBY is MADE.

It has already been shown that the jeweller is a depar
ture from the simple craftsman who worked in gold or
silver without the additional stones or other materials

28 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of which jewellery is composed. A collection of old
jewellery, however, reveals man}7 materials employed in
the manufacture of the ornamental and decorative
jewellery of past days. Gold it is true has at times
been almost exclusively used without stones or gems, as
in the case of the Greek jewellery which consisted chiefly
of beaten gold. In the Greek goldsmiths' work, how
ever, there was a distinct type of decoration, in that the
beaten form was covered with much decorative work
made of fine wire wrought into delicate patterns.

Filigree work has been wrought in many countries,
and especially in India, by native workers. It is of
course jewellery without jewels, just as is some of the
beautiful lace-like filigree work in silver which is so much
admired ; the skill of the worker is fully demonstrated in
metal without gems. In earlier days bronze was used.
Copper has been the foundation of much jewellery that
has been plated over. The alloy of cheap gold, generally
used, is some form of brass of which, of course, copper
is the base.

Sometimes rarer metals, some of which like platinum
are more costly to procure, are used either in conjunction
with gold and silver or alone. Some of the early rings
were massive and consisted of copper only. The materials
from which the frames of jewels are made are sometimes
composite like the backs of brooches in which are cameos,
stones, porcelain gems} mosaics and enamels. This last
named material has been very popular during the past few
years, although it is but a revival of a much earlier art.

The collector is often at a loss to make quite sure
about the substances of which the objects he admires
or possesses are made, or the gems set therein, it is there
fore well to be familiar with the materials. This is not
always easy when the gems are of a somewhat unusual
colour or shape, a little practice, however, trains the eye

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 29

to recognise the stones more commonly met with in old
jewellery. There are the diamond, ruby, emerald, garnet,
and so on. Then pearls which cannot be mistaken for
any other gem (except imitations of the genuine which
have been brought to such perfection). There are tests
which can be applied to metals to ascertain their purity,
for pure gold, because of its soft nature, is seldom em
ployed without alloy to make it firm and lasting. The
jewellery of the savage, of the prehistoric Briton, and of
the more cultivated Saxon and other early peoples who
wore jewellery before they received their tuition from
the Eastern races, was made of ductile metals only,
and much of the gold used was pure, hence its softness.
It answered the purpose of these early artists because it
could be hammered into shape, first by stones and after
wards by hammers of bronze.

The plates of gold and pieces of metal used by Anglo-
Saxon jewellers typified the simple combination of two
well understood materials used in conjunction, the one
forming a setting for the other, and by contrast enhancing
the effect of the article, which if it had been made from
one material alone would have been without style or
appearance. Throughout the ages the materials em
ployed have been the same with but slight variations ;
the introduction of some new material as a setting, or
with a view to improving the effect of the simpler com
binations. The chief difference between ancient and
modern art lies in the craftsmanship, and in the tools
the workers were able to bring to bear upon the raw
materials, together with the addition of science in the
finish of the product.

NATIVE ART.

When we speak of native art it is understood to mean
the simple natural productions which man has at all

30 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

times been able to accomplish without any trained instruc
tion, and without that knowledge of production which
comes from serving an apprenticeship to one who has
already learned the mysteries of the craft he practised
from some one who has in his turn added to the earlier
forms of art. The native art of men untutored in either
art or craftsmanship is intuitive and inborn, it is man
using the powers within him for the first time, struggling
still on the first rungs of the ladder of art and knowledge.

The natives of many early races worked in the materials
which came to hand and accomplished much without the
aid of tools. We can form some idea of the work of a man
untaught when the amateur tries for the first time to
handle simple tools and aims at copying some old piece
of jewellery. He finds his chief success in copying the
handiwork of the prehistoric savage.

Englishmen have from time to time had opportunities
of seeing native workers in precious metals accomplish
much from simple tools and a few materials, but these
have generally been the picked workers of the tribe and
therefore their work is above the average of the race to
which they belong. Those who have visited the great
industrial exhibitions which have been held in London
during recent years have lingered long before the stands
of native jewellers from India, Ceylon and Eastern coun
tries. They have seen these people cunningly fashion
with very primitive tools gold and silver jewellery and
inset precious stones just in the same way the ancients
did.

African natives have shown us how they can twist and
work metal wires into bangles and rings and how they
are able to use their fingers in this delicate work.
Travellers from some of our Colonies, and from South
America, tell of their visits to the shops of jewellers
where they have seen them working just the same as

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 31

their ancestors did hundreds and even thousand of years
ago, fashioning much the same works of art. Visitors
to the East tell too of the way in which they have been
defrauded, for now and then they have come across
makers of so-called antiques ; forgeries of simple objects
which can be copied so easily are being made to-day to
satisfy the craving for relics and for mementoes of those
ancient peoples who lived in Egypt and other places of
interest, full at one time, if not now, of relics of the past
— links with former generations.

Just as those who live where once ancient civilisations
dwelt the natives of many islands and out of the way
places work to reproduce copies of the past — native art
following with a curious exactness the same arts practised
long ago. As an instance the natives of Manilla are great
workers in gold and silver, their women making most of the
jewellery and trinkets they sell. They are adepts at
making necklaces of coral ; some of the coral rosaries and
strings of beads being enriched by pendants of pearls
and filigree gold. The native gold they use is a deep
yellow colour, and this they carve and often set with
jewels. A clever piece of work is the fashioning of ropes
of gold made in imitation of manilla rope or cord. These
and other natives are adepts at colour work, and have
some " trade secrets " in the preparation of enamels.

In copying native works the amateur and the copyist
of antiques is at an advantage in that he has beautifully
made tools — steel hammers, plyers, drills, and the like.
Most of these tools, however, have their prototypes in the
simpler tools of the ancients, and from them they reached
the same results, but by much more laborious methods.
Instead of using gauges and measuring rules the old
workers used to work by " rule of thumb/' and depended
upon their sight and touch to duplicate their objects
and to make some uniformity in their work. These facts

32 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

are worth noting, for without their recognition it would
be sometimes difficult to distinguish between genuine
antiques and those forgeries with which the market is
flooded,

CULTURED TASTES.

When considering the art jewellery of different peoples
it is well to note that when native craftsmen learned
from those better skilled in the use of tools than they
were, they were able to produce greater fineness of detail
in their work than hitherto, and as the tastes of their
patrons became more cultured and refined there was a
change in style, and a departure from the barbaric effects
formerly prevailing. The degrees of culture which
different nations have reached cannot be measured by
time nor by their association with other peoples, yet
whatever form their culture took it is reflected in the
art of the period. The art of ancient Greece has never
been excelled, for at that time the cutting of intaglios
and cameos reached a high pitch. To examine some of
those beautiful gems which are to be seen in the National
Galleries, and in lesser numbers in private collections,
reveals skill truly marvellous. To have been able to
produce such minute replicas of statuary and larger
works of art shows an appreciation of detail in a great
degree.

The Eastern peoples who loved coloured textiles and
rare jewels coated with bright coloured enamels had a
taste quite different from the Greeks. Then again the
Celtic jewellery was artistic in a way, but it did not show
much culture or taste in ornament. Later the Saxons
had much beautiful gold, and the ornament was delicate
and chased in much more refined taste. There is culture
in the Indian ornament, but different again. Look at the

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 33

Indian wood carvings and tracery and then at the gold
jewellery, and in the perfection of the latter there is an
evident attempt to follow the art which the wearers of
jewellery would appreciate and understand. There have
been times when the cultured " upper ten " in England
have been very loud in their tastes, and a superabundance
of jewellery has been popular, it is, however, at the periods
in this country's art when culture was most marked that
the best jewellery was made. These periods must be
traced separately, but as showing the jeweller's art as
represented by his works accomplished during given
periods, these special times may be given here.

DISTINCTIVE PERIODS.

The changes in a nation's taste are generaDy brought
about by some dynastic changes or by great upheavals,
even wars of great magnitude and lasting a long time
have a strong influence on fashion and style and in the
quality of art work as well as on its design. To explain
the way in which these changes are brought about it
will be sufficient to refer to the craftsmanship of this
country. The crude art of the early Briton was changed
by the long occupation of Britain by the Romans. Reman
art became the taste, and its style dominated the earlier
art of the natives who were taught a different way of
working metals.

We admire the Celtic jewellery which is so distinctly
designed after the art which is seen in the runes and
carvings on the old crosses and ornaments of that period.
The art then practised gradually developed into the
Mediaeval. It was then that jewellery followed the
designs and colourings of the furnishings of the ecclesias
tical buildings which culminated in the Gothic. Then
the goldsmith wrought wonderful jewelled ornaments

34 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

for abbey and cathedral, and the domestic plate and
jewellery followed the same lines.

Tudor influence has already been referred to. When
James vi. of Scotland ascended the English throne it is
not surprising that the thistle and all that appertained
to Scotch ornament was introduced into the design and
decoration of jewellery worn at the Court. The style
developed during the Stuarts. Then came the break
when Puritanical ideas prevailed. Jewels and plate —
those not melted down in the Roj^alist cause — were put
away to be remade or altered into the florid style of the
Restoration art.

Not only did fashion in jewellery alter according to
prevailing styles in architecture and art, but the taste
for wearing jewels was encouraged or discouraged by
leading ecclesiastics and crowned heads according to their
fancy. There was a great revival during the reign of
Henry vin. and the two Queens, his daughters ; and at
the Court of Elizabeth the wearing of jewels was carried
to excess, the costume of the Virgin Queen was a blaze of
diamonds and other precious jewels. (See Chapter xxxiv.,
1 Eoyal and Ecclesiastical Jewels.3')

SEATS OF THE INDUSTRY.

The manufacture of native jewellery was of course
common in most countries even at an early date. Peasant
jewellery, as it is often called, was to be met with every
where before any special centres of the industry had
been founded. Yet even in olden time certain places
became famous for the making of jewellery, their fame
spreading as intercourse between countries extended.
The Egyptians were clever in their day, and fcheir
hammered work became notorious. The jewellery of
ancient Troy, and later of Italian cities was distinctive.

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 35

The wonderful examples of Etruscan jewellery which
have been discovered show that there was an art developed
there to a great extent. Russian and Spanish jewellery
at a much later date were well defined, and showed an
established industry in those countries. In more modern
days Vienna and Paris have been leading European
markets from which noted jewellery has been obtained.

As already indicated much English jewellery was, and
is made in London, chiefly in Clerkenwell, a district where
foreign workmen settled after the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes. Ifc is said that at one time nearly
two thousand persons found employment in this neigh
bourhood in making jewellery, and in more recent times
processes in which the use of machinery has been employed
have been in vogue, intervening to prevent that indivi
duality of workmanship observable in the older work.

The great centre of the jewellery trade now is Birming
ham, where not only cheap articles but much fine work
is made.

The city of Birmingham has been so closely associated
with fche manufacture of many of the things which are
classed as trinkets, as well as jewellery itself — both
cheap and of better quality — that it seems fitting in a
work of this kind that some direct reference should be
made to the productions of that town which has so often
been dubbed " Brummagem/* in slang parlance. Bir
mingham gradually became one of the great workshops
of this country, and at a more remote period, when only
a, village, it was held to be the " toy-shop " of the world.
In strictly trade terms the manufacture of " steel toys "
was carried on ver}^ extensively. But to the dealer in
hardware fche " steel toys " meant something very different
[rom nursery toys. It was the trade expression meaning
steel and iron oddments, mostly highly wrought and
polished, which were added to buckles and chains and

36 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,

trinkets, besides distinctive jewellery. There were many
things turned out of the small cottage workshops of the
heaths and the villages round about Birmingham doing
great credit to the village craftsmen ; among these were
chased oddments which were attached to the chatelaines
of the wives of the eighteenth century and the early years
of the nineteenth. Things which are regarded with
delight by their granddaughters and great granddaughters
in the present day. These things are among the treasures
of the home connoisseur.

It is difficult now to realise the quaint old town with
its black and white timber built houses, and the picturesque
scenes which were enacted at holiday times and on feast
days. The men and women of that early manufacturing
town were rough but good hearted, and their sports too,
were on the true old English type. Such pleasures as
bull-baiting and cock-fighting are recalled by place names
like the " Bull Ring/' now a thoroughfare in that busy
city.

Birmingham was chiefly noted for so many small
articles that it is wonderful how it prospered ; even when
much of its business was confined to buckles, buttons
and the like, the trade grew, and the steel " toys " for
which Birmingham had become famous were in great
request. Buckles were made in every possible quality,
and following the fashion of the day they were large ; they
were of steel and silver, and some were of plated metals
like shining gold, although not actually made of the
precious metal.

The buckle as an article of dress — or dress ornament —
was in use as early as the fifteenth century. Then for a
time buckles fell into disuse, to be revived in the eighteenth
century, when they were worn on shoes ; the size was
increased until the fashion became extravagant, and some
very ridiculous buckles adorned the shoes. Again the

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 37

metals of which these later buckles were made, varied,
for in the closing years of the eighteenth century several
new alloys were introduced. One of these was known as
" Tutania/' called after its inventor Tutin. Buckles are
used to-day, in moderation, and not a few ladies are
wearing old buckles of almost priceless value, wearing
again choice antiques,

It is probable that no one article has been made in such
countless numbers, or in such great variety of size and
form, as the modest button. When we think of the
different colours, and the varied materials of which
buttons are still made, and then look back upon the
altering fashions which brought a demand for some new
class of button it is not to be wondered at that an assembly
of buttons of all kinds would be a very extensive collection,
if not a particular fascinating or " brainy " pursuit.

Birmingham was responsible for many of the early
buttons mostly of metal, used in such quantities. It must
be remembered that there was once a time when every
person of note employed servants and flunkeys, dressing
them in liveries adorned with shining buttons. Some of
the gilt varieties were very ornamental and not a few were
decorated with the arms or crests of their owners. These
too, came from the great " toy shop."

Perhaps one of the best known factories in Birmingham
in the eighteenth century was that of Matthew Boulton
of Soho Works ; it was there that many important objects
were made, and there too, that the " Mint " was set up,
producing so many medals and souvenirs. Referring to
these old works, in Old and New Birmingham, it is
said, " Matthew Boulton established himself on Snow Hill
as a manufacturer of ' toys/ buckles, clasps, chains, and
other trinkets, which exhibited good workmanship joined
to artistic design, worked out by the best men he could
procure. It has been said of him that he could buy any

38 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

man's brains, and in this lay the great secret of his success/*
Here then we have the term " toys " explained, and also
learn that among other notable men of Birmingham
Matthew Boulton did not despise the making of small
things, for in his great workshops he turned out " steel
toys " of every known variety.

Birmingham and the Black County continue to turn
out trinkets in countless numbers, but the trade of that
great manufacturing area is far-reaching, and the manu
factures of the district include immense works of iron
and steel for which this country has become famous.
Very different indeed is that large manufacturing district
from what it was when men worked exclusively in their
own little workshops. In those days families became
specialists, and the peculiar skill they attained was handed
on to succeeding generations. Some would be able to
inlay, others to engrave, and some to cleverly favshion
those fanciful ornaments which were so evident in the
large brooches then in vogue, and which are now worn
once again — as souvenirs of the past.

In other parts of England there have been localities
where noted objects have been made. Mr. Wallis,
in British Manufacturing Industries, treating upon
" Jewellery/* mentions some special things made at Derby.
These, he says, consisted of " neatly designed pins, studs,
brooches, and rings of a peculiar style of setting, still
known among the seniors of the jewellery trade as the
* Derby style/ ** That was in the seventies, and the
style is now almost forgotten. Some of the old traders'
catalogues mention these goods, and several trade cards
and bill heads of the eighteenth century mention " Derby "
jewellery.

As an instance of the light thrown upon the sales of
that day a large trade card or bill of George Dean of the
" Corner of the Monument Yard, on Fish Street Hill, in

THE JEWELLER'S ART. 39

London/* records some of the trinkets which came from
Birmingham and other centres of production early in the
nineteenth century. Among other things mentioned are
" Gold and Silver Jewellery of all sorts, Buckles, Buttons,
Combs, Key Swivels, Etwees, Watch Keys and Seals,
and various other articles." John Moore of " Air Street
in Piccadilly/' on his card dated 1789, announced that he
made " Silver and Steel Cockspurs, and Buckles, in the
neatest manner/' On a bill, dated 1790, George Smith
of Huggin Lane announced that he was a " Buckle, Spoon,
and Tea-Tongue Maker " — and thus examples could be
multiplied indefinitely.

Of the minor local industries mention may be made
of the famous jet jewellery of Whitby, sold as souvenirs
of visits to those parts of England then less accessible
than now. Jet jewellery was also much worn at one time
with mourning. Most of the jet ornaments and jewellery
of Whitby were, however, made in Birmingham and only
ornamented at the place where the material was found
in abundance.

CHAPTER IV.

CEAFTSMANSHIP.

EARLY ASPIRATIONS — SOME TECHNICALITIES — COMMON
PRACTICE — AMATEUR REPAIRS — SIMPLE TOOLS — THE

RESULT.

THE foreign workers who settled in London, their
descendants who became Britishers, the sturdy men of
Birmingham, and the best artists who have been reckoned
among the cleverest craftsmen of their day, have
all attained proficiency after years of hard work.
There seems to have been implanted in man a desire to
succeed, and in whatever sphere of labour he finds himself
he tries to do his best ; if not there must be something
wrong about the man himself, for there is a natural com
petitiveness about the human race which prevents a
perpetual standing still. There is something within man
which compels him to move forward ; and in the race
some go ahead of their fellows, others lag behind, the
nation as a whole, however, goes on towards its destiny :
if on the up grade to a glorious future, if on the down
grade to disastrous failure. We have seen this continually
in nations, and it has been observed in trade and commerce.
Art enters the world of production in almost all cases,
and this has been very noticeable in the art of the crafts
manship which has produced so much and so varied
jewellery, representing every race from the dawn of
civilisation onwards.

CRAFTSMANSHIP. 41

EABLY ASPIBATIONS.

The early craftsmen gradually acquired proficiency in
the arts they practised after much painstaking labour,
and, no doubt, many failures. They groped their way
towards that perfection which the true artist deems his
goal, but which he rarely if ever reaches. In the days
when primitive craftsmen were making and fashioning
bronze and pure unalloyed metals they worked without
any past on which to build, simply trying to shape the
article of jewellery or other object they were making so
as to combine convenient wear and that degree of beauty
to which their aspirations soared, or endeavouring to
reach the goal towards which they moved either uncon
sciously or goaded on by those for whom the jewels were
intended. Perhaps even in those early days they were
sometimes urged on by competition, which in its nobler
form has always been helpful in the betterment of crafts
manship.

Collectors and wearers of antique jewellery rarely
concern themselves with the way in which it was made,
yet the methods adopted by different races and by men
influenced by various surroundings have had much to do
with the results achieved and the lasting effect of their
work. Some native work, although very crude, has a
simple dignity about it which appeals to the connoisseur
of art, for the true admirer of art looks rather to the
motive and the aim and the aspirations which have
actuated the worker than the actual result, when compared
with art produced under more favourable circumstances.

The success which attended the craftsmanship of
the primitive peoples as evidenced by the relics which
come to us from prehistoric tombs, from savage races,
and from the untutored natives of the islands of the seas

shows that art inspires the worker, and that independent
of competition and the tendency to copy the true artist
aims at originality, and that in whatever grade he is
found success is assured, for native art carries with it
that which can never belong to machine-made jewellery
however attractive it is.

The same ambition which fired the first workers in
metals who attempted the making of jewellery makes
the best artists of to-day enthusiastic, and hence it is
that the patron of art who has the means and is willing
to fully recompense the artist can secure original beauty
to-day. Such works of art — the triumphs of the gold
smiths and workers in precious metals and gems are to
us what the simple objects of antique jewellery, which
are to-day treasured rather because of their antiquity
than their beauty, were to the first wearers of those
ancient gems.

The apprentice who in Mediaeval days had got over
the drudgery of his apprenticeship and was allowed by
the master craftsman to work in the precious metals
was watched very closely, for before he could become a
master hand he would have to fulfil the requirements of
the Guild by whom the work of his craft was controlled.
He, too, would have early aspirations. He would see
in his master's workshop many very beautiful things,
the result of experience and practice, for both these
attributes are necessary to success. Experience teaches
the way to do work, and it gives the confidence which
is essential when working in valuable materials.

Practice enables the workman to accomplish his mission,
and the two in combination make it easy to carry through
any great work which is entrusted to the craftsman,
It must be remembered that in the Middle Ages there were
comparatively few workers in any one art craft. The
ecclesiastical support given to art enabled many of the

CRAFTSMANSHIP. 43

best jewellers, or goldsmiths as they were more generally
called, to undertake large and costly works of art in
which many rare gems were cut and polished and set in
appropriate framework, and what is perhaps of more
importance adapted to some real use either in civic or
church purposes. The wealthy nobles have in all ages,
and in all countries, been the patrons of art — art as they
understood it to be — and to the moneyed class is due
the success achieved by the men with aspirations and
abilities, but with little capital of their own to become
possessed with the materials on which to work.

SOME TECHNICALITIES.

There was a beginning to all arts, and although it may
not always be very clear where the commencement of
any given period can be placed, it is generally found
that while native jewellery is always crude, and at times
barbaric, it is seldom that we are able to get down to
the rock bottom. The jewellery found in the graves of
the earliest period of the Bronze Age shows signs of some
degree of proficiency, and must therefore have found a
beginning at an earlier period — and perhaps all the first
efforts have perished. Modern jewellers work with a lens,
and with its help they discover imperfections not visible
to the naked eye, or observable by the home connoisseur
who is less familiar with the technicalities of the craft.
The difference between hand work and machine-made
goods is, however, easily understood, and does not require
an expert to point out. Quite an ordinary collector will
note the suggestion of original work seen in all hand-made
goods where tools have been given latitude and the
operator has imparted something of his own personality
to the object he fashioned.

The maker of cheap jewellery aims at effect rather than

44 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

quality of workmanship, whereas the older worker pre
ferred to merit the approval of his patron for quality and
stability rather than for appearance. The old worker
would take the gem in his hand and work round it a
suitable setting, he would labour to give the jewel the
setting best adapted to its size, shape and quality. Many
modern artists, however, in contrast take a framework
of gold or silver shaped according to a standard pattern,
and select a stone the nearest they can to fill the setting,
or to cover up the shoddy workmanship which needs
something fco hide the defects or the loose way in which
joints and frames are made and held together.

The setting of gems is referred to at some length in
another chapter, suffice it to say here that the gem should
be set in harmony with colour, size, beauty and lustre ;
and when the golden frame is the first consideration,
which it must often be in the making of important works
for special purposes, then the stones selected for its
enrichment ought to be of the most suitable obtainable,
and the matching complete ; even then the gems to suit
the design ought to be chosen before the setting is formed,
for stones are not things to be cut and spoiled in order
to make " them fit."

For many long years the work of the jeweller was the
exposition of the man, of the interpretation he conceived
of his art, and of his personal views of what was proper
and fitting. The ideals of the craftsman showed clearly
in the handicraft he followed, and especially in the work
he accomplished. It was a craft in which great individu
ality was observable, although in quite early jewellery
there was a well established rule of form and size. Take,
for instance, the fibulce of the Romans ; in a small collec
tion there is much sameness, but although there is a well
defined pattern the worker was allowed full freedom in
his interpretation of the model, and as many of the tools

CRAFTSMANSHIP. 45

he used were of his own fashioning the articles he produced
by their use would be slightly different from those of
others who would use tools varying in form, and giving
different effects although used in a similar way. The
engraver handles his tool accoiding to the formation of
the graver, and he uses certain tools with which he is
most familiar, and produces better results than if he used
those of different forms or sizes ; in this way then some
of the technicalities of craftsmanship are explained.

Modern machinery has altered the results secured by
simple tools worked by the craftsman who exercised
his judgment as to the way he worked them. For years
past the technicalities of trade have been growing narrower,
and the use of machinery and modern tools of standard
patterns and weights has brought about standardised
goods, robbed the craftsman of much of his freedom,
and lessened the value of the artist who one time free
must now, except under rare conditions, follow the lines
laid down by his employers.

COMMON PRACTICE.

What is called common practice in trade is that guiding
principle which insists upon a common basis of produc
tion, following an established rule. This is seen the more
clearly in the present-day, but it existed nevertheless
in olden time. In Chapter v., " Guilds, and the Influence
they Exercised" it is shown that the guilds exercised a
strong influence upon the workman and ensured his
adherence to " common practice " in the past as to-day.
Indeed the goldsmiths and others were bound down by
regulations in the past even more than individual makers
and their employes are now.

It may be thought that this is not a matter of much
importance to the collector. It is, however, in that its

46 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

realisation leads to understanding the similarity between
many of the trinkets and jewellery made in very remote
periods, and also helps to make us understand how it is
that there was never any very great divergence between
the makers throughout long periods of time. The making
of jewellery is but the story of the evolution of art, for
there are very few striking novelties or original departures
from the common practice of the day. The difference
lies in the quality of finish, in the freedom allowed in
decoration, the difference in the metals used, and the way
in which they were manipulated.

The common practice is seen in barbaric jewellery, in
the arts of early peoples of all ages, and in the art of
those who worked for uncivilised races. Many of the
beautiful jewels of Oriental peoples, very crude in their
formation, and made, possibly, to impart a sense of
splendour, an attribute of Oriental pride, were fashioned
with that object in view. It does not follow, however,
that the workmanship of all the jewels which have been
preserved or that were made at any one time, and by
or for any one people, was the very best the workman could
turn out. To-day the workshops of Birmingham and
other manufacturing places do not produce all their goods
of one standard quality. Far from it, as art advances
there are more patterns and a greater variety of wares
to suit the tastes of everybody and to fit their pockets
too. Thus in line with the markets catered for, the
maker produces his wares ; he tries rather to please
the tastes of his customers than to follow his own ideals,
and he works accordingly.

When art passed out of the hands of the amateur it
went into the hands of a maker who, for money or as in
earlier times barter, produced goods according to the
buyer's needs. It is a well established fact that in the
days of the Stone Age there were workers in flints who

CRAFTSMANSHIP. 47

supplied many fighters and hunters, and even the needs
of a settlement in domestic flints. Entire workshops,
and the refuse such workings would produce, have been
discovered. If there were craftsmen and traders in the
limited supplies of those far-off days then we may be sure
when jewellery was first worn the amateur would soon
surrender his occupation to those who by practice or
skill were better able to carry it on. The achievement
of the trade under the guidance of their guilds, and the
results secured by some of the best artists who have
worked in metals and in the cutting and setting of gems
are of considerable interest ; the common practice of
the earlier times is, however, of more interest to the
collector, in that the collector who understands some
thing of the methods of production of the objects he
admires and collects is better able to appreciate his
treasures, and far better able to secure bargains, for he
is independent of his agent and able to assess the value
of his curios from the standpoint of the worker and artist,
as well as by their scarcity and rareness and their curio
worth.

There have been times when production has been very
prolific, and there have been times when it would have
been impossible for much wealth in jewels to be accumu
lated. The peoples in some countries had access to
materials which were denied to others. We have heard
of the plentiful supplies of pure gold which once were
to be had by a few simple mining operations in this
country , and in some parts of Central Africa the natives,
although perhaps possessing no other wealth, had all the
gold they required to make for themselves bracelets and
armlets and rings of the pure metal, the material costing
little, and the workmanship a mere trifle, if the wearers
were not the actual makers of those objects which they
were so proud to wear.

48 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

AMATETJR REPAIRS.

The home connoisseur is not an admirer of modern art
when it is far removed from the antique. The collector
from the very bent of his mind and " the place wherein
his heart is set " must have some preference for " old
style/' and often for that which is farthest removed
from his own modern surroundings. As will be seen in
other parts of this work the collector of jewellery, and
those who delight in the contents of the old jewel box
which has come down to them as a heirloom, must of
necessity be better acquainted with Georgian or early
Victorian jewellery than with ancient Roman or Celtic
art. When, however, the amateur worker in precious
metals and fashioner of jewellery begins to copy the antique
he generally takes as his model the objects which were
made by man in the days before he was very far advanced
from amateur home working. Many of the oldest works
of art are really very beautiful and can be copied without
difficulty by the present-day amateur ; and what to the
collector is, perhaps, of more importance, they can be
repaired when broken.

A knowledge of craftsmanship, even if only that of an
amateur worker in metals is useful to the collector in the
pursuit of his hobby. It enables him to buy oddments
with some slight blemish which can be repaired without
difficulty by those who have learned the use of simple
tools. To take such repairs to a professional is to ensure
their repair on the lines of modern craftsmanship, which
almost invariably shows their restoration.

The amateur repairer follows the lines of the older and
less skilled man who was content with a cruder finish.
He is careful not to remove the marks of age, but lovingly
deals with such indications ; in short he combines the

MAIN

CRAFTSMANSHIP. 49

skill of an amateur craftsman with the veneration of the
antiquarian. Many bargains have been acquired in this
way and not a few choice objects have been secured in
a damaged state, and then repaired ; in olden time and
at the hands of Eastern workers rare jewels were often
given indifferent settings, causing them to be put on one
side as damaged after a few years wear.

Some very remarkable jewellery has come to us from
the East ; and among the barbaric jewellery of nations
outside the reach of modern machine-using peoples
there is still much interesting native art. Races which
were but a short time ago in a state of savagery possess
beautiful jewels which they set in gold and other metals
in primitive styles, and at the auction room such objects
— needing only a little repair — often change hands at
prices which should satisfy the most economic collector.

The older jewellery is hammered ; wrought by
" hammer and hand/' and the wires by which it is some
times linked were often beaten together. The smith of
early days had strong faith in the value of welding, and
he laboured to produce a true weld without the use of
modern tools, drills, rivets and screws. The jeweller in
like manner operated the more costly metals and achieved
his more delicate craft in a similar way.

Some of the old jewellery is remarkable for its great
simplicity ; necklaces were formed of delicate hollow
cubes of gold, beads of stone and pottery, glass, and
perhaps a few pearls, the entire ornament, gracefully
fashioned, having a simple wire loop or hook by which it
was- fastened.

The study of a few objects of contemporary art makes
it easy to form the right ornament which may be missing.
It may be a lozenge or a cube or some other elementary
object, for necklaces and strings of beads were seldom
formed of the same ornament often repeated. There

50 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

was variety of shape, but always symmetrical in the artist's
conception of primitive beauty ; thus it is that what is
sometimes termed " natural " art is much admired — and
rightly too when it is remembered that simple objects
shaped by man in early days were copies, although
perhaps crude, of models provided by Nature, and between
Nature and Art there is a close affinity.

Bead necklaces are very often in need of repair. Pine
strong silk is best for threading beads, although hair is
sometimes employed, and occasionally fine wire, but the
latter is not flexible enough for beads which are to be worn
round the neck. A bead needle is an instrument easily
procured and is useful for the purpose, as it will thread
the finest pearls or seed beads — it is long and thin being
the same thickness all its length. Most bead necklaces
are fastened by small gold clasps, which in many of the
older necklaces are much worn. It is not worth while
trying to repair these, or having them repaired by a
workman ; modern clasps are on the same pattern
and can be obtained almost identical with those made a
century or more ago.

When repairing bracelets and supplying parts missing
the amateur is apt to forget the usual sizes, and liable
to make them too large.

Brooches are often out of repair, but a new pin will
generally make them "as good as new/' Pins ready
fashioned with and without plates with hinge complete
can be bought from a working jeweller, and may be
attached by the amateur who will leave the work not
quite as new looking as the usual repairer of such things,
but wearable. The decorative ornament of antique
brooches frequently needs a little touching up to make
the article presentable — and so the story of much needed
repairs which a capable amateur can carry out could be
extended. When once the collector learns that it is

CKAFTSMANSHIP. 51

comparatively easy to keep old jewellery in fairly good
order the owner — he or she — is not likely to be satisfied
with imperfect articles to wear, or to hand on to posterity
as relics of the past !

SIMPLE TOOLS.

The tools required by the amateur are those which
were used by the early artists who fashioned the antique
jewellery under repair, and they are similarly made.
That of course refers to the later works of antiquity and
not to prehistoric objects when the patience of the work
man must have been sorely tried, although perhaps he
had not learned the value or measurement of time !

The tools procurable now are no doubt better in form
and finish than those used in olden time, for they are
fashioned by machinery and turned out in quantity.
In the hands of the amateur, however, these better tools
will not enable him to turn out better work than the
makers of the jewellery undergoing repair, they may,
however, be some little compensation for the shortage of
experience. One or two hammers are essential for
operating the chasing tools and the gravers, which can be
bought in a variety of forms, and slightly different in
shapes. Files are very useful, and several of the makers
of amateurs' tools are selling very handy sets of small
files. A bench stake is necessary — it can be fitted into
an old table and removed at will. Shears for cutting
the metal are needed, a few chisels and a drill for fine
work. A jeweller's saw frame and saws will come in
handy, and of course a sand bag, the latter to hold the
work in place. The amateur metal worker should take
a few lessons, for the workshop practice of a working
jeweller is much too big a subject to be handled in this
chapter.

52 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

A little sheet silver and some wire are materials needed.
Gold or amalgam wire will be helpful in repairing chains
and links which a pair of plyers will shape to supply
deficiencies. Incidentally it may be mentioned that
repaired parts can be burnished to the condition of the
old and a good polish given where needed by the use of
Tripoli powder. In resetting old stones or when matching
them a small piece of tin-foil at the back acts as a reflector,
some use black paper behind opals, as will be seen when
examining the setting of an old piece when it is necessary
to repair the frame of the stone or to fit a new stone in
the old setting. Care should be taken to fit the stone
in tight, that is to say inlay it, and then with a small
burnisher or similar tool smooth over the edges until
they hold the stone firmly. If such edges exist and the
stone has to be put into the old frame, then open out the
rim until the stone is put in tight, and packed if needed.

THE RESULT.

The result of a smattering of knowledge of craftsman
ship, as gained from careful observation and from actual
practice is that in a collection of old jewellery the best
effects will be secured. There will be no imperfect and
meaningless pieces, the real use of which is not observable
because parts are missing ; and there will be no necklaces
without clasps or bracelets unstrung or partly defective.
There is much to interest in the possession of the antique,
but perfect specimens in every branch of collection are
aimed at. In jewellery, however, it has been shown that
it is not always possible to secure perfect examples, and
that when bargains are going it is because there is some
thing deficient, perhaps only a trifle which the art of the
amateur craftsman can put right.

CHAPTER V.

GUILDS, AND THE INFLUENCE THEY
EXERCISED.

.LONDON GUILDS — SCOTCH AND IEISH GUILDS — MEN OF
MARK — SOME RETAIL JEWELLERS.

THERE is something very clannish about workmen,
a kinship and fellow feeling which has been apparent
in all ages. There are few records extant, it is true,
but there is abundant evidence that in very early days
workers in the same metals, and those who produced
similar objects, consorted together, and often dwelt in
the same streets and thoroughfares for protection, and,
as trade developed, for the better pursuance of their
business. This fellow sympathy between men practising
the same arts is seen in almost every trade. At the
dawn of the Christian era the silversmiths of Damascus
had a common cause, and a leader in Demetrius. The
workers in gold and silver have generally been among
the most prominent craftsmen, and that is as it should
be, for the metals from the very earliest times represented
the wealth of nations, not only in bullion and coined
money but in jewellery and plate.

In another chapter the beauty and clever working of
gold in prehistoric times, and in the days when the world
was young, is more fully dealt with, the connoisseur must,
however, remember that the precious metals in some
form or other represented the world's wealth, and that

54 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

those possessions which were in kind were made attrac
tive by the genius of man, who gained proficiency in his
craft as the knowledge of the art became better known.
The furtherance of that object and the retention of the
skill acquired, together with a growing desire to con
serve the trade of a town or district brought about the
formation of guilds — a form of trade protection which
in time exerted such a widespread influence upon crafts
manship and art.

Such guilds as those connected with the art of the
goldsmith and the jeweller have been met with in many
countries, and some of them can trace their origin to
very early times. In England there are many old guilds,
but most of them have now lost much of their original
value, although in more recent years there has been an
attempt to revive guilds, federations and associations
of traders for mutual protection, and in some instances
for the better and purer practice of the craft with which
they are associated.

LONDON GTJILDS.

It is not surprising that among the numerous guilds
which have been formed in the metropolis the workers
in precious metals have played a prominent part. Very
early the workers in gold banded themselves together,
and the Goldsmiths' Company soon became one of the
wealthiest and most important guilds. The Worshipful
Company of Goldsmiths was no sinecure, for it acted
beneficially upon the craft and instituted a system of
purity of the metal used and fixed a standard by which
the quality of the wares wrought by the members could
be gauged and known.

The same Company has like a few others retained its
beneficial influence on the trade, and still at its Hall marks

GUILDS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 55

the plate produced within its jurisdiction, thus performing
a useful function in the State, taking part in the regula
tion of its trade and commerce. It may be mentioned
that the purity of the coin of this realm has also been
under the control of the Goldsmiths' Company, for the
historic trial of the Pyx is one of its functions, and the
assay of the currency to ascertain its quality is entrusted
to it.

The records of the earliest happenings of the Guild
are lost, but in its magnificent Hall there are many rare
relics of its former usefulness, of the works its members
produced, and of the more modern treasures in the making
of which the goldsmiths of recent times have well main
tained the high reputation which their predecessors in
the craft enjoyed. The Company was active as far back
as the twelfth century, and like many of the older guilds
was of a semi-religious order, mainly caring for the
maintenance of the standard of quality of materials used
and of the work turned out. The Goldsmiths were crafts
men, and cunning workers they were too, as the rare pieces
of early make still extant show. The ancient mystery
had its patron saint, and St. Dunstan was honoured in
that he was himself a worker of metals. There is a legend
that Edward i. possessed a ring of gold in which was set
a famous sapphire, the ring being the handiwork of the
Saint. St. Dunstan's day was formerly kept as a gala
day by the members, and bells were rung and prayers
said for the souls of deceased members of the craft.

According to ancient charter Edward m. granted the
goldsmiths special privileges, and ordered that the Com
pany should exercise an oversight over all the goldsmiths,
most of whom had their shops in the High Street of
Chepe. Perhaps one of the most important duties asso
ciated with the manufacture of jewellery in those days
was the thorough way in which the Company scrutinised

56 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

all the articles which had then to be sold either in Cheap-
side or in the Exchange. Cheap jewellery was made
even then, for we are told that the practice was to cover
tin with gold so cleverly that it was easy to deceive the
public and to palm off false goods, and in addition to
cheapen the production of jewels by using counterfeit
stones.

It is interesting to note that the first Hall of this power
ful guild was erected in 1350, a more important one
followed, but alas ! it was destroyed in the Great Fire.
The present magnificent Hall on the original site was not
built until 1835, it is therefore comparatively modern,
and is very handsome and decorative. It contains much
plate and many objects of great value which will be more
fully referred to in a future volume of this series dealing
with gold and silver plate, for jewellery is but a minor
part of the work of the members of the craft.

Among the smaller companies in London the Girdlers'
Company claims to be one of the oldest. It carries us
back to the days when girdles of silk were worn, and to
those times before pockets were in common use. The
origin of this Company is said to be found in some lay
brethren of the Order of St. Lawrence supporting them
selves by the manufacture of girdles. The guild, however,
dates from the time of Edward in., and it gained many
subsequent charters. In the reign of Elizabeth the
Girdlers joined the Pinners and Wyreworkers. For many
years they prospered, and made many jewelled girdles
and supplied those charming belts from which were
suspended so many oddments, and which served fco keep
close at hand chatelaine instruments and the numerous
trinkets which the orderly and careful housewife thought
necessary to possess and carry. (See Chapter xxvn.,
" Chatelaines, Chains and Pendants.3')

GUILDS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 57

SCOTCH ASTD IRISH GUILDS.

Some interesting particulars about old Scotch and Irish
plate are given in Mr. Cripps' standard work on Old
English Plate, but those metal workers were chiefly
devoted to the manufacture of plate as separate from
jewellery. The trade as a whole was conserved witL
the same care in Scotland and Ii eland as in England,
and the Guilds established in the two countries acted in
their respective spheres much as did the Goldsmiths'
Company in England. Mr. Cripps says " Then came
the letters patent of King James vi., granted in 1596,
and ratified by parliament in the following year, to the
deacon and masters of the Goldsmiths' craft in Edinburgh,
which gave further effect to these statutes by empowering
that body to search for gold and silver work, and to try
whether it were of the fineness required by law, and to
seize all that should appear deficient ; this gave them a
monopoly of their trade and the entire regulation of it,
separating them finally from all association with the
' hammermen * or common smiths/' The assay office
was then in Edinburgh, the Glasgow office being estab
lished at a much later date.

The Irish goldsmiths were banded together under the
title of the Goldsmiths of Dublin, and had duties to
perform in order to keep up the standard and quality of
the work made in Ireland, at any rate within their imme
diate jurisdiction. Mr. Cripps mentions a Company of
Goldsmiths in Cork who "marked their plate with a
galleon and a castle with a flagstaff/''

Scotch jewellery has always had characteristic symbolic
designs, and the stones which have been used, together
with the jewellery representing the clans, have given the
gold and silver work of the northern part of Great Britain

58 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

a distinctive style. Ireland, however, has during modern
times shown no particular preference, other perhaps than
the form of the Irish harp, which together with the sham
rock incorporated in modern jewellery has distinguished
it ; it is in the early jewellery of Ireland that collectors
find the greatest interest. In Chapter x., " Celtic Gold,3''
several pieces of this quaint and rare gold and silver
work »are described. In the making of this, however,
no guild exercised any control, although in the very
earliest forms there does appear to have been concerted
action, and a definite plan of ornamentation and form
carefully carried out by those early workers in the precious
mefcals, although they may have unconsciously followed
their own bent, which was narrowed by the limited
knowledge of art as then understood., and in its limitations
preserved the purity of style and of metals used without
any formal recognition of control.

It should be mentioned too, that foreign trade influence
has at all times exercised considerable control over
craftsmanship in this country, and in all the trade and
commerce which have brought to our doors commodities,
especially those in which art is seen.

MEN OF MARK.

The functions of the goldsmiths of London became
more extensive as time went on. These traders lent
money and bullion to the King and nation, and in many
instances provided for the country's needs in time of war.
The Jews too, in early days were great traders and finan
ciers. They congregated in Old Jewry which still retains
the name of their location ; they were, however, banished
in the thirteenth century. Then came the Lombards,
who settled in what is now Lombard Street, and there
they hung out their signs and traded in gold, and became

GUILDS, AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 59

merchants, importing goods from foreign parts, eventually
founding those great banking houses which have played
such an important part in the nation's finance.

The goldsmiths of Lombard Street had among their
number many men of mark. It was there that Sir
Thomas Gresham traded at the sign of the "Grasshopper"' ;
and when he built the first Exchange, thus providing
merchants with a meeting place, and consolidating the
commerce of the country, earned the esteem of his fellow
citizens. In the same thoroughfare lived Sir Martin
Bowes, a goldsmith, in the reign of Henry vm. ; and at
the sign of the " Unicorn " was the shop of Edward
Blackwell. It is recorded too, that Sir Robert Vyner
carried on the business of a goldsmith in Lombard Street,
and he it was who made the new crown for Charles n.,
after the Restoration.

Many of these old goldsmiths, and in some smaller
degree jewellers, were broadminded men who gave much
of their time to public affairs and sought in one way or
another to improve their city. One of these men of note
was Richard Myddleton, whose name is still perpetuated
in Myddleton Square, Clerkenwell, near the site of the
culmination of the great achievement of his public career.
Born in Denbigh Richard Myddleton became apprenticed
to the Goldsmiths' Company, and in due time commenced
business on his own account in London. He seems to
have been a very successful trader and craftsman, for in
1597 he represented his native town, Denbigh, in Parlia
ment. Royal patronage was of great value then, and
indeed carried with it support and often financial aid.
King James i. made him " royal jeweller," and often
visited his shop. When Myddleton evolved his great
scheme for supplying the Metropolis with pure water
from Hertfordshire the King joined in the enterprise.
It was successful, and in course of time the New River

60 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

brought a plentiful supply to the New River Head, then
in the fields between Islington and London.

The goldsmiths of the past continued to trade in smaller
things, and many had small shops, although in a quiet
way they were lending money and founding the great
banking houses, some of which are yet extant. The work
of these goldsmiths is not likely to be met with among
the jewellery of the " home connoisseur/' but these men
of note are worthy of veneration, for they showed how in
those days it was possible for simple craftsmen to serve
their country as artists of a rare order, as well as building
up great businesses as merchants, which were surely, if
slowly, laying the foundations of Britain's trade all over
the world, and forging the golden chain of commerce
which has been her bulwark, and enabled her to resist
her enemies and hold her own as she moved on in the
growth of empire.

SOME RETAIL JEWELLERS.

The craft of more modern days seems to have been
divided between those who made jewellery and sold it in
their shops, and those who were content with buying
from others and retailing it. The business of the present
day is dual too, although the larger manufacturing concerns
are distinct from the shops in which jewellery of various
kinds is offered to the public. It is not easy to disassociate
the craftsman from the thing he has created when his
personality is known, and it was especially so in olden
time when each object was stamped with the impress of
the maker, and often bore marks of his individuality.
In the following chapters, however, for various reasons,
the objects of art representing the crafts of many nations,
and created at different periods, must be reviewed either
according to the period and style in which they were

GUILDS. AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 61

made, or the particular object or purpose of the jewellery,
and not with reference to the artist or retailer. We may,
however, indulge for a moment in picturing the conditions
under which some of the old jewellery was sold in the
past.

Cheapside was the chief market — " Chepe " of olden
time — and it was in Goldsmiths' Row that the goldsmiths
plied their trade , in like manner the silversmiths worked
and sold their wares in Silver Street, near the market of
" Chepe/* As we have seen the Lombards and gold
smiths hung out their signs, and some adopted the sign
of the " three golden balls " still associated with those
who combine the retailing of jewellery and the lending
of money. The old taverns, often connected with traders*
shops, not infrequently adopted emblems of the crafts
men by whom they were chiefly supported. A study of
the old trade stationery of retailers of more than a hundred
years ago often throws some light upon the way in which
they did business, and also tells of their patrons ; and
their bills, perchance, tell of their customers and of the
goods they sold to them.

The "Golden Angel," alone or in combination, was a
common sign in the eighteenth century. It was adopted
by Ellis Gamble, a goldsmith of Cranbourn Alley, who
was evidently proud of the sign, and had a very large
trade card (see Figure 2) on which it appears — it is an
unusually fine card, and records the trader's status, and
the work he carried on. Ellis Gamble of the " Golden
Angel " entered his mark at the Goldsmiths' Hall in 1696.
He appears to have been a silversmith of some notoriety
too, and was the son of William Gamble, who had traded
in Foster Lane at an earlier date. It was to Ellis Gamble
that in 1712 Hogarth was apprenticed, and there learned
the art of engraving metal. Hogarth in after years
engraved several trade cards, one being for his former

62 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

employer. Gamble, according to Ms card, made, bought
and sold " all sorts of plate, rings and Jewells."

The old styles of engraving and of the designs then
prevalent in decoration are reflected on many of the trade
cards and in the catalogues of traders. The "Angel" was
a favourite sign, for Smith, in " ye Great Old Bailey/'
who had a pretty card in " Chippendale " style, used it,
as well as others. Chalmers and Robinson were jewellers
at the sign of the " Golden Spectacles " in Sidney's Alley,
their cards were in " Chippendale " and pictorial styles.
At the sign of the " Golden Ball " in Panton Street,
Johnston & Geddes were said to " sell all sorts of jewellers'
work."

The bill head, shown in Figure 3, is doubly interesting,
for not only does it represent a quaint style of stationery,
on which is exhibited on a shield of arms of the period
the style and name of the retailer — T. Hawley — but it
gives the details of the whereabouts in Strand where the
shop was situated, " three doors from the Adelphi."
This is "the original invoice of a gold watch made for the
Duke of Wellington (then Marquis of Wellington) in 1813,
two years before the battle of Waterloo — perchance the
watch he wore on that great day. The description of
the watch reads ** Small gold watch and gold key, with
the engraving of the Marquis of Wellington/' The price
named is £8 3s. Qd. Wonderfully interesting are these
old trade cards and shop bills of a century or more ago !

CHAPTER VI.
THE ENGRAVER.

THE MANNER OF ORNAMENTATION — HISTOBY OF THE ABT
— SOME EXAMPLES TECHNICAL POINTS.

IT is well to be acquainted with the different artists
by whom objects of art are worked. The engraver is one
who practices the art of ornamentation and generally
works upon some object already fashioned. His scheme
of ornamentation is dependent upon the article he em
bellishes, and he is frequently compelled to work according
to the purpose for which the object is to be used ; more
over he often finds it necessary to adapt some given style
of pattern so as to make it conform to the shape or size
of the piece of metal or other material upon which he
operates. The art as applied to the jewellery trade is
of course only one branch of engraving ; it is the decora
tive side, and includes that of fanciful ornament and
rigid pattern, also embracing the engraving of legends
and inscriptions, especially so in the case of presentation
ornaments. It is applied to a much larger extent upon
gold and silver plate which is so often engraved ; but
trinkets — like snuff-boxes — have often been engraved
with inscriptions and short sentimental sentences, and in
some instances the engraver has almost covered the
surface of the object with monograms and names. The
art as applied to metal is very ancient, and although much
of the so-called engraving is more in the form of chasing,
the graver's tool has long been known and applied for the
adornment of jewellery.

64 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

THE MANNER OF ORNAMENTATION.

The manner of ornamenting and embellishing jewellery
does not trouble the collector of old jewellery overmuch —
he rather judges the effect of the craftsmanship than the
methods by which the results have been achieved. In
order to fully appreciate the finished article it is, however,
well to understand something about the technique of
ornament. Moulding, casting, hammering and putting
into shape are some of the first processes by which the
maker of old jewellery produced the rough object. To
day machinery plays an important part not only in
producing the article, but in finishing off the details and
finally polishing, and if necessary cutting and engraving
the ornament. The hand work which meant much time
and labour is now only reserved for the more costly work,
and for inscriptions and minute strokes of the graver.
In olden time before machines in which such delicate
things as small pieces of jewellery could be operated
were known, the artist fondly handled the article and
gradually by graver and other tool added little by little
to the decoration, until a finished article lay on his table —
made, engraved and polished by hand.

Some of the methods of craftsmanship have already
been referred to, and some of them have been employed
without interruption from the very earliest times. Among
these the engraver, working with quite simple tools, has
been the most prominent artist.

The engraver, as it has been stated, in more recent
times has worked almost independently of the jeweller,
and has carried on his work at the beck and call of the
maker. His functions have been two-fold, for he has
provided the engraved gem for its setting, as well as
engraving the gold and silver setting and ornamenting

THE ENGRAVER. 65

the metal object which is frequently without stones
or other additions. The gem engraved with signet or
seal, as apart from the work of the lapidary and polisher,
has contributed much to the beauty of the metal setting.
In olden time, perhaps, the engravers of stones and gems
made their setting, and it is well known that many skilful
jewellers have made and engraved, and sometimes in
scribed jewellery and fancy trinkets, carrying through
the whole process. Now, as it has been stated, engraving
is only one of the branches of applied metal art.

Although engaged at times upon fashionable replicas,
and copying the styles of former periods, the engraver
has generally followed the prevailing taste or style of
the period in which he worked, and his work has taken
the form of emblem, device or letters in the gold or other
metal operated upon, or in decorating a plain surface
and making it a picture in low relief, as distinct from
the raised or moulded ornament in which so much of the
old gold jewellery is so rich.

In some instances the effect of relief is much enhanced
by the additional cutting to which the ring, brooch or
other object has been subjected. Larger pieces of plate,
especially silver plate, are frequently engraved with shield,
monogram or inscription ; and quite small objects are
likewise engraved with legends and sentimental mottoes
— as in posy rings. (See page 238.)

HISTORY OF THE ART.

From early examples the use of the graver (the tool
by which engraving is effected) was known to the ancients
who operated on precious metals as well as on stones and
gems. How far back this art was known it is now
difficult to ascertain, writers are usually content with
Biblical proof, and about the use of the graver the story

66 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
oi the Jews is quite clear. An often repeated reference
is that mentioned in Exodus of the plate of pure gold
on which was engraved " Holy to the Lord/' that being
an instance of the engraving of letters or characters,
the plate being still further enriched by ornament. In
this early mention of engraving the art is brought down
to the equally early mention of jewellery and gems of
which the setting of precious stones in Aaron's breastplate
is sufficient evidence. It is very interesting to know
from such an authentic source that the craft was followed
by skilled workmen, the name of one at least being
recorded. In the furnishing of the Temple the Israelites
called to their aid men skilled in all the crafts ; and in
Exodus special mention is made of Bezalel, who appears
to have been a master craftsman, well skilled and cunning
" to work in gold, and in silver and brass, and in the
cutting of stones for setting." In this work he was
associated with Choloab who was evidently another
ancient Jewish worker in the precious metals and gems.

It may be assumed that the Jews learned this art of
making jewellery and engraving it from the Egyptians,
whose still earlier work is evidenced by the discoveries
in their tombs, and confirmed by Scriptural mention of
the treasures given to the Israelites by the Egyptians
when they " asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver and
jewels of gold .... And they spoiled the Egyptians."

The graver's tool was well understood in the land of
the Israelites, so much so that it was used as a symbol
of higher things. In Zechariah iii., 9, we read, "For
behold the stone that I have set before Joshua : upon
one stone are seven eyes, behold I will engrave the graving
thereof, saith the Lord of Hosts ."

The wealth of gold vessels and scarce objects made
for the Jewish ceremonial cannot be estimated from the
brief records given in Holy Writ — all these priceless

THE ENGRAVER. 67

treasures have long since gone, and the world is the poorer.
What would a collector give for a piece of ancient Jewish
jewellery ? The worship of the God of the Hebrews
involved no buriaJ of relics — but contemporary and even
earlier Egyptian tombs have yielded treasures of this
art as then practised, and we must be content with them
as mementoes of those days when the East was in the
ascendant, and the Western world practically unknown.

SOME EXAMPLES.

The Egyptian rooms of the British Museum are full of
examples of early engravings. Gold rings are covered
with inscriptions, most of the bezels being symbolical,
and some cleverly executed although very minute : to
take an instance there is one on which is a man-headed
lion crushing a prostrate foe with his paw, on the other
side being an inscription which means " Beautiful god,
conqueror of all lands, Men-kheper-Ra/* On another
ring, on the bezel, is the figure of a goddess seated in a
boat under a canopy. (For further iftention of inscribed
Egyptian rings and jewellery, see Chapter vm., "Egyptian
and Assyrian Jewellery ")

The large amount of Celtic gold jewellery found in Ireland
shows that British goldsmiths were no mean craftsmen.
There is little to tell in what way the early British bene-
fitted by their close touch with Roman craftsmen during
the first four centuries of the Christian era, though there
is evidence that when left to their own resources they
still pursued the art — for Briton and Roman were merged
in one nation.

In Saxon times jewellers continued to work in the
precious metals, but few personal relics have been pre
served to us — and few indeed are the inscribed jewels
from which their owners are known. One rare example,

68 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

often quoted and described, is the famous relic of Alfred
the Great now in safe custody in the Ashmolean Museum
at Oxford. This rare treasure was taken by the King
on his retreat to the Isle of Athelney where it was found.
It appears to be crudely fashioned but in reality exhibits
considerable skill in manufacture and in the art of en
graving. (See figure 10). (For further reference, see
Chapter xn., " Anglo-Saxon Gold and Silver.9')

TECHNICAL POINTS.

Crest, monogram and inscription are common enough
on domestic plate, and in some instances they occur on
jewellery and trinkets. As a familiar instance snuff-boxes
may be mentioned. The engraver has often cut mono
grams on signet rings and in more modern days worked
elaborate monograms on lockets and pendants. Coats
of arms are of course more restricted in their use, but
they are not infrequently found on old trinkets which
have changed hands many times, now finding a home in the
possession of those who are in no way associated with the
arms or crests engraved upon them, or persons who are
now entitled to use or exhibit them. It is always inter
esting to understand the various engravers4 marks, which
in heraldry mean so much. A knowledge of some of
these may be useful, although the great differences in
crests and symbols made by a few strokes of the graving
tool cannot be given here at any length. Colour in
heraldry is important, denoting different blazonry. The
principal colours and their heraldic names are as follows : —
gold (or), also denoted by yellow ; silver (argent) ; black
(sable) ; blue (azure} ; red (gules) ; green (vert) ; and
purple (purpure).

In the sixteenth century the engraver on metal began
to denote the heraldic colours of his patron's shield by

THE ENGRAVER. 69

lines and dots, which became the method of denoting
colours then generally accepted. Taking these in the
order already mentioned, the dots and lines used,
which may be clearly seen on heraldic engraving on
curios and trinkets, are as follows : — gold, dots ; silver,
plain ground ; black, crossed vertical and horizontal lines ;
blue, horizontal lines ; red, perpendicular lines ; green,
lines from right to left, and purple, lines from left to right.
By using these key notes the true colours of the common
armorial bearings and shields can be ascertained.

CHAPTER VII.

PREHISTORIC ORNAMENTS.

PREHISTORIC RACES EN" BRITAIN CIVILISATION BEFORE

WRITTEN HISTORY — OPENING THE GRAVES — SOME TYPICAL
EXAMPLES OF JEWELLERY.

MANY writers have classed together the handiwork of
the ancient peoples who inhabited Britain in the earliest
times and the Celts, who in after years came over from
Europe and dominated the older races, gradually squeez
ing them out of existence, and little by little driving
those who did not become part of the newer civilisation
into the more remote parts of these islands. There
appears to be, however, such a vast chasm between the
prehistoric races of the Stone Age and the Bronze Age,
and the Celts, that it seems only right to draw attention
to their arts separately, although there must of necessity
be a period when the overlapping of race and era cannot
be divided by any sharp line. Geologists tell of the
earlier Stone Age, of the Neolithic period when man had
advanced somewhat, and of the Eronze Age when flint
was gradually giving way to bronze. It is of the peoples
who were inhabiting these islands during that vast
space of time, ending perhaps two or three centuries before
the birth of Christ, of which we learn by the graves which
have been opened, and the relics found therein.

PREHISTORIC RACES IN BRITAIN.

The legendary myths about the origin of British man
who worked in stone and flint in the Stone Age, raising

PREHISTORIC ORNAMENTS. 71

great monolithic stones, and a few such temples of stone
as are typified in the great examples still to be seen on
Salisbury Plain at Stonehenge and at Avebury, may
be dismissed as of no importance to the collector of
jewellery. The little we know is derived from their works.
In like manner the higher skill of the men of the Bronze
Age can be judged only from the metallic remains found
in the early barrows. The men of those times, that is
of the period before the Celts overran these islands, had
advanced from the primeval savage of a very much
earlier period, for the art of these casters of bronze is of
no mean order, and as we can gather from the contem
porary records of Eastern peoples who had means of
transmitting their histories when the men of these northern
regions were prehistoric, they had a very advanced
civilisation and knowledge of the arts. The native
tribes were not much behind those they preceded, and in
their tastes they showed some character and love of the
beautiful. Their relics are of no tawdry character.
Jewellery it is true has been valued by uncivilised races
and even savages, but much of the gold and the earlier
bronze has been found to be far from barbaric, and it
reveals a knowledge of geometry and clever handling of
tools, besides skilful mixture of metals and some know
ledge of chemistry.

CIVILISATION BEFORE WRITTEN HISTORY.

The peoples of the bronze period left no written account
of their doings, and the remains found in their graves are
scanty. There must, however, have been a widespread use
of the earlier materials, flint and stone, and the newer
bronze. From some discovered remains it is evident
that these men chipped many of their flints for domestic
purposes and for ornament as well as utility. Collectors

72 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of flint implements try to distinguish between the work
of the peoples who inhabited different parts of England
and Ireland. Suffolk is a county very prolific in flints ;
the Thames Valley too, has yielded up innumerable
relics, all of which have been classified. The rarer dis
coveries are the beautifully chipped arrow heads and
pigmy weapons. Some have puzzled over the differences
in size in complete sets of flints, and have tried to frame
a reason for the larger and smaller objects of almost
identical form. The tiny flints look as if they had been
used by a race of pigmies such as legends have pictured.
The existence of a real race of pigmies using these small
and often beautifully worked flints has been proved to
the satisfaction of many, and it is contended that driven
farther West by the advancing races these diminutive
people took their last stand in Cornwall, where for a time
at least they existed as a separate race until the Celts
came and dominated the earlier inhabitants, small and
large. If that were so doubtless the pigmies lived in the
forests and woods and disported themselves by the wood
land streams and in the glades. Here certainly is abun
dant material on which to found the fables and myths
about the fairies and the pixies which are so common in
Cornwall, and still believed by some country folk elsewhere.
Perhaps the charming little arrow heads with their wicked
barbs were the veritable weapons of the fairies and pixies !
The collector of jewellery now and then comes across
one of these little flints mounted in more modern times
as a charm ; thus it is that the memory of the pixies
lingers and all that once belonged to their race is treasured
and valued, and often unnatural powers are attributed
to them.

Without giving undue credence to myths and legends
about peoples and the things around which a halo of
mystery has clustered, it is well to remember that all

PREHISTORIC ORNAMENTS. 73

legends can be traced to an early origin. It is well
known that history unwritten in olden time was handed
on verbally, and although it may sometimes have been
added to in the course of transmission many of these
ancient tales have been found to have some truth attached
to them, and to point to a real origin, although in their
telling they have lost some facts which would explain
their true meaning, and have gained mystery by the super
natural attributed to unexplained events and doings.
Many of the legends are only true tales about early peoples
who inhabited this country, and who lived and died under
such vastly different conditions to those which now
prevail. The stories of their lives, told in brief, once
understood, now appear strange and unnatural, most of
them, however, are not inconsistent with the researches
of antiquarians and others. The discoveries in barrows
and old burying places have in many instances confirmed
legend and myth, and have proved that some old chief
tain was actually buried where tradition had long placed
the location of his tomb, in which he was interred perhaps
after some great fight.

Of the industries of these workers in flint and bronze
the remains of their enterprises are few. Their mounds
and hill forts once covered the land, and they worked in
the mines of Cornwall, perhaps securing tin and copper
for their bronze long before the source of their wealth
became known to the Celts, who came after them, and
the Phcenecian traders who eventually set up a continuous
traffic with the people of the West.

The Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age passed away, and
the progress of man in his culture as shown in the flints
he worked advanced when the Neolithic or Newer Stone
Age came, although slowly as measured by our standard.
Then came a period when copper was discovered and its
uses recognised, it was a brief Age of Copper, a mere

74 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

prelude to the longer and more important Age of Bronze.
It is here that the interest to the collector begins. The
graves of the older races yield worked and curious orna
ments and beads, and a few trinkets which may have been
worn for personal adornment. The purpose of the
objects of the Bronze Age are, however, much clearer,
and we cannot mistake their meaning. There are armlets
and rings, pins and brooches. The brooch is an indication
of the costume. The wrap or cloak was fastened across
the shoulders with a large brooch. The women folk wore
bracelets and necklaces, and used pins for their hair.

In the remains of the lake dwellings in Switzerland
have been found earrings as well as bracelets. There
are many little objects which may have been worn as
ornaments or as charms for the prevention of evil. (See
Chapter xxxm., " Amulets and Charms/3) It has been
surmised by some that from the number of odd objects
found in the bottom of lakes they were votive offerings to
the spirits supposed to dwell therein. Many were the
attempts to propitiate the spirits which have at times
been believed to control the destinies of man. Faith in
a superior power has always been implanted in the human
breast, and all through the ages the metal worker has
devoted much of his skill to the production of things
which would be acceptable to superhuman spirits or their
priests and delegates.

OPENESTG THE GBAVES.

Respect for the dead has not prevented the curiosity
of man, and his cupidity for knowledge and even plunder,
in this era, from desecrating the graves of those great
prehistoric chieftains whose followers, and the races by
whom this country was occupied and peopled for very
many centuries, respected. There are few if any barrows

PREHISTORIC ORNAMENTS. 75

unopened, it is useless therefore to do more than accept
the relics found therein as mementos of races long for
gotten and to preserve them for all time in order that
the story of primitive man may be made as complete as
possible and demonstrated by the things he made and
left behind.

In the barrows scattered at one time very generally
over hill and moor there must have been graves dating
back thousands of years before the Celtic period, and
others which were the burial places of some who lived
in the later period of British life just before the Romans
came. In the earlier graves the jewellery so-called
consisted chiefly of beads and some tiny flints which may
have served as ornaments. Some time ago one of the
leading scientific societies viewed a few flints and inspected
the position in which they were found ; and from their
size and other indications it was decided that they had
once been a necklet worn by a girl or quite young person.

It was at one time customary to dismiss the early
races as " prehistoric " and to leave the fanciful to weave
legends and myths about their doings — in short to class
them as savages. Now we take the actual relics found
in the barrows and discovered under authentic conditions
as the base on which to build the structure of nationality,
occupations and pursuits. From their remains, with a
knowledge of why certain things were preserved in their
burying places, the habits and degree of civilisation they
reached is ascertained. The relics of jewellery found,
often far from complete, as parts have perished, take us
back in thought to the days of the men of Britain who
were buried with pomp and ceremony in those barrows.

Some years ago there was a very thorough search of
the barrows found in Wiltshire resulting in the discovery
of a large number of personal relics. Details of many
of the finds are given in Hoare's Ancient Wiltshire.

76 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Most of the finds came from barrows which had never
been disturbed, and not a few from the neighbourhood
of Stonehenge. The pedestrian can yet ramble for miles
upon the Plain and see for himself these monuments of
a past race ; the treasures they contained have been
taken away, but the barrows remain — some long and
others round. Many of the relics found in these barrows
are in the Blackmore Museum at Salisbury, and are
arranged in groups according to the mounds from which
they were taken. Thus the contents of a single grave
can be inspected, and the " jewellery " of one grave
compared with that of another. Staffordshire, Derby
shire, Yorkshire, and other parts of England have yielded
up long buried treasures, among which are jewellery and
trinkets.

The one great truth is revealed in every direction — a
belief in the Spirit world. It matters little for the purpose
of research whether this ancient jewellery was found
in cists, barrows, or, as in the north of England, in cairns,
everywhere the same facts, and apparently similar beliefs
are revealed — the necessity of providing the dead with
replicas of what they required in this material world.

Many of the small bell-shaped barrows have yielded
the best finds in jewellery, from which it has been argued
that they were the graves of women. The burials in
such barrows must have been those of people slightly
above the common herd, who could not have all received
the same formality of burial in separate barrows. It
cannot be too clearly understood that there was, probably,
then as now a wide difference in mode of living, clothing,
and persona] jewellery between the chieftains and their
dames, and the common people who were then perhaps
under worse conditions than the serfs of Roman and
Saxon days.

It is not necessary to go into the divided views upon

PREHISTORIC ORNAMENTS. 77

the differences in the sizes and shapes of barrows. It is
possible that the larger ones were not the graves of
chieftains entitled to special burial, for instance one
large barrow when opened was found to contain the
bones of a number of quite young children. Perhaps
some tragedy was attached to that burial ! In that
barrow were stones and beads and a few trinkets or
playthings, and there were charming little food vessels
for the use of the children in the Spirit world, just as in
many of the larger graves, in which were only one or two
interments, have been found incense vessels and food
cups.

TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF JEWELLERY.

There is a great sameness in the jewellery of these
prehistoric peoples who lived in Britain and in other
parts of Europe before the Celts came and settled along
with the original inhabitants of these parts. Some of
the exhibits in the British Museum are of special interest,
in that they are labelled from so many different places,
and the finds from barrows widely apart can be inspected
and compared. Many local museums too, are rich in
local finds. In an ancient barrow opened some years ago
at Cross Stones, near Todmorden, along with several
pieces of ornamental pottery, were brooches and a neck
lace. Necklaces of beads are very common everywhere ;
one described by the finder was of different colours, the
stones of which it was composed being carefully selected.
Amber beads are often found in the graves. Some have
cut and banded patterns round them, indeed many of the
trinkets, especially those made of easily worked materials
like amber, are ornamented. The gold ornaments in
early graves are very few, and it is not easy to tell whether
these really belong to the Bronze Age or to a somewhat

78 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

later period when the Celts had arrived. One earring
found, however, in an early barrow was of gold and
ornamented with a checkered pattern, attached to it was
a small chain cleverly wrought.

Although there are doubts as to the extent of the
trading with this country carried on by the Phoenicians
it is generally admitted that these traders visited these
islands at a very early period and if they rarely landed
on the shores of Britain they' at any rate reached the
outlying headlands of Cornwall, and carried on some
form of barter for the tin and copper which they had
learned to appreciate so highly. A thousand years or
more before the Christian era bronze articles of jewellery
were made in Britain. In Ireland some of the finds have
been very extensive and hoards which appear to repre
sent a maker's stock, and his entire workshop, and the
remains of the craft he carried on, have been brought to
light. The common form of brooch — that article of
useful wear — is represented among the finds of the earliest
periods. Some of these of ring-like form are wonderfully
shaped and have transverse perforations through which
a pin could be inserted. Shields, many of them finely
embossed, are scarcely articles of jewellery, but they
represented some of the best applied art in that on them
their owners or the makers of such things lavished a great
deal of skill and showed that they could, and probably
did, enrich their jewellery with ornament, much of which
has perished.

CHAPTER VIII.

EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN JEWELLERY.

THE SEARCH FOR RELICS EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT COLLEC
TIONS AND EXHIBITS — ASSYRIAN GOLD.

THE graves which in England tell of a race or races of
people little advanced in the arts, using bronze and crudely
fashioning simple articles of jewellery, are but earth
mounds. The finds therein as we have seen are but few ;
they consist only of pottery, a few beads and little
articles which show us the primitive lives these people
lived before the Celts raised them to a somewhat higher
level. But when Britain was thus only feeling its way
towards that higher destiny which would come in the
future, Egypt and Assyria were cultured nations and
possessed wonderful buildings and a wealth of decorative
metal work, as well as sculptured stones. Centuries
before the Celts came to Britain the older races of the
world were practising the fine arts, and gold beaters were
hammering the pure metal and making jewellery of great
value. Strange that within the last few months British
soldiers have passed as victorious conquerors through
those lands, and seen the scanty remains of proud Ninevah
and the places where the Assyrian kings once ruled.
There is something very attractive about all that is
associated with the Bible stories of those great nations
now no more, and doubly interesting in that discoveries
during recent years have brought to light so many rich
treasures confirming Biblical history.

80 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

THE SEARCH FOE RELICS.

Eastern lands have been explored for half-a-century or
more, and the relics found have been deposited in museums
for safety. The Museum at Cairo is rich in all these finds,
and the British Museum is particularly rich in the larger
works which were found many years ago through the
arduous labours of Mr. Layard, who brought to light the
remains of ancient Ninevah (now Mosul).

The search in the tombs of Egypt has resulted in vast
numbers of mummies being discovered, and many that
have been unwrapped have disclosed jewels, and gold,
which precious metal was also freely used in temple
decoration. Gold beaten into thin plates was a favourite
form of Egyptian ornament. The ductability of the
metal is one of its peculiarities, and the Egyptians were
not slow to recognise this useful quality. Homer mentions
the remarkable thin plates of beaten gold used in mummy
decoration. The overlaying of gold was an art much
practised by the ancients, for Pliny also remarks on the
skill of the gold beaters who were able to produce from
one ounce of pure gold seven hundred and fifty leaves,
three inches square. Curiously enough this art was
known to other ancient races, for it is evident that the
Incas of Peru coated their temple walls with thin plates
of beaten gold.

The search for jewels rare and unique has gone on in
Egypt in every place where the ancients were likely to
have stored it. In the royal tombs the searchers have
been rewarded. In the Cairo Museum are the rare ieweJs
which came from the tomb of the Queen of Zer. There
too, can be seen the golden ornaments found at Thebes
in the tomb of Queen Aah-hetep, the mother of Aahmes
the first King of the 18th Dynasty. These jewels are

EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN JEWELLERY. 81
of rare forms and include a breastplate of gold enriched
with inlaid enamels. The Egyptians were clever
enamellers as well as goldbeaters and craftsmen, and
many of our choicest ancient enamels were found in the
tombs of Egypt.

EGYPTIAN ORNAMENT.

There are some familiar ornaments in Egyptian design
which cannot be misunderstood and are easily recognised
wherever they are met with. The enamels have a strange
beauty, differing from any other enamels, although there
is some similarity between the enamels of Egypt and the
older cloisonne enamels of China. To many the beauty
of the later " New Empire " is seen to perfection in the
gold and jewellery found in the tombs of that period.
Some rare pieces well representing the best features of
the later time of old Egyptian art came from the tomb
of the Queen already mentioned ; among those relics
was the breastplate of gold ornamented with jewels.

The lotus flower is introduced very freely, but it is the
scarab that seems to be of such great importance. The
scarabseus of the Egyptians is of the family of Lamelli-
cornia, technically described as a variety having the apex
of the antennae provided with lamelliform plates. The
scarab of ornament was carved or cut to imitate this
beetle on the upper part, the underside being flat and
engraved with hieroglyphic symbols or characters. The
materials of which these ornaments or gems were made
varied, soft stone that yielded easily to the cutter's tool
was often used, the hard gems were evidently cut by a
sharp tool of simple design. In this the Egyptians differed
from the Assyrians, who had drills. The green variety of
jasper was much favoured for scarabs, although others
were made of porcelain and some of glass. Such scarabs

82 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

were mounted as rings and worked into gold settings
in varied forms. The scarab has, of course, been repeated
by succeeding generations, so that the form of the orna
ment is no guide to age.

The Egyptian language consisted of signs and symbols,
and many of these besides the lotus flower were intro
duced in ornament ; the same forms of ornament being
seen in architecture, sculpture, paintings and metal work.
The scarab which represented so much, and was itself
symbolical, was in its initial uses but a seal on which the
real symbols were engraved.

Many of the scarabs were worn as amulets by the living ;
they were also deposited with the dead. It may be
remarked that these sacrabeii were good representations
in detail of the actual beetle. What are termed scara-
bseoids are an inferior form of ornament, although con
venient as seals and for engraving upon ; they were not
very good copies , although the genera] form was the same,
and sufficiently distinct to admit of no doubt as to the
object they symbolised.

The double and single frets, forming the basis of the
Greek " key pattern " were used in Egyptian decoration
as in Persian, and this type of ornament is met with in
the jewels and decorations of the tombs, and upon the
jewels of the mummies.

The scarabeii warding off the Evil Eye were deemed
a protection alike for living and dead — those on the
mummies being much inferior in quality to the real gems
and scarab rings worn by the living.

The eye of Horus was a favourite emblem, and the lion
was also an emblem of the same deity. The frog, the
cat, and the hand of Nut are little objects commonly met
with as emblems. The hawk, an emblem of the soul,
was also a symbol often represented. (See Chapter
xxxni., " Amulets and Charms.")

EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN JEWELLERY. 83

COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITS.

The best way to realise what Egyptian curios are like
is to visit museums where there are representative collec
tions, and there compare the different objects which have
been recovered from the tombs, the shifting sands and
found amidst the partially uncovered ruins of once
populous cities.

Visitors to Egypt have brought away with them many
interesting curios and little pieces of jewellery and charms
which have been offered to them. No doubt the Arabs
have found many genuine pieces ; they have on the other
hand secured for sale countless objects which are merely
replicas of original jewels. As it has been stated whilst
many exquisite gems were cut and engraved and mounted
in gold in Old Egypt the jewellery of the mummies often
appears to be cheap copies of more costly gems. It is the
tombs and mummies which have been robbed to such an
extent ; therefore many of the jewels in the museums
as well as those sold as curios in the bazaars are of the
cheaper class. Again, there are very many forgeries —
modern reproductions — many very cleverly imitating
genuine pieces. These things " just discovered in one of
the royal tombs," as the vendor will unblushingly affirm,
are palmed off upon visitors ; and some eventually find
their way into good collections, hence the necessity of
caution and accepting even some museum exhibits and
the labels upon them with " a grain of salt." These
objects cover such a vast period of time that there is a
marked difference between the jewels of the earlier dynas
ties and those of the later Empire.

The best collections are in Cairo and in the British
Museum. The Cairo Museum contains a marvellous
assortment of early bead necklaces. Some are glazed

84 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

with blue enamel and are shaped after the usual emblems
of the gods. Various pastes and enamels were used in their
manufacture, and in the scarab ornaments several kinds
of steatite were selected. The best engraved scarabs are
inscribed with the names of priests and the gods. (See
Chapter xxn., "Rings.")

Cairo Museum of Antiquities contains some rare,
almost unique, specimens of the jewellery of the earlier
dynasties. The pectoral, hung by a chain round the
neck, lying upon the breast, was often a piece of jewellery
of great beauty ; embedded in the centre may generally
be seen a beautifully cut scarab. Mention has already
been made of the rare gold pectoral or breastplate of Queen
Aah-hetep in the Cairo Museum. There is also a wonder
ful group of rings, earrings and other jewels of priceless
value in the collection fitly assembled in that important
Egyptian museum. Very attractive too are the enamelled
objects, rendered so varied and rich by the free use of
emerald, jasper, lapis lazuli and gold.

The French Museum of the Louvre contains some choice
Egyptian jewels. The British Museum, however, so easily
accessible, has all that the student or connoisseur needs
for the purposes of reference. There are abundant objects
of wear, and a fine collection of trinkets, not the least
interesting being toilet articles including combs, hair-pins,
tweezers, and little boxes for unguents and lip and eye
salves.

Some of the cases in the British Museum are full of
gold curios, many of special rarity. In one there is a gold
heart bequeathed by Dr. J. Anthony, and a necklace of
gold beads, described in the Museum catalogue as with
u pendants indicating millions of years/' Some of the
bracelets of the Ptolemaic period are exceedingly massive ;
the " heart scarabs" are in some instances furnished
with heavy gold collars by which they were attached to

EGYPTIAN AND ASSYEIAN JEWELLERY. 85

the necks of the dead. Gold bangles of great beauty are
to be seen ; one very interesting bangle consists of charms
and animals alternately.

Many of the smaller objects of jewellery are obviously
amulets (see Chapter xxxm., " Amulets and Charms "),
others, however, have been used as brooches or fibulse,
and some little curios are heads of pins in gold and enamel.
The British Museum possesses a great collection of
Egyptian rings, some of gold wire, others like snake rings,
and many with bezels covered with inscriptions, the
scarabeii of course varying in materials, colours and
inscriptions.

Finds of Egyptian jewels usually include many plaques
and enamels which have been used for inlaying ; doubt
less many of the jewels now discovered are but fragments
or broken parts of more important objects from which
settings and ornament have disappeared.

ASSYRIAN GOLD.

It has been shown that gold was very generally used
by the ancients for decorative purposes and worn by the
wealthy. Some of the rare gold ornaments from Assyria
now in the British Museum indicate the perfection of
the art then achieved, for the designs so truly characteristic
of Assyrian art are chased and carved with great mastery
over the graver's tool. There is, too, in the Museum
corroborative evidence that the Assyrians wore such
jewellery, for the great sculptures which are there show
in their marvellous chiselling the details of jewellery as
well as clothing. When those ancient sculptures were
brought over to this country as the result of the researches
and discoveries of Mr. Layard, nearly three-quarters of a
century ago, they revealed much that had been lost, and

86 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

confirmed the records of the Assyrians given to the world
for all time in the Bible.

Naturally much interest attaches to the jewellery worn
by the then most cultured people in the world, whose art
was so long buried, and only brought to light in compara
tively recent times. By the discovery of the " stones "
in situ much of the doubt which had existed as to the
nature and character of the ornament of that day in
personal adornment, clothing and art, was set at rest,
for the sculptures so varied give accurate detail not only
of the objects but of the way in which they were worn,
Mr. Smirke reviewing these relics in the " fifties " affirmed
that from his close investigation the love of ornament
which had distinguished all Eastern nations up to the
time he wrote had evidently prevailed among the ancient
peoples of Assyria. In these sculptures, as Mr. Smirke
points out, very few female figures occur but that all the
figures of priests or warriors have large earrings, and many
of them are represented wearing bracelets and armlets.

It is very curious that in the Assyrian sculptures there
are no rings on the fingers ; yet rings are mentioned in
many old records and in Biblical accounts of Eastern
jewellery, so that it is more than probable that most of
the rings mentioned refer to armlets and bangles rather
than finger rings, the wearing of which appears to have
been an exception and by no means a regular practice.
Much of the ornament on the jewellery of this ancient
people is after the manner of Egyptian design, but the
Assyrian artists evidently treated the conventional orna
ments with greater freedom. The fir-cone, the lotus,
and the rosette are there in many varied forms and un
doubtedly were the chief ideals of the artists who used
them in every possible way and varied the treatment
and the mixture. One very interesting bas relief in the
British Museum indicates a fortified town. The King is

EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN JEWELLERY. 87
a prominent figure and his raiment is very handsome
and his armour decorative. He wears long pendant ear
drops, and bracelets on his wrists, the ornament most in
evidence being the rosette. Some of the King's body
guard are also represented wearing earrings with triple-
lobed terminals.

The coins of the ancients are useful for the purposes
of research, and the jewellery the monarchs wore is often
in evidence. The Persian jewellery is also noticeable on
many of the coins, so numerous in fine preservation. It
is interesting to note that the Persian kings wore a head
dress or head covering from which was suspended numerous
gold coins ; it differed somewhat from the tiara which
was in common use. The wearing of coins has always
been a favourite method of personal adornment.

CHAPTER IX.

GEEEK : ETRUSCAN : PHOENICIAN.

GREEK ART — FROM ETRUSCAN TOMBS — PHOENICIAN
JEWELLERY.

THE ornament of Ancient Greece is repeated in Etruscan
jewellery, although in this latter there is distinctive
design and some quite original methods of working. The
Phoenicians who are often regarded as traders and mer
chants more than producers, while possessing an art
somewhat different from the Greeks and Etruscans, were
influenced to a great extent by the older ornaments of
Greece and of those islands with which they were so
closely connected commercially. It is, therefore, con
venient for the collector to consider these three classes of
ancient jewellery together. There are points of difference
which can be understood when specimens of the jewellery
from the tombs of the Etruscans — unrifled for centuries
— are examined side by side with the jewels of the Phoeni
cians. Ancient ornaments from Greece too. when pure
in style, are recognised as the basis on which some of
the designs of the Etruscan and Phoenician work were
founded.

GREEK ART.

There is something very attractive about the metal
work of Ancient Greece, that land where in older times
art in architecture and sculpture had reached such a high
degree of perfection. The painter, sculptor, and metal

FIG. 4, — GOLD GKEEK. PENDANT FROM A DIADEH.
In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

GREEK : ETRUSCAN : PHOENICIAN. 89

worker of every succeeding generation, and in all lands,
have drawn their inspirations from the models left them
by masters of Grecian art. To realise the beauty of the
gems, cut and engraved with such consummate skill,
and to appreciate their appropriate setting when jewels
with their mounts complete are examined, a little study
of Grecian art in other branches of craftsmanship is
desirable.

The human form in its perfection, the result of a high
degree of training and athletic culture was the model
ever kept in view by the artists of ancient Greece. Many
of the sculptures in the British Museum are typical of
the human form in the fulness of the enjoyment of health
and manly grace such as would be admired in Greece.
The classic figures of women, draped and nude, as repre
sented by the painters and artists of Greece are still used
by the best modern exponents of the higher ideals of
life. Greek bronzes are delicately shaped and finely
chiselled ; and the pottery too, painted with full know
ledge of these attributes, was copied by gem cutters,
some of whom of course designed special figures and
groups for their wonderful microscopic work.

Greece cannot be treated from an artistic point of view
as persisting in a fixed style as representing the national
ideal, although Greek ornament and design show a well
grounded model which gradually evolved as time went
on. The arts of Greece changed somewhat as the influence
of other countries was felt ; for even in Greece, as in other
nations, contact with other peoples brought about changes
in art as in all manner of work and production.

The artist of the Archaic period of Ancient Greece had
even in those early days attained such a high degree of
skill in gem-cutting and jewellery making, that although
changes were made in later periods, and the influence
of contact with other nations became apparent, the

00 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

handiwork of the older era largely dominated style and
design. The artists in metal were not behind the gem
cutters in their proficiency, for discoveries of jewellery
dating from very early periods show that they were very
far advanced in the art of hammering gold, fashioning
it into artistic shapes, and making appropriate settings
for precious stones — both in a rough uncut state and
highly polished. They were, of course, most frequently
engaged in making rings and other pieces of jewellery
in which to set intaglios and cut or inscribed gems.

When the relics of Ancient Greece are mentioned it is
understood that those finds in the islands of the Grascian
archipelago which were in early times peopled by refined
Greeks are included. In Greece itself, in the neighbour
hood of Athens, many rare jewels have been found among
the debris of ruined palaces, often at a great depth below
the present surface. Rare Archaic gems have been found
in Mycenee where numerous intaglios in onyx, agate
and other stones have been discovered.

The gold gems and the ornaments include crosses —
made centuries before the Christian era — and many neck
lets and rings in varied forms. Then again our national
collections are rich in gold plates used for sepulchral
purposes, some of them coming from Rhodes and Cyprus.
Most of the jewellery representing Ancient Grsecian art
is entirely of gold, some objects, however, are set with
precious stones. In the preceding chapter stress is laid
upon the difference in quality between the jewels in actual
use by the Egyptians and those more flimsy copies which
were intended for sepulchral purposes. The same dis
tinction is noticeable in some of the earlier finds in Greece,
in that the Greeks too, placed jewellery in the tombs of
their dead.

The discovery of Greek jewels, although mainly made
in those islands under the dominion of Greece, is not

GREEK: ETRUSCAN: PHOENICIAN. 91
entirely confined to those localities. The Phoenician
traders no doubt sold Greek jewels, and others copied
the Greek models, so that scattered all over Europe pieces
of jewellery made in correct style — now difficult to dis
tinguish from original Greek models — have been found.
The Romans and others brought them to this country,
and English nobles bought them when travelling abroad
— and perhaps in time lost them — so that it is not unusual
for finds to be made of original and genuine Greek rings
and other jewellery in most unexpected places. One
such find is mentioned in the Victoria History of War
wickshire, where it is recorded that a Greek ring of
bronze was found near Rugby in 1848, upon it was the
inscription, " Esynepa Eynaicxe."

The jewellery of early periods used by highly refined
and luxurious peoples is found among the Grsecian relics,
to this must be added amulets and sepulchral ornaments
from the tombs. Mr. H. Clifford Smith, in his com
prehensive work on Jewellery, mentions the gold
crowns from Mycenae, part of the treasure discovered
in 1876, and now in the National Museum at Athens.
He calls attention to the spiral decoration which is similar
to that seen on Celtic ornaments, a similarity observed
by many writers on the subject. Gold dress ornaments,
in the form of plates, such as may be seen at the British
Museum are also ornamented with the same spiral patterns.
Diadems and various head ornaments, some with enormous
droppers, have been found. Pins used to fasten the
coils of hair worn by the Greek maidens are met with
in large finds of contemporary jewellery. Necklaces were
often made of gold wire, and some are very delicately
fashioned. Embossing was a form of ornament much
practised by the early artists, and some excellent repousse
work was also carried out. Earrings are particularly
varied, and some of the large droppers represent little

92 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

figures, among which the Greek Cupid is frequently seen.

The British Museum is the great storehouse of authentic
relics of many nations, and the jewellery of Ancient
Greece is well represented there. The private collector
and home connoisseur are less likely to possess genuine
relics of Ancient Greece than of Egyptian jewels, some
of which can occasionally be secured when travelling in
the East. The majority of collectors must, however,
be content with admiring, if not coveting, those treasures
the possession of which is a national delight.

The Greek rooms in the British Museum, with their
vast stores of sculpture, statues, busts, terra-cotta,
pottery and bronzes are all delightful ; but there is some
thing especially attractive about the jewels, many of them
reminiscent of the personality of the original owners,
their occupations, costumes and habits. The gold orna
ments of the Mycenaean period include cups, a kneeling
figure of a Cretan goat, and many ornaments suggestive
of Egyptian influence, like a gold hawk from Crete.
From Cyprus have come rings, brooches, bracelets, and
numerous ornaments. There is a mirror handle, officially
described as representing on one side an armed warrior,
according to Greek legend an Arimasp, in combat with a
Gryphon ; on the other side there is a clever representa
tion of a bull attacking a lion. The Greek dress-plates
of gold are numerous, especially interesting are those
which have been ornamented by having been pressed
into stone moulds.

A somewhat unusual pin in the British Museum,fashioned
like a column with bull head ornament, is surmounted
by a large pearl. In one display-case there are terra-cotta
jewellery and emblems overlaid with gold, evidently in
tended for burial purposes. These are but a few items
from the collection so varied and extensive which must
be seen to be fully appreciated.

FIG, 5,— NECKLACE OF GRANULATED GOLD HUNG WITH A HEAD OF ACHELOUS,
In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

GREEK: ETRUSCAN: PHOENICIAN. 93

In the Victoria and Albert Museum there are many
very fine examples of Greek art, some of them modern
reproductions from antiques. Figure 4 is one of a pair
of pendants after the original Greek ornaments found
in the larger of two tumuli called the " Blitznitsi/' on
the island of Taman, in Southern Russia, and now in the
Museum of the Hermitage at Petrograd. The pendant
now at South Kensington was reproduced by Signor
Alessandro Castellani. It is a remarkable gold disc
representing Thetis riding a sea-horse and carrying the
cuirass of Achilles, surrounded by a border of foliage
in applied filigree. The lower half of the rim is ornamented
with raised flowerets and studs, and from it depend twelve
plaited chains traversing one another, with flowerets at
the points of junction, and five rows of pear-shaped pen
dants of three different designs. The length of this
remarkable piece is 6 J inches, and its diameter is 3 inches.
It was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in
the Castellani collection, which was purchased some years
ago.

Brief reference must be made to Greek silver work,
most of which is chased like the cups and vases from
Rhodes and elsewhere. There is a rare pin of silver
in the British Museum which was found in Argolis and is
dedicated to the goddess Hera ; the inscription upon it,
which is in Archaic Greek, has been interpreted to read
" I am Hera's."

The variety of rings is almost bewildering, and to under
stand them fully Greek history and mythology should be
studied, for most of the figures and groups, cut with such
marvellous skill, have some reference to the national
faiths or legendary myths. The subjects engraved upon
the gems are often indicative of the period when these
gems and intaglios were cut, for in the earlier types
Egyptian and Assyrian subjects appear, then these

94 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

gradually give place to deities, followed by subjects drawn
trom heroic legends, in which athletes are represented ; and
then, later, Roman influence is noticed, for Zeus Athene,
Apollo, and other deities give place to Greek characters ;
Roman attributes and even triumphs were chosen by
Greek artists settled in the Imperial city. Many Greek
artists settled in Rome and executed gems for the
Emperors ; thus the heads of Julius Csesar and Augustus
are seen upon gems evidently cut by Greek gem-cutters,
for some of the ornament is of typical Greek character.
The setting of these gems is generally subordinate to the
gem, the ring of gold, however, is always interesting in
its style, and a collection like that at the British Museum
can be studied with much interest, for among so many
there is great variety of form and size.

Further reference is made to Greek gems, and rings
in which intaglios are set, in Chapter xzn., " Rings."

FROM ETRUSCAN TOMBS.

The tombs of the Etruscan dead, buried hundreds of
years before the Christian era, have yielded most of
the remarkable artistic relics of that almost unknown
people — for their history is forgotten.

Of the ancient arts of the Etruscans it may be said
that they worked iron from the island of Elba and were
clever workers in gold and silver, their vases being of
special interest. Their artists were skilled gem-cutters
too, and in many directions they rivalled the artisbs of
Ancient Greece. Their gold objects are rare relics of an
old race ; the name of the Etruscans has, however, been
perpetuated in modern Tuscany and in this country,
in the Staffordshire Potteries, at Etruria near Burslem,
where the great Josiah Wedgwood built his works and

GREEK : ETRUSCAN : PHCENICIAN. 95
named them after the people whose art pottery he loved
to imitate and strove to excel.

Writers differ in their views about the origin of the
race who inhabited Efcruria, although nearly all are
agreed upon their close connection with the Greeks, and
their commercial intercourse with the Phoenicians, espec
ially during the later part of their day as a separate race.
Like the Egyptians and other early peoples the Etruscans
believed in a Spirit world, and in urns and tombs provided
their dead with those vessels of pottery and gold, and
ornaments and jewels, with which they had been familiar
when alive. The people of Etruria had settled in Italy
fully a thousand years before the Empire of Rome was
established, and in the earlier period of their occupation
Etruria stretched from the Macra to the Tiber. These
people had many well built houses and towns, the location
of which is now in most instances lost ; those best remem
bered are Mantua and what is now Bologna, both of
which were well known to Pliny as Etruscan towns. It
is said that in the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius
the Etruscans were remembered and their doings were
well known to the Emperor who wrote an account of
their history. The downfall of the race had been accom
plished by Sulla many years before.

The remains discovered on the sites of the cities of the
Etruscans show that they were a people possessing ample
means and great ability. Much of the engineering skill
of the Romans came from those Etruscans whose arts
they admired. Even the religions of the older race were
in part handed on, and some of the mysteries and beliefs
that influenced the conquerors of nearly all the then
known world had at an earlier date been held by the
Etruscans.

Some of the works of art and bronzes of the Etruscans
served as models for later generations, and no doubt

96 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Etruscan jewellery was admired by Romans and Greeks
alike. Fortunately' for twentieth century collectors
bronzes, gold, and jewels have been found on the sites
of long forgotten towns and taken from tombs, and
Museums and art collections have been enriched. Etruria
is no longer apart from Italy, although Napoleon i. sought
to revive its memory as a kingdom in 1801, and again in
the establishment of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1809.
Austria secured it in 1850, but it was added to Sardinia
in 1860. It matters little to the collector whether the
ancient Etruscans were allied to the Rhsetian people
inhabiting the Alps in days long ago, or whether they
came from the same stock as the Ancient Greeks, they
are now a dead nation and their country is merged in
modern Italy. Their gold and silver still found occa
sionally remind us of their existence, and of the arts they
practised thousands of years ago.

The necklace illustrated in Figure 5 is a very fine
reproduction of a bronze original in the British Museum.
It was made by the late Signor Carlo Giuliano and acquired
by the Victoria and Albert Museum where it may now be
seen. It is of fine granulated gold with a pendant head
of Achelous after the Etruscan manner. The necklace
consists of twenty-four beads enriched with large and
small granulations, with rings between strung on a plaited
chain ; the tapering finials are joined by a double hook.
The head of Achelous has two horns, the hair, beard and
moustache being represented by granulations and applied
threads ; the necklace presenting a very beautiful and
chaste appearance.

PHCENICIAN JEWELLERY.

The Phoenicians, ever a connecting link between the
peoples of the old world possessing traditions reaching

GREEK: ETRUSCAN: PHOENICIAN. 97
back into the past, and arts which had been practised
for long periods of time, and the Isles of the West where
gold and silver and tin were mined, had an art of their
own. It may have been, and probably was, greatly
influenced by the traders' connection with many peoples,
but there were some characteristics which showed that
the Phoenicians had an individuality, stamping upon
their productions their mark, as well as upon their com
merce. The jewellery they made in Phoenicia was of gold
and silver, and stones like onyx and carnelian were fre
quently used. There are many fine examples in the
British Museum, and among them are necklaces almost
entirely of glass, a material in the making of which the
Phoenicians had attained great proficiency.

Necklaces seem to have been worn by the women in
profusion, and there are numerous massive earrings and
finger rings. Gold granulation was practised by their
workmen at an early date, and they excelled in this art.
The forms of their jewels as well as their decoration, were,
as it has been stated, influenced by the Egyptians, Greeks,
Celts and many different peoples with whom they traded.
Prom all these they bought, and sold them goods, and as
with modern makers they made, probably, special designs
for the markets for which they were preparing their wares,
These astute traders were the pioneers of commerce in
varied markets and were not slow to supply them with
acceptable jewellery as other goods. Specimens of their
handicraft have been discovered all along the shores of
the Mediterranean.

In the British Museum there are several objects from
Cyprus, and some from the Phoenician town of Tharros,
in Sardinia, described in the catalogue as " free imitations
of Egyptian work/' One of these trinkets is a silver
girdle from Cyprus : there is also some jewellery from
Amathus, in Cyprus, part of Miss Turner's bequest.

98 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Many of the Etruscan objects are beautifully granulated
with tiny globules of gold ; others, however, are covered
with fine gold thread producing wonderfully wrought
filigree decoration. The ornament in which Greek and
Etruscan styles are intermixed with the Egyptian or
Assyrian and other influences makes it difficult to locate
the specimens so decorated, in many instances however,
the place and circumstances where, and in which, they
have been found help to decide their nationality. In this
connection it may be pointed out that the collector has
often to exercise the same caution when buying in order
to assure himself of the authenticity and genuineness
of curios — especially of antiques said to have been found
in Cyprus and in other places bordering upon the shores
of the Mediterranean.

CHAPTER X.

CELTIC GOLD.

A VISION OF GOLD — IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS — EXAM
PLES FROM ENGLISH COUNTIES — IRISH CELTIC JEWELLERY
— SCOTCH EXAMPLES.

THE British Isles have on many occasions been
subject to invasions, and in the days before the supremacy
of the British fleet was established marauders came, and
in some cases settled on the coast on which they landed,
and were received by friendly natives. At other times
more formidable incursions were undertaken, and even
armies came and conquered. The very cosmopolitan
origin of the race which now inhabits this country is due
to the settlement of enemies and friendly fugitives, for
England has ever been an asylum for refugees, many of
whom have brought with them skilled knowledge of the
fine arts.

It does not appear that the existing race has at any time
been driven out altogether ; the peoples who came over
from Europe in days gone by became associated with
those they overcame, and they intermarried with them.
Thus Englishmen can claim kinship with the Ancient
Britons of the Bronze Age, Celts who swarmed over
many parts of Europe and partly colonised Britain,
also with the Danes and Saxons, and the Eomans who
lived here for close upon four hundred years. The Celts
who were strongly entrenched when the Romans came,
are supposed to have migrated from Central Asia ; they

100 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,

were of Aryan race, gradually occupying a large portion
of Europe. Some of them overcame the Etruscans of
Italy and settled there, others spread into Gaul, and in
course of time the Celts came to Britain.

The arts of the Celts show that they possessed great
skill as metal workers. They understood the use of
Cornish tin and mixed it with copper for their inferior
W0rk — but most of their metal work showed great refine
ment of taste. This race of Eastern conquerors wore
armour, and they had excellent swords. Naturally their
armourers used their knowledge of the fine arts in decorat
ing their arms. Many richly decorated sword hilts have
been discovered. Mr. J. Romilly Allen in his excellent
work entitled Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times,
speaking of the sword hilt of the Celts says " they were
encrusted with ivory and amber, and ornamented with
gold leaf."

The clothing of the Celts was well shaped, and over their
tunics they wore plaids like the Scotchmen of the High
lands, and to fasten these they made clasps or brooches of
gold ; they also wore armlets of gold and of bronze, many
of which have been found on the Continent of Europe,
as well as in Ireland and in a lesser degree in this country.
Mr. Allen in his book illustrates some which were found
in the ancient cemeteries of the Marne, relics of the La
Tene period. From the same locality too come fibulae of
the safety-pin type which, as Mr. Allen points out, have
" the tail-end bent backwards," as in the later specimens
of Celtic art found in England.

A VISION OF GOLD.

The visitor to the " Gem " room at the British Museum
is tilled with surprise at the vast wealth of gems and
objects in pure gold crowded into a few cases* There

CELTIC GOLD. 101

appears to be enough treasures there to fill a vast hall,
and in the exhibits to which special interest is attached
there is enough material for many romantic dreams.
Where did they come from ? To whom did they belong ?
and Where have they lain hidden for so long ? are all
questions which arise to the mind ; but they cannot all
be answered» Yet many of these beautiful objects are
personal relics of men and women, some of whose names
are known and whose surroundings can be imagined.

This vast assemblage of gold and precious jewels
represents many periods and covers a wide area, telling
too, of altered tastes and customs, and of the changes
which have come and gone in art. It points too, to a
sequence in the evolution of art as it can be traced through
the different countries through which it has filtered, as
tribes moved on and races immigrated. These jewels
which date from the earliest times include some of the
rarest gems, some of them unique. Foremost among
the objects on view is the celebrated Portland vase,
which although not of gold is a gem unique and widely
known. It represents a lost art. Found in a marble
sarcophagus in the Monte del Grano, in Italy, the treasure
was formerly in the Barberini Palace in Rome. It is a
wonderful example of cameo cutting as practised by the
Ancient Greeks. The base is of blue glass and the surface
into which the Greek figures are cut is of opaque white
glass. It is indeed suggestive of a state of culture of
the ancients little imagined by those who do not study
the remains of peoples whose very history has been lost.

In the collection of gold there are pieces from Ancient
Greece and Rome and from the tombs of the Ancient
Britons, and from those of the Celts whose gold jewellery
and ornaments are wonderful indeed. The chief attrac
tion to the home connoisseur in the " Gem " room are
those pieces of jewellery worn as personal adornment by

102 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

the peoples of the different countries whose art is repre
sented. There are gold pendants, brooches, earrings,
rings, and hair-pins. There are many things from Crete,
and ornaments in the Egyptian style. The Greek gold is
of the best workmanship, much of it being made during
the period 420-280 B.C. The rare figures made by pressing
the gold into stone moulds, and the filigree work of the
ancients have already been referred to. Here too, was
once deposited the numerous pieces of Celtic gold, which,
after some litigation in the Law Courts as it had been
discovered in Ireland, was found to be treasure trove,
and was handed over to the safe keeping of the Royal
Irish Academy, and is now on view in the National Museum
in Dublin. (See page 108.)

IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS.

The characteristics of Celtic jewellery as represented
by the finds in Great Britain are very marked, although
their production was spread over a considerable time.
The gold ornaments which are dubbed " Celtic " are not
all of one period as counted by historical dates, because
even the Iron Age lasted longer in some places than
others, and in Ireland Celtic art was followed closely
until late Mediaeval times.

The principal clue to the true interpretation of Celtic
characters and ornament is found in the monuments of
stone, many of which stand where they were upreared
and patiently and laboriously carved long, long ago. The
earliest form of ornament is probably the spirals used by
metal workers and sculptors in the Bronze Age. They
were approved of and continued in the Iron Age, and
incorporated in most of the designs of the Celts throughout
their long domination of British art.

These spirals, the ornament of the older pieces of gold

CELTIC GOLD. 103

jewellery, as well as the dots (rows of which may be seen
upon Early British and Saxon coins of undoubted authen
ticity) are prominent in many designs. Diagonal lines
too, were freely used by the Celts, and they were also a
form of ornament derived from earlier workers.

It is clear that the art of the goldsmith has been prac
tised by both barbaric and cultured races, but the refine
ment of the craftsmanship of the latter stamps their
works with something which all must admire. Surround
ing influences have ever been at work, and it is not always
easy to connect the characteristic ornaments of the Celts
with their varied locations, even in the British Isles.
The early records of jewellery given in the Bible and
mentioned on Egyptian tablets give a clue to the arts of
the Celts who were in touch with Eastern countries
through the Phoenicians who visited Cornwall and the
Scilly Isles, and they also inherited designs which they
had learned in the East before they migrated to Europe.
Celtic gold has a beauty all its own, comprising all the
elements of so-called barbaric jewellery and a well defined
method of ornament. The treatment of the work varies,
indicating that while many attempted to fashion beaten
gold into handsome ornaments there were some who far
excelled their compeers in craftsmanship and the delicate
handling of the crude and simple tools they used. Some
of the pieces are very pure in style, the Hunterston
brooch has been considered by some to be one of the finest
examples of Celtic art in its pure style. (For description
see page 351.)

Undoubtedly the rare gold ornaments found in Ireland
and in a few other places testify to the advanced civilisa
tion of the Celts, especially during the Later Celtic period,
when Christian influences were felt. The influence of
religion on art is nowhere better seen than in the gradual
although slow development of design from the Pagan

104 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

to the Christian. It is seen too, in the art of the periods
during which the Celts lapsed back from Christianity
to Paganism ; the change back to Christianity being
doubly apparent in the earlier days of Mediaeval splen
dour, when the influence of cultivated arts as practised
by the monks and ecclesiastics made itself felt in metal-
work of every kind. It was when the Church became
the patron of art that the richness of enamelling and
metal work became almost excessive.

It is very interesting to trace the origin of national
design through those peoples and other nations with
whom contact has been great. In many instances Eng
land is peculiarly an example of a country where this
outside influence has been felt, for many outsiders have
been grafted on the national tree.

Scandinavian influence upon Celtic art is very pro
nounced in the objects and remains of monuments found
in the northern counties of England, in Scotland and
especially in the Orkneys. Chains and rings in design
are often observed in the relics found in those parts ; the
animals carved in stone and engraved in gold are " scaled/'
and these and other subjects of more elaborate ornament
are evidently drawn from Scandinavian mythology.

The differences in design in what grew into stereotyped
patterns of national use are ably explained in Celtic Art
of the Pagan and Christian Times, in which the author
says, " animal forms are used in Celtic art of the Christian
period in three different ways, namely pictorially, sym
bolically and decoratively." These zoomorphic designs
are sometimes incorporated with spirals and key patterns.
Anthromorphic designs occur occasionally, human head^
being introduced in ornament.

The types of jewellery at this early date were few.
Brooches predominated, indeed apart from the larger
and more important "gold pieces found in Ireland the

FIGS. 6 AND 7. — CELTIC GOLD ORNAMENTS, IK THE COLLECTION OF THE KOYAL
IRISH ACADEMY.

In the National Dublin Museum,

CELTIC GOLD. 105

personal relics of the men and women other than high
personages and chieftains — for we must consider the
owners of these rare jewels as such — are few in number
and variety.

The Celtic brooch was chiefly pennanular, that is a
pin with a large head which closed down and thus formed
an ornamental clasp, the pin which was worn pointing
upwards being kept in position by a spring-like joint. It
has been observed by several experts that the principal
characteristics of the pennanular brooch made by different
peoples widely scattered was the same, pointing to a
common origin, in the East, probably. The general use
of the same type of brooch, the same method of fastening
it, and probably its use on identical lines, did not prevent
change in decoration and ornament, such changes being
apparent in a collection of these brooches coming from
finds in several distinct localities. No doubt these early
jewellers followed the common ornament of their day and
race, just as the Celts in Britain used spirals at a time
when spirals were the national ornament on stones and
other decorated work — wood carving, if any, has perished.

EXAMPLES FROM ENGLISH COUNTIES.

It may be useful to refer briefly to a few of the well
known examples of Celtic jewellery which have been dis
covered in Britain (Scotch Celtic jewellery is treated
separately. See Chapter xxxv., " Scotch Jewellery/*)

The objects other than the rich finds of massive gold
ornament consist of personal jewellery such as were
commonly worn by the Celts and those peoples with whom
they came in contact. There are many rings of gold
(disjointed) frequently called " ring-money/' Torques
of twisted gold, shaped as neck ornaments, are highly
characteristic of Celtic jewellery. There are crescent-

106 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TEINKETS.

shaped ornaments too, which are supposed to have been
worn on the head (see Figure 8). Smaller objects
consist of brooches, bracelets, and pins In the British
Museum there is a fine gold piece not unlike those usually
found in Ireland, which was discovered at Beachy Head
some time ago. It has been pointed out that the work
manship of this piece is exceptionally fine and the ring
part delicately formed.

Many pennanular brooches have been found, and some
heart-shaped varieties. The rarity of the pennanular
armlet is referred to in the Victoria History of Essex,
in which one of these, found in a hoard which was presented
to the Essex Archaeological Society by Lord Rookwood,
on whose estate it was discovered, is illustrated. This
interesting piece is now to be seen along with other local
finds in the Colchester Museum.

In the Reading Museum there is a very interesting
silver seal of Celtic design from Silchester, strengthening
the theory that Silchester was an old Celtic town before
the Romans came and made it one of their chief cities
in Britain.

Some local museums other than the larger museums
in London possess many specimens of Celtic art, and it
is pleasing to find that some of them are very repre
sentative in character. In the Hull Museum there are
many fine examples of early fibulae and some Celtic
jewellery which forms a prelude to the more important
group of Roman remains which are the chief attraction
in that section of the Museum. It is clear that as changes
were made in the people who ruled, and fresh migrations
occurred, there was an alteration in dress and mode of
living, and new designs if not new adornments were created.

Among the older objects are those curious trumpet-like
jewels which have been found in Kent. There are many
of these in the Maidstone Museum including armillce

CELTIC GOLD. 107

fashioned from fine gold, hammered by hand, tapering
towards the ends, which were welded. Several of these
early pieces came from Canterbury. Other examples
of gold bracelets with crudely shaped trumpet-like ends
were found at Bexley as well as pennanular bracelets
discovered in a gravel pit in 1906 — they are now in the
British Museum.

Sir Richard Colt Hoare, giving an account of his dis
coveries on Salisbury Race Course, made in 1821, mentions
among other ancient objects found there several rings
of silver wire and one of gold. He also lays stress on two
cunous ornamental pieces which he took to be portions
of a bracelet ; the foundation was of bronze, on which
were many garnets effectively set in white enamel. The
treatment of enamel in early times was very simple ;
just a little colouring matter (metallic oxides) worked
into a flux of silica, fused together, then when set it was
ground to powder and inserted in the space provided,
then heated in a furnace and when cool polished.

There are many interesting examples of Celtic silver
work. The silver chain attached to the Tara brooch
(see Figure 9) is a fine piece of work,' and illustrates
chain jewellery, a method of ornament used later by
the Romans and at an earlier date by the Etruscans.

Wales was a late stronghold of the Celts in Britain, and
from remains found it is evident they made good use of
the discovery of Welsh gold. A fine breastplate or gorget
of gold was discovered many years ago in a cairn near
Mold, that also, is in the British Museum.

IRISH CELTIC JEWELLERY.

Ireland is indeed fortunate in possessing one of the
finest collections of relics of the Celts. Many have been
the finds of these remarkable objects, some of which are

108 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

peculiar to the country, but much of this priceless gold
was, in former years, sold for metal value. From the
number of pieces still extant, and the probability of some
undiscovered relics, the Celts who inhabited Ireland,
especially in Christian times, must have used a consider
able quantity of gold, and the ** jewellers *' must have
been clever craftsmen. Reference has been made to the
large find in the neighbourhood of Lough Foyle, which
was bought by the authorities of the British Museum,
eventually claimed by the Crown, and after a lengthy
lawsuit, declared to be Treasure Trove. These golden
treasures of considerable importance, as representing
the late Celtic period in Ireland, were subsequently handed
over to the custody of the Royal Irish Academy.

Visitors to the Dublin .Museum, where the Academy's
treasures are deposited, are well rewarded, for the arrange
ment of the Celtic antiquities, chiefly of the Christian
period, is excellent, and by the aid of the Guide, by
Mr. George Coffey, from whose delightful work, by
permission of the Acting-Director of the National Museum,
some of the Celtic remains there exhibited are here
described, they may be systematically examined.

The often-times mentioned Tara brooch (illustrated in
Figure 9) which was found near Drogheda has panels of
gold filigree work ; its ornament of interlaced work is
fine and richly decorative, its beauty being enhanced by
enamels and amber and glass " jewels." All the character
istics of Late Celtic ornament are there, for spirals,
animal forms and human heads are introduced into the
work ; both back and front are highly decorative, the
former having a scroll-and-trumpet-lake pattern. The
enamels on the back are in blue and red ; granulated
ornament after the manner of the ancient Greek, is seen
upon this wonderful brooch, as well as filigree of very
fine wire. The chain is an attachment of what is generally

FIG. 8 — Two FINE GOLD LUNETTES OF THE CELTIC PERIOD, FOUND IN IRELAND.
Now IN THE COLLECTION or THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY.

In the National Dublin Museum.

CELTIC GOLD. 109

known as Trichinopoly-work, and although unusual is
the counterpart of chains found attached to Celtic brooches
in other places, especially in finds of Late Celtic art.

A very interesting silver brooch found at Killamery is
inscribed " OR AE CHIRMAC " (A prayer for Kerwick).
Some of the Irish silver work has evidently been gilt,
notably a brooch found in Cavan, referred to in the
Museum catalogue as the " Queen's brooch," in that it
was presented to Queen Victoria. Other brooches of
bronze have been silvered, but the thin coating of metal
has in most cases perished.

Very many bronze pins have been found in Ireland,
most of them being ascribed to a late period — perhaps
the tenth century. The pin heads are of different forms
and usually very ornate ; some with ring-like heads
are better described as brooch -pins. The pins have been
found in crannogs, and among sand hills once inhabited
by Celtic tribes.

There was a very important find of jewellery at Ardagh
in 1868, when among others a splendid example of Celtic
art was discovered — a chalice of gold, silver and bronze,
inside of which were brooches of extreme beauty. One
of these brooches is remarkable with its bird ornament,
the birds' wings being covered with spiral work ; the
extreme length of this beautiful specimen is 13 J inches,
and its width 5| inches. Other brooches in the same
find were smaller.

Figures 6 and 7 represent several pieces of typical
Celtic gold reproduced by permission of the Royal Irish
Academy to whom they belong, and in whose collection
in the National Dublin Museum they may be examined.
One of them is a valuable and very perfect gold torque
beautifully twisted showing much care and no little
skill in its manufacture. The two gold lunettes illustrated
in Figure 8 are also in the same collection.

110 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Many early Christian relics, other than personal jewellery
have been found in Ireland and are now in the Dublin
Museum. There are fragments of enamels and plaques
on which are figures representing the Crucifixion. Many
croziers, crosses and golden ornaments and decorative
objects have been gathered together in the interesting
collection belonging to the Royal Irish Academy, not
the least interesting being the wonderful shrines, among
which is that of St. Patrick's bell. The shrine dates
from the eleventh century, and is composed of bronze
plates, the handle being of silver, the whole enriched by
enamels ; in the centre is a large crystal, and around it
in compartments are many red stones — the bell is said
to have belonged to St. Patrick and to have been buried
with him in his grave, from which it was removed by
St. ColomiciJie. (See Figure 1 — Frontispiece.)

CHAPTER XL

EOMAN ART.

ENGLAND UNDER ROMAN INFLUENCE — HUNTING GROUNDS

FOR ROMAN REMAINS — LONDON GUILDHALL COLLECTIONS

NOTED PROVINCIAL RELICS — OTHER ROMAN JEWELLERY.

IN considering the Roman period of occupation of
Britain we are apt to look upon it as entirely one during
which the conquerors dominated the servile Britons
and governed them as a people of a conquered Province
— the conquerors dwelling apart and having villas, cities
and encampments altogether distinct from the British
who lived in some degree of slavery. And if that condition
improved as time went on it was quite separate from
the higher civilisation of the Romans who governed their
Province with a rod of iron, although unbending at times
they might condescend to improve and instruct their
serfs in the arts in which they were proficient. That is
altogether an erroneous view, for Britain became a
Province of Rome — a part of that great Empire, and her
people gradually intermixed and were assimilated to
those educated Roman citizens who came and made their
homes in this country.

ENGLAND UNDER ROMAN INFLUENCE.

It must be remembered that the Roman occupation
of Britain lasted four hundred years, during which there
was ample time for the differences between the Britons

112 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
and the Romans to disappear, so that towards the end
of the rule in Britain the towns were inhabited by one
people speaking the Latin tongue ; although in some
country districts where the peasant classes remained
mostly Celbic the Latin tongue would be little known,
and possibly the natives would remain ignorant of the
arts in which the bulk of the people of this country had
become proficient.

It must be remembered that art in Britain had become
very pronounced, and that the Celtic peoples had an art
in which there were many characteristics, and as it has
been shown in another chapter the Celtic influence died
out very slowly, indeed in some parts of the country,
especially in Ireland, it survived the Roman.

Under the Roman rule the style or design and general
characteristics of ornament and art never attained the
heights they had reached in Rome. In Britain the art
as exemplified by typical examples was, from a Roman
standpoint, provincial. There is nothing remarkable in
this, for it is noticeable in every country , and in none
more so than in England, where in London and a few of
the larger cities there is something almost undefinable
which separates the taste and style of the people and the
arts, their practice and patronage from the provincial.

The very widely scattered and almost general dis
coveries of Roman remains in Britain show that the
Province was peopled, and towns were established in
every direction, many of them built upon the model of
Roman cities and villas. In these places there have
been evidences of art of advanced degrees, and some of
the jewellery of so-called Roman type was undoubtedly
the art of England — a Province of the great Empire of
Rome — the country having become settled under a new
government, with a fixed degree of commerce and art
during the third and fourth centuries of the Christian era.

ROMAN ART. 113

HUNTING GROOTDS FOE ROMAN REMAINS.

The collector is a hunter, all the instincts of the dis
coverer of big things are to be found in his nature. Even
the " home connoisseur " searches his old family records
and examines boxes of oddments put away, perchance
he may find some trinket which has been overlooked, or
something which in the light of more knowledge and
greater interest in such things may prove of value. The
collector who can search shops where oddments are to be
sold will often be rewarded with finds which, if not very
rare or particularly valuable, are of great interest.

The old Bronze brooches of the Romans found in so many
towns and during excavations are not uncommon ; indeed
the hunting grounds for Roman remains are much more
accessible than the graves of the Ancient Britons and
the cemeteries of the Anglo-Saxons. It is a well known
fact that Celtic jewellery was made in many instances
during the domination of Roman art in the cities, and
even centuries after the Romans had left ; there is, how
ever, something quite distinct about the Roman jewels
of gold and bronze, and as they are often found in associa
tion with other relics distinctly Roman they cannot
very well be mistaken for the Celtic types. These relics
are found not so much in burying places as in places
where the Romans lived. They are discovered on the
sites of camps and towns, and even in the cliffs of our
shores, for some of the best finds have been found in
cliffs which are being gradually washed away, spots
which were in Roman times inland, for the seas have
changed some of our coast lines during the fifteen hundred
years or so which have elapsed since the Romans left their
one time famous Province,

114 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TEINKETS.

LONDON GUILDHALL COLLECTIONS.

In the Guildhall Museum there are many examples of
the earlier periods when England was in its infancy and
art was almost unknown. The exhibits there are speci
mens which have been found in London, or which have
had some connection with the Metropolis, where they
have been used and perhaps brought over from foreign
countries, and after having been in the possession of the
residents in the capita] have been lost, or scrapped after
having served their day. This wonderful collection
represents so many periods that it is possible to compare
the different objects which have been used for similar
purposes at different times and under very varied condi
tions. In this delightful home of the antique there is a
fine collection of Roman antiquities, and among them
a very complete group of " jewellery/' As it has been
pointed out not only did the Romans use the most precious
metals which were then obtainable in this country but
they also made common use of bronze, that amalgam
which was so much appreciated by the Romans for many
purposes.

In the eyes of wearers and admirers of jewellery to-day
these objects of bronze, some of which are corroded and
time worn, look rather commonplace, but they served their
purpose well, and were in harmony with the trappings
and weapons and household appointments then in use.

These curios have been found on the sites of old Roman
buildings, often far below the level of the present city,
but their discovery has been so authentic that there is
a feeling of satisfaction when inspecting the objects in this
museum, in that they can be relied upon as genuine, for
not only has every care been taken when excavations
have been in progress in the city, but the best experts

THE CELEBRATED TARA BROOCH, FOUND NEAR DROGHEDA.
In the National Museum, Dublin,

ROMAN ART. 115

have in nearly every instance examined them and pro
nounced them " right," before they have been permitted
to find a place in the Civic collection.

The bronze ornaments in this Museum do not begin
with the Roman, for as we have seen in a previous chapter
bronze jewellery of much earlier date has been found in
London and is now in the Guildhall Museum.

The Roman period is perhaps the most interesting of
any era in art, for in it we find that which was favoured
by the all-conquering race who for many centuries held
sway throughout the larger part of the civilised world.
For this reason we may assume that not only did the
Romans possess many treasures from the countries they
conquered but their craftsmen benefitted by the exper
ience they gained in their intercourse with other nations,
and the technique which appeared good to them, judged
from their standard of severe ornament, would be adopted
in some measure.

The most commonly met with articles of jewellery are
the brooches or fibulae of which there are many in the
Museum ; some having been dredged from the Thames
and others found among the debris of Roman London,
the Londinium of that day, walled and protected from
foe by gates and barriers. These brooches are all of
bronze, but some show traces of gilding. The common
form is a cross-bar ; some have enamelled ornamental
plates, others have the cross-bars pierced. The " duck
bill " form is a feature in design, others are plain but
grooved, and there are some which have evidently been
inlaid with silver. A variety of the fibulae has been
designated " ring-brooches/' and of both these varieties
there are specimens on view in the Guildhall Museum.

Very interesting are the hair-pins which are to be seen
there, several very ornamental ; one, found at Southwark,
is described in the catalogue as being in the form of a

116 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

hand holding fruit, another is like a fir-cone, and one
remarkable hair-pin of bronze is ornamented with a bead
of green glass. Bronze is not the only material of which
these early hair-pins were made, for there are specimens
of jet and iron. Iron jewellery has been in vogue at
different times but the Romans seem to have been the
first to have made use of the material for ornamental
objects. Brooches such as these must have been used
by Roman maidens whose hair was very carefully dressed
by slaves. The toilet was never neglected by Roman
ladies, and special care was taken to make the most
of their natural adornment, " the glory of woman/'
It is said that the Greeks and Romans had much in
common in the mode of dress, and of dressing the hair,
which was braided and intertwined and hair-pins used
in fastening the coils in " fashionable " style. Historians
say that after the Germanic wars in which the Romans
fought with the barbarians a blond colour became the
fashion and hair dye was commonly used.

The dress of the Roman matron was enriched by such
jewellery as wreaths and armlets, and earrings were
generally worn. After intercourse with the Britons and
the Gauls the torque of twisted gold cord round the neck
was much favoured. Jewels and stones of various kinds
were worn, but the setting was not very elaborate. In
the Guildhall Museum there is a pendant of blue enamel
framed in bronze in the shape of a flower, and another
charming pendant fashioned like a basket of flowers.
The armlets in the collection include some of silver. The
rings are numerous, and are more particularly referred
to in Chapter xxn., " Rings."

NOTED PROVINCIAL RELICS.

It is well known that the coast line is ever changing,
especially so on the coast along the south-eastern counties

ROMAN ART. 117

and farther north towards the Wash. In the neighbour
hood of South Ferriby, in North Lincolnshire, there have
been many evidences of the once populous lands that
have now passed under the sea. In Roman times there
was a very important settlement, some portion of which
has been long washed by the sea, near South Ferriby,
but the cliffs show that some of its site is still on dry
ground. At times the sea washes the cliffs and forces
a landslip and otherwise removes portions so that many
important finds have been made. These include Roman
jewellery and many relics of the continued occupation
of that part of the county by the Romans. Some years
ago there were many finds, and even during the last few
years relics have been obtained. Most of them through
the energy and enterprise of the curator, Mr. Thomas
Sheppard, have been secured for the Hull Museum,
where they are carefully arranged and classified. As it
has been seen there is some overlapping in the jewels
made during fche period when the Romans dominated
this country, in that Celtic art was practised contemporary
with that more distinctly Roman. At South Ferriby it
is evident that the settlement was essentially one in which
Roman influence predominated, and from the number of
finds in several of the wells near by it is thought that the
relics include many votive offerings. Mr. Sheppard, in
his admirable introduction to the catalogue of the Museum
exhibits, says that " South Ferriby is within quite a short
distance of Winteringham, which was the point on the
south bank of the Humber at which the Roman soldiers,
on their way from Lincoln to York, along Ermine Street,
embarked for Brough, the landing place on the Yorkshire
side."

This wonderful hunting ground has been the site of
many discoveries, including brooches upon which are still
to be seen makers' names. The very representative

118 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

groups of Roman fibulae and other objects shown in Figures
14, 15, 16, 17, by the courtesy of the Curator of the Hull
Museum, show the types of fibulae discovered. Some of
the designs appear to have derived their inspirations
from Etruscan models, and are of types found on the
Continent of Europe and in places where Roman artists
had settled. Many of these brooches in the museum are
stamped with the name " AVCISSA," and Mr. Sheppard
considers that the balance of evidence is in favour of the
opinion that these brooches so named were made in Gaul,
or at least copied from a Gaulish model. Two fine ex
amples of these were found at South Ferriby.

There are many examples of enamelled brooches in the
Hull Museum, some of which have been jewelled, others
are curious and uncommon, of fish-like forms, some of
which have been found in other parts of England.

Among the finds in Lincolnshire are brooches which
are evidently of an older date — those of the pennanular
types are early Celtic and may be contemporary with the
Roman period or even earlier. Then again there are
examples of later types of the Anglo-Saxon period. The
finds at South Ferriby, and in the neighbourhood, include
many objects other than those which can be classed as
" jewels/' Among these are very interesting buckles
of bronze, tweezers, small bells, ear-picks, styli, thimbles
and pins. (For further mention of objects found in this
neighbourhood see pages 120 and 121.)

OTHER ROMAN JEWELLERY.

The finds of Roman remains in England have been so
numerous, and in so many instances a few pieces of
bronze and gold jewellery have been included that it is
difficult to select these for mention. No doubt the
greatest interest is felt in those objects found on noted

FIGS. 10 AND IOA.— ALFRED THE GREAT'S JEWEL, FOUND IN NEWTON PARK,
SOMERSET, IK 1693.

In the Asmolean Museum, Oxford.

FIG. 11. — GOLD SCENT BOTTLE.

FIGS. 12 AND 13. — GOLD JEWEL, A "MEMENTO MORI."

In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

ROMAN ART. 119

sites, and in the neighbourhood of the best known ancient
roads with which the Romans connected the chief cities
in the Province. In Warwickshire there have been some
capital finds. Not far from the Fosse Way, at Bascote,
some remarkably well preserved jewels were found, one
of these of enamel or garnet cell work is mentioned in
the Victoria History of Warwickshire as " quite distinct
from the common saucer brooch." Another is said to have
been of " common form, flat disc with a swastika in open
work." This emblematic device so often repeated in
modern jewellery has been regarded with awe by many
peoples, and according to the writer in the account referred
to " is generally regarded as a sign of the god Thor/' and
was probably worn by some adherent to the old faith.
On the site of Watling Street near Cesterover many
brooches, clasps, and buckles have been found : a very
remarkable jewel found near Rugby, possibly a brooch,
is circular and is set with a carbuncle. The carbuncle
form seems to have been very often used by the Roman
jewellers who employed glass paste almost as often as
stones, these were set in both gold and bronze.

Many Roman remains have been found in Hampshire,
including rings and fibulae. The very general discovery
of fibulse wherever there have been Roman remains point
to the common use of the brooch for many purposes, and to
its use by both sexes. (See Chapter xxw., " Brooches or
Fibula.")

Before describing the examples illustrated in this
chapter it may be well to point out that Roman art was
more severe than the Celtic in style, and although there
was some deviation from the stricter Latin types of
ornament adopted by the workmen of Rome the general
characteristics were carried out in Britain as in other
Roman Provinces. The style was not unlike Greek in
the best workmanship, but rings and brooches were heavier

120 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
and more massive, and there was not the same free use
of cut cameos and gems, although many examples are
known in which the gems were cut by Greek artists and
are quite as fine in detail as in the best period of Greek art.

The fillet or band of gold was worn by Roman matrons ;
in their hair were pins which were jewelled, and their
head dresses sparkled with many gems. Earrings of pearl
were not uncommon and were favoured and much worn.

Bracelets were made like necklets and worn loose on
the arm or wrists ; others were stiff and hinged or clasped
upon the arm.

The examples shown in Figures 14, 15, 16, 17, are all
on view in the Hull Museum. Special interest is attached
to the heavy brooches of the more elaborate type. In
Figure 14 some of these are seen : Figures 14* , 14* and
14s consist of straight pieces of bronze hammered so as
to form a massive straight hinge with pin and catch.
Figure 14* is unusual in that it has an additional lozenge-
shaped piece added. Figure 141 is made of iron and was
evidently a similar ornament, part of which has dis
appeared. Figure 144 is of iron and was once silvered
over, traces of the silver remaining, moreover there is
provision for a jewelled or metal ornament in the centre.
The other illustrations comprised in group Figure 14 are
less distinctive, but they are interesting examples of
Roman fibulae.

The fibulae shown in Figure 15 are of an early type, those
numbered Figure 15X, 152, 15s , 154, 15s, and 156 are
simple circular fibulae with pin attachments of the pen-
nanular or buckle type., Others are made oub of one
piece of bronze wrought and twisted in the centre to
form the spring and flattened and bent over at the oppo
site end to receive the point of the acus. Special atten
tion is called to 159, which is a well preserved brooch
of the safety-pin type.

ROMAN ART. 121

The very fine examples shown in Figure 16 date,
probably, from the first half of the second century, some
are of bronze, others are of iron, a few being of the dis
tinctive harp-shaped variety, having the acus or pin
working loosely on a short hinge. There are also excellent
examples of the T-shaped variety illustrated in Figures
16*, 162, 16s, 164, and 16$.

The last group of these very interesting Roman fibulae
and remains of jewellery, reproduced by the kind per
mission of Mr. T. Sheppard, F.G.S., the Curator of the
Hull Museum, and author of the descriptive publications
of the Transactions of the Hull Scientific and Field
Naturalists' Club, in which these relics of Roman remains
found at South Ferriby are referred to at some length,
are of special interest. There are several rings in the
group, Figure 171 being a thumb ring, the oval portion
forming the signet in which is set a small piece of silver.
Figure 172 is also a signet ring, oval hi form, the ornamenta
tion having once consisted of yellow, red, and blue enamel.
Figures 17* and 173a show a bronze ring in which a stone
has been set. Another bronze ring shown in Figures 17*
and 17+*, rectangular in form, has figures engraved upon
it : this interesting ring was submitted to Mr. R. A.
Smith of the British Museum who suggested that these
engraved characters represented, probably, the dove and
the olive branch, evidence of Christian influence. Figures
17s and 17sfl represents a ring of pure gold to which has
been attached an oval seal or stone setting, the bezel
still showing traces of palmette ornamentation.

There is some ' doubt as to the original purpose of
Figures 1710, 17" and 17l6 which may have been earrings.
The two large objects Figures 17*3 and 171* are bracelets,
and the portions of ornaments shown in the group have also
belonged to bracelets or similar ornaments. Mr. Sheppard
considers that Figure 1722 is older than Roman, probably

122 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

belonging to the Celtic La T£ne period. Hull is fortunate
in ha.ving such a fine collection so well classified and
accurately described.

It may be convenient here to refer briefly to Byzantine
jewellery, that is the later Roman Empire jewellery in
which Eastern art had entered after the city of Constantine
(Constantinople or Byzantium) had become the chief
centre of art. The jewellery formed to some extent
the basis on which the splendour of the Mediaeval was to
be founded. After the adoption of Christianity by Con-
statine its chief symbol " the cross " was conspicuous in
art. There are many fine examples of Byzantine art in
the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington*

There were changes in Byzantium art as time went on,
but the Oriental taste continued to exercise a strong
influence over the art of the craftsmen of the Empire of
Rome. Constantine the Great came and went. Roman
influence waned in Britain and the arts of the Anglo-
Saxons took the place of the jewellery worn by the
nation who had intermixed with the Celts and older
tribes of Britain for four centuries. The earlier Byzantine
art came to a standstill in the sixth century but its in
fluence was again to be felt in this country when in the
Middle Ages the arts of the Continent spread to the
countries farther north. Under the Emperor Basil there
was a time of prosperity in the Eastern Empire of Rome,
the new art engendered by commercial development was
fostered by the growth of Christianity, and the Gothic
influence was felt through the Middle Ages in Britain
as elsewhere.

CHAPTER XII.

ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER.

SAXON ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE ARTS THE YIELD OF THE

GRAVES — SOME REMARKABLE EXAMPLES — THE TINKLING

BELL.

WHEN the Angles and the Saxons, and the Vikings of
Scandinavia came to these shores in their ships and settled
in Britain they were more accustomed to the wassail
bowl than to the practice of the fine arts ; and their sword,
and mace (Thorns hammer) were more to the mind of the
craftsmen than the fashioning of fine gold ornaments.
It is not surprising, therefore, that some of the objects
which have been discovered are the sword hilts and
weapons which seem to have been ornamented with
especial care. Yet notwithstanding this, jewellery was
worn by high born maidens, and jewels glistened in the
crowns of the Saxon monarchs.

The Angles and the Saxons who invaded this country
and eventually were incorporated in the race of Britishers
are sometimes regarded as coming from Saxony. Baron
J. de Baye, an authority on the subject, in Industrial
Arts of the Anglo-Saxons, says " Seeing that the tribes
which formed the League of nations known as the Saxons
were settled to the south of the Cimbri, we must look
for primitive Saxony in Holstein, Anglia ; the territory
of the Anglo-Saxons situated between Flensburg and
Schleswig, marks, probably, the limit of its extension
northwards/' He further says " The united tribes which

124 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

bore the name of Saxons included not only the Saxons
of Ptolemy, but also, probably, the Frisians, the Angles
and the Jutes/'

SAXON ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE ARTS.

During the reign of the earlier Saxon monarchs there
were many disturbances, and the Celts who formed the
greater part of the population after the Romans left these
shores naturally resented the settlers who came trom
over the water, and they caused much trouble before
they were forced to retire to the fastnesses of Wales and
to the inaccessible parts of Cornwall. It must not be
supposed that they were entirely driven away, for many
Celts would assimilate themselves to the Saxon rule, and
as more peaceful times gave opportunity for the pursuance
of the arts the skill of the older inhabitants and the newer
invaders would become intermixed. It is clear, however,
that the arts practised in Britain then were strongly im
pregnated with Scandinavian ideas, drawn from the
myths of the Norsemen and the legends of their beliefs.

The Jutes came to England in the fifth century, and
many of their graves have been found in Kent, where
they settled. After that the Anglo-Saxons came. At
iirst no doubt the invaders — small tribes — were exclusive
in their location. For instance some of the Angles who
eventually became incorporated in our cosmopolitan
race, settled in Norfolk, and then another party settled
in Suffolk, thus we have the derivation of the county
distinctions— the North folk and the South folk.

Then came the Danes and invasions began again. Un
fortunately the Anglo-Saxons had neglected their navy,
but at that time Alfred the Great was on the throne, and
he caused ships to be built and established the supremacy
ol Naval England. In the Comprehensive History of

ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER. 125

England, written more than half a century ago, it is
recorded that the first flotilla was " small and contempt
ible " : but that the navy beat the enemy and the Danish
chiefs sued for peace, and in concluding it as was their
custom they " swore by their golden bracelets — with them
a solemn oath/' We are told that King Alfred insisted
that they should bind themselves to the treaty by swearing
on Christian relics, and so to satisfy him they swore by
both relics and bracelets. The Danes broke their oath,
and Alfred the Great strengthened his navy and under
him Britain laid claim to the mastery of the seas. Such
bracelets as were worn by chieftains then as insignia of
rank were very ornamental, and those that have come
down to us show that the chiefs of Scandinavia and
the Saxon Kings and earls were well acquainted with
the beauty of the arts of peace although their stern lives
made them still more familiar with the arts of war.

The few remaining relics of domestic life in the days
of the Saxons show that among the wealthy nobles (not
the serfs) there was a high degree of culture. Their
wromen were skilled in needlework and wrought many
beautiful things in silver and gold thread. Their house
hold appointments were in some instances costly, and
their trinkets included mirrors of silver and delicately
chased silver bells.

The chief defensive weapons of the Anglo-Saxons were
their shields, and these like their sword hilts, were richly
ornamented. The enamelled bosses of the shields resemble
brooches, many being jewels of great beauty. It is
recorded in history that the Saxon shield-wrights were
numerous, and especially so in the days of Ethelred.

The enamels were mostly the work of artists of the Late
Saxon period, when the era of Mediaeval art was dawning,
and the influence of ecclesiastical vestments and ornament
would be felt by metal workers and artists of all kinds.

126 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TRINKETS.

Speaking of this early enamelled work Baron de Baye,
who calls it cloisonn6, says " the first aesthetic manifesta
tions of the Gothic nations " was found in it. He con
siders that it was a new art based upon the earlier arts
of the barbarian tribes. That may be so, but it is so
essentially Eastern in many of its earlier characberistics
that it was probably strongly influenced by Eastern
tradition and intercourse.

The story of the introduction of Christianity in Britain
concerns this work only in so far as it has any bearing
upon the emblems used by jewellers and upon the methods
of burial which changed somewhat as the country accepted
the faith of the Christian missionaries and abandoned
that of Pagan worship. Augustine settled in Canterbury,
and the East Angles accepted his teaching in 604.
From Kent the " new teachings " spread. The King of
Essex married a daughter of the King of Kent — that had
an effect on the spread of Christianity ; and in time it
was passed on to the West Saxons and the East Angles,
and thus it spread, although slowly, for it was not until
681 that the men of Sussex gave up their old beliefs.

THE YIELD OF THE GRAVES.

Careful investigation, and the discoveries which have
been made on the sites of early and later Saxon cemeteries
show that the Saxons at first practised cremation but
that they abandoned it later. Their graves are
generally found in groups suggestive of well planned
cemeteries and not in isolated burials. The graves are
sometimes very far apart, for mounds were not infrequently
raised over the graves, and doubtless with much ceremonial
the work was finished, especially when the departed4 dead
was some great chieftain whose body and the relics of
his greatness had been first deposited under the mound.

ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER. 127

Some graves by their close proximity to one another,
could not have been covered with mounds. Nearly all
the cemeteries, however, are found on hills or sloping
ground, and generally in proximity to a town. In the
light of modern association with the churchyard where
close by a sacred fane the dead have been buried for
centuries (until in more recent years cemeteries have
been opened away from towns and parish churches), it
is interesting to note that when Christianity overcame
Paganism the new church was frequently built near
to the old Pagan cemetery.

It must be remembered that most of the relics of Roman
England have been found in ancient cities and towns
like London, York, Colchester, Chester and other well
known places where there has been a continuous occupa
tion. The rubbish which has collected has covered up
the debris and ruins ; the remains of the Romans are
often some twenty feet or more below the present street
levels. The relics of the Anglo-Saxons are, however,
mostly found in graves, where jewels were buried with
the dead.

Very many graves were opened a century or more ago
and it is probable that only in very rare instances will any
further large finds be made. Kent has yielded the anti
quarian many choice specimens of Saxon art. The
search for such relics has been carried out very thoroughly
by competent authorities, and every care has been exer
cised in the preservation of the finds and their safe custody
in local museums. Writers have told of the intense
interest felt by those who witnessed the opening up of
these ancient graves which had been closed for so many
centuries. Eye witnesses have testified to the discoveries
of coffins and skeletons and to the way in which the jewels
they desired were found in positions indicating how they
had been worn by their original owners, and pointing out

128 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

not only the sex but the rank of the interred, whose bones
and jewels and some pottery were found.

There is a particularly interesting account of the
discoveries given in the Victoria History of Kent, in
which county Anglo-Saxon remains have been frequently
found. Some of the mounds were intact, and others
had been ploughed over and levelled, the actual interment
was, however, in most cases deep enough to prevent any
injury from the disturbing hand of the agriculturist.
The systematic search for the remains of the Anglo-Saxon
and earlier periods has extended over fully two hundred
years — before that, probably, although some graves were
plundered, the dead were mostly respected, and their
tombs left undisturbed.

The finds in the Kentish graves have varied, in some
the skeletons were found in oaken coffins, in others there
was no trace of wood. In almost every instance there
were a few relics which time had not destroyed. Men
appear to have been provided with spears, swords and
sometimes shields, and these seem to have been their
own favourite weapons, not mere replicas (such as were
provided for the dead in the Spirit world in earlier inter
ments of the ancient Britons). Many of these weapons
were ornamented with gold, and some of the later ones
were enamelled and even jewelled. Women were buried
with their cherished jewellery. It is stated in the
Victoria History of Kent that in the vicinity of the
village of Sarre, between Canterbury and Bamsgate,
there have been prolific finds of jewels. In 1860 there
was a rich find in which was a jewelled brooch 2f inches
across, and many other remarkable examples of early
Saxon art.

Summarised, the jewels from the Kentish graves of the
Anglo-Saxon period are earrings, circular pendants,
brooches, shield bosses, beads, rings, jewelled sword hilts,

ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER. 129
buckles, some ornamental horse trappings, discs or
escutcheons, and pendant crosses. The materials em
ployed in their manufacture were bronze, gold, silver and
enamels. The designs and ornament show frequent use
of Christian symbols, although the earlier examples are
of purely Pagan types. Indeed Celtic design is fairly
common among Anglo-Saxon jewellery, and sometimes
the Swastika form is evident. The Scandinavian type
has been recognised by the heads of animals added to
other characteristic features of Northern ornament. The
great beauty of workmanship during the Earlier or
Pagan period is evident when a representative collection
— named and located — is examined. The later period
of Anglo-Saxon art was rendered conspicuous by its
enamels which became such a marked feature in the
work of the jeweller, it did not, however, overshadow the
skill of the goldsmith who continued to fashion beautiful
objects in gold and silver unadorned with enamels and
colouring.

SOME REMARKABLE EXAMPLES.

It is clear that Anglo-Saxon art was not confined to the
settlers in any one locality, examples have been found
in the graves of those people who lived on the East coast
of England, among the remains of the Saxons in Wessex,
in the Northern counties and in some of the Midland
districts. Ancient coins represent the Kings of England
wearing jewelled crowns and holding sceptres and insignia
of office and authority. It would appear too, that the
nobles and their sovereigns encouraged the production
of art objects.

Chief among the most remarkable examples of Anglo-
Saxon art is the famous jewel which belonged to Alfred
the Great, found at Newton Park, Somerset, in 1693, now

130 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

in the Ashmolean Museum. It was evidently intended
to be suspended as a badge, a relic, or worn as a pendant
ornament. On one side is an effigy supposed to be our
Saviour or by some St. Cuthbert. In its workmanship
this jewel combines the arts of the jeweller, the enameller
and the engraver. The inscription on the reverse is exceed
ing quaint and touching. It reads " AELFRED ME
HAET GEWRCAN " (Alfred had me wrought). It has
been said that if the effigy is that of St. Cuthbert the
connection between the saint and the Saxon King is
explained by the record of Malmesbury, who says that
St. Cuthbert appeared to Alfred during his stay in Athelney
— hence perhaps the jewel. (See Figure 10.)

Such jewels as that found in Athelney are rare, for
most of the Saxon jewels seem to have had a useful pur
pose such as brooches and buckles, of which there are
many of gold, silver and ivory, some of them richly
jewelled. Armlets, sword belts, hilts, and shields are
fairly plentiful.

Rings were at first regarded as indications of wealth
and position, but there are many examples of common
types indicating their more general use in the later period.
(See Chapter xxn., " Rings.")

Very interesting discoveries were made in the neighbour
hood of Saffron Walden some years ago. One of the
more remarkable specimens taken from a grave during
excavations there was a necklet composed of carnelian,
crystal, silver and glass beads to which had been attached
two bronze pendants covered with an interlaced pattern
which appears to have been derived from the Scandinavian
zoomorphic ornament. Attached to the beads was a
plain bronze disc, pierced with small holes, in a cruciform
design. There were also some bronze rings of cabled
and other decorative designs which evidently fastened
with stud and clasp. There have been many speculative

i G -

Q > rwi

It*

2 «

H w «

ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER. 131

opinions about the original purpose of these relics. Some
have thought that they formed part of a large belt or
girdle, the position in the grave in which they were found
lending colour to the idea. The present Curator of the
Museum is of the opinion that they simply represent
bangles and ornamental jewellery such as a girl might
have worn. Here, perhaps, we have the personal property
of some young Princess or lady of note who with her
jewellery and other personal belongings was buried
with some pomp and state in Saxon times. It is to the
long continued custom of burying personal relics
and in older times necessary vessels that so many of the
ancient curios we now cherish have been preserved, whereas
so much that would have been doubly interesting made
in more recent times has perished.

Many writers refer to the Little Wilbraham cemetery
in Cambridgeshire where so many bronze brooches have
been found. In one find in the county upwards of one
hundred fibulae were discovered, among them a few —
but only a few — of the rare S-shaped pattern.

It may be mentioned that crosses have been met with
in the jewellery of early Eastern nations, the cruciform
type, however, first made its appearance in England
after the adoption of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons.

A silver openwork brooch found in 1814 at Cuxtone,
now in the British Museum, is described in the Victoria
History of Kent among Anglo-Saxon antiquities. In
the centre of this brooch is an excellent representation of
a dragon ; the legend after the manner of the inscription
on the celebrated Alfred jewel, on the border of the orna
ment reads " A LFIW ME AH (Aelfgivu owns me).
It has been suggested that the brooch belonged to Emma,
wife of Aethelred the Unready.

Many exceptional specimens of Anglo-Saxon jewellery
have been found in the county of Durham, very prominent

132 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

among them being a number of beautiful gold armlets
and hollow gold rings, some of which have been cunningly
made of thin plates neatly joined together and turned
over the ring. Some interesting accounts of local dis
covery are recorded in the Victoria History of Durham.
In these finds there have been discovered jewels made
of various materials, one of the favourite being lignite.
(See Chapter xxx., " Pinchbeck and other Sham Jewellery.")
In the earlier graves were found amber beads and in
still earlier burials necklaces of shells are sometimes
met with. Many of the brooches found in Durham
show traces of gilding. A brooch shown in the Newcastle-
on-Tyne Museum of Antiquities, taken, it is stated, from
a rock tomb at East Bolton near Sundeiiand, the ground
work is on bronze, which is enriched with bosses of gold
in which are set polished garnets. In the Victoria History
of Durham there is illustrated a very fine brooch found
at Darlington. In the same neighbourhood were found
some small buckles.

The most interesting ecclesiastical relic of the Anglo-
Saxons is probably the shrine of St. Cuthbert who died
in Fame Island in AJD. 687. In the coffin were several
relics which are now carefully preserved in the Durham
Cathedral, the most interesting being a cross of gold
which was found with the skeleton. It is in excellent
preservation and bears testimony to the beauty and artistic
work of the seventh century jewellers. There are stones
in the angles of the cross ; some of the work is better
described as mosaic with enamels. A deep coloured red
stone (said in some accounts to be of glass) covers a
small receptacle for a relic.

The county of Essex has been the seat of the discoveries
of some rare finds chiefly of jewels of gold and silver,
although many fine bronze brooches have been met with.
Some years ago a very fine gold jewel of Saxon origin

ANGLO-SAXON GOLD AND SILVER. 133

was found at Clifton-on-Dunsmore, in Warwickshire,
along with other relics of that period. Many hair orna
ments have been found in the county, some at Forest
Gate. One of these was a hair-pin of gold the head having
four faces set with garnets and blue glass — a fine example
of cell-work. Hair-pins have been found in other places,
indicating that the Saxon women used many such pins
in fastening their hair. (See Chapter xxsx, " Toilet and
Perfumery.") The custom of wearing a girdle from
which many objects of use and ornament could be hung
is a very ancient one, and many relics from Saxon graves
show that it was a common practice then. Occasionally
bunches of keys have been found, these, it is evident,
have been suspended from a girdle. Necklaces of beads
are fairly common and some of the beads are beautifully
wrought. (See Chapter xxm., " Beads and Necklaces/')

THE TESTKLING BELL.

The story of the bell, although one of great fascination,
does not come within the scope of this work, other than
to refer to a few of the relics in which bells have played
an important part. The most notable bell of Anglo-Saxon
times is that contained in the shrine of St. Patrick's bell,
already mentioned in Chapter x. (See Figure 1.) There
are bells of silver and bronze which could very appro
priately be classed as " gems " if not " jewels/' The little
vesper bell sounded in many a small oratory, calling the
monks to prayer long before the louder sounding bells
of bronze were hung in high towers and steeples, when
bells were needed to call worshippers from a distance
over hill and dale. Some of these beautiful little bells,
still retaining their musical notes and tinkle, are to be
seen in museums, where also may be examined many
rare Saxon processional crosses and richly jewelled book

134 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

covers and other relics of the early Christian Church in
England and Ireland.

The ancient churches of England have preserved for us
many relics of a bye-gone age. That glorious Gothic
pile — the Abbey of Westminster — covers and enshrouds
the remains of the earlier and less imposing Abbey raised
by Edward the Confessor, the Saxon monarch whose tomb
it contains. Not very many years ago the ancient Chapel
of the Pyx was opened to the public, and there the
treasure chest of the nation once reposed. This quaint
spot where the coins which were to be tested as a guarantee
of the maintenance of the standard of purity were once
kept, was long the safe storing place for the crown jewels.
It is the connecting link between to-day and Saxon Eng
land. In that vault were stored the crown jewels of
Edward, also gems and relics which came one by one
into the possession of the early sovereigns of England.
Alas ! these ancient gems have mostly gone. The crown
jewels are now jealously guarded in the Jewel House of
the Tower, among them are a few jewels once deposited
in the Chapel of the Pyx. The dark vault held the
regalia of England until 1303. There, we are told, were
Saxon circlets of gold, St. Neot's cross, the sceptre of
England, the Black cross of Holy rood, and the jewelled
sword of King Athelstan. Among the authentic (?)
jewels once there, still extant, is the sapphire now in the
crown of England which was taken from the tomb of
Edward the Confessor,

CHAPTEE XIH.

MEDIAEVAL ART.

NORMAN ENGLAND — ECCLESIASTICAL AND CONVEN
TIONAL DESIGN — ROYAL FAVOUR THE RENAISSANCE

SOME SPECIFIC EXAMPLES — A PERIOD OF DECADENCE.

IN this chapter the period under review extends from
the close of Saxon England to the Late Renaissance — a
period during which there were many events which tended
to consolidate the various peoples, and often isolated
settlements of men and women of different birth and
upbringing, into one nation. These influences worked
slowly through the Middle Ages, and it was long after
the great Renaissance of art began on the Continent of
Europe that the art of England could be classified as
distinct from that of contemporary nations. Indeed in
considering Mediaeval art it is difficult to confine the
review to any one country, and coDectors generally refer
to jewellery of that period simply as " Mediaeval/" or
" of the Renaissance/' whether the article is of' Italian,
French or English make.

NORMAN ENGLAND.

The rough days of war, and of the subjection of the
turbulent people to the powerful barons, left little time
for the pursuit of the fine arts in Norman England.
Yet the wealth of the country was found in gold, but
not all of it in coined money or bullion, for the history

136 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of that period has several references to gold jewellery and
precious stones. There was the royal regalia in the vault
of the Pyx Chapel at Westminster, and at other places
there were jewels of value belonging to the Anglo-Saxons.
These stores must have been added to during the reign
of William the Norman, for we are told that upon the
death of the Conqueror his son, William Rufus, hastened
to Winchester, after having secured the castles of Dover,
Pevensey and Hastings, and received at the hands of
William de Pont-de-FArche, the treasurer of the Royal
household, gold, silver, and many jewels. The name
of Otto, a goldsmith, has been handed down as the man
to whom was entrusted the fashioning of the ornaments
for the Conqueror's tomb, some of the metal work used
being that received from the Winchester store of gems
and jewels.

ECCLESIASTICAL AND CONVENTIONAL DESIGN.

Perhaps the strongest influence of all upon art, at any
period, has been that of the church. Ecclesiastical and
religious thought, and the conception of what was fit and
proper as decoration and ornament for churches, has
exercised a very strong influence upon artists. In the
early days of the Christian church the art of the people
of Byzantium was directed towards the enrichment of
the churches they were building. It was the same in a
greater degree when the great Gothic piles were being
erected, and the furnishing of the cathedrals and churches
on the Continent and in England was under considera
tion. Art in every direction was turned towards suitable
designs for such buildings.

The best artists in metal were the monks and those they
taught, and it is only natural that the aspirations of
these men led them to do their best for their church,

MEDIEVAL ART. 137

and in tlie work they did for their patrons in private life
to follow the same line of design, and as it were to pay
a tribute to the beauty of art as shown in church adorn
ment. The workers were deeply religious, and every
effort was made to give of their best for the glory of God.
In decorating churches and enriching them with jewelled
ornament the conventional forms with accepted symbolic
meanings were adopted, and strictly followed, hence the
founding of the Gothic art and typical designs expressive
of that art. The thoughts, ideas, and aspirations which
filled the souls of the architects, builders, painters, and
other artists were the same as those of the goldsmiths
and workers in precious stones.

The plate used in sacred worship has always been an
object of special decoration. The recognised symbols,
and the conventional patterns and colours of stones and
their setting, have synchronised with those of the sculptor
and the painter. The wealthy gave of their means to
enrich the cathedrals and religious houses ; and they
visited those places and were familiar with the ornament
employed in decoration, and with the jewels and other
things they used. In fact the lay people incorporated the
art of the ecclesiastic in their ideas of perfect beauty and
cultured art, and as a natural consequence when they
began to use similar things in their castles and houses,
their cups and plates resembled the chalices and patons
of the church in style and decoration. Thus it is that
some of the objects which have been preserved and are
known to have been put to domestic use strongly resemble
the church plate of contemporary dates.

The art which was employed and copied in household
goods became the standard for finer work, such as jewellery.
For a long time the jewellery that was worn on the person
was made by the goldsmiths and silversmiths who made
family and church plate ; it was not until later times

138 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

that the jewellers separated from the goldsmiths, then
some divergence of style in art was observable, but in
Mediaeval England personal jewels reflected the art of the
jewels given for the use of the church, as they had earlier
when jewels were lavished at the Pagan shrine, and in
more remote times in the ornament of the worship of
Jehovah by the Jews.

This idea of sequence in the surroundings of the home
and the church in Mediaeval days may be carried further,
for it is seen in every branch of art. Surely there is some
connection between the woodwork of the cathedral and
the parish church and that of the home ! The same oak
panels, the same stalls and chairs, and the same plate.
In the churches were paintings over the altar and on the
walls, and rich embroideries and vestments ; in the
castle the ladies wrought tapestry and ornamented blank
spaces with pictures in needlework, they thus enlivened
the dull walls, and as time went on used rugs upon the
floors as they had seen the priests place costly rugs
before the altar and in the chancel. The raiment of the
ladies became gorgeous on state occasions and sparkled
with jewels as did the vestments of the clergy.

We are apt to think of great ladies in olden time as
dressed in stiff and formal robes of state, embroidered
with silk and gold thread. They were not always thus
dressed ; when superintending the work of their maidens
they donned plainer garb and wore few jewels, but the
steel chains from which their keys were hung shone with
much polish, and their girdles carried many trinkets of
use. It has been pointed out that even those articles and
the mode of wearing them were borrowed from the warder
and janitor who in like manner carried keys and other
implements from their steel and leathern girdles !

There was a fitness of things in olden time and more
uniformity than in the present day, when conflicting

MEDIEVAL ART. 139

influences are at work, causing greater variance in the
habits of the peoples of different ranks, and in the simi
larity between objects used for church purposes and those
common in the daily lives of the people.

ROYAL PAVOTJK.

Continental goldsmiths and silversmiths exercised great
influence upon art in the sixteenth century. The Augsberg
jewellers were especially clever, and they began to make
jewellery according to regular designs which they adopted
after much practice, their work, however, retaining in its
finish that individuality of touch and style which imparts
such a charm to much of the quaint art of that day.
Foreign influence has often been at work, and English
workmen have felt its pinch many times, they have even
had to suffer the indignity of the importation of foreign
workmen, regarded by those in authority as superior in
their craftsmanship. This was much in evidence in the
reign of Henry vin. who favoured Italian and other foreign
workmen. Royal favour through the instrumentality
of Holbein, who had much influence at Court, came to a
foreign worker in precious metals and jewels — one Hans
of Antwerp — who became the " King's jeweller " and it
is assumed that he was the artist who fashioned or designed
much of the jewellery pictured in the paintings of Holbein.

King Henry vm. was a frequent buyer of costly jewellery,
one of his famous purchases being a magnificent pendant
which he secured from Charles the Bold, of Burgundy.

It is regrettable that most of the jewellery has gone,
the designs on which it was fashioned are, however, known,
not only from the paintings of the wearers by the famous
artist but from a book of drawings of jewellery by Holbein,
a rare treasure which was secured by Sir Hans Sloane,
and through him it came into the hands of the British
Museum.

140 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRUSTKETS.

The portraits of the sixteenth century representing
Queen Elizabeth and many titled ladies wearing elaborate
costumes on which flash rare jewels testify to the popu
larity of the Court jeweller and his handiwork.

THE RENAISSANCE.

The days of the Renaissance were prolific in giving to
the world many examples of the goldsmith's art. Albrecht
Durer was chief among many expert craftsmen of that
age. Wonderful indeed were the more important art
treasures then made. Diamonds were often used in
the decoration of fine gold work, and in the great revival
there were numerous objects enriched by enamels. There
were many figure subjects, and classical as well as scrip
tural designs. Some of the old paintings by the great
masters show very clearly the types and patterns of the
jewels then in use. This method of identification has
been referred to by some writers as " picture jewellery "
and from noted pictures many examples have been
chosen for special reproduction. The picture galleries
of some old families, and the galleries of the national
collections, are veritable records of the patterns of olden
time, especially of the period when the great masters
were painting so many portraits.

The art of the goldsmith seems to have reached its
height in the sixteenth century under the skilful work of
Benvenuto Cellini, who manipulated gold settings of the
most minute kind, and wrought such delicate pendants
and chains. The cross was then, as it has ever been since
the early days of Christianity, one of the favourite objects
on which to expend the artist's skill.

The pendants of the Renaissance are particularly
attractive. They were varied too in style and ornament ;
although figure subjects were very prominent. The

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workers had ample scope to give play to their fancy,
although confining themselves to the same principle of
design. The figures were drawn from many sources, but
the artists favoured scriptural or classical design. Nature
too provided models for the fishes, birds and in some
instances fabulous creatures they fashioned, although
the latter were often far from being true to Nature in
form.

In fashioning such jewellery gold, enamels and precious
stones were used ; pearls, however, were a great feature
in pendant droppers. Some of the pendants were semi-
ecclesiastic in style, the figure subject often being enclosed
in a panel frame or niche. Most of the subjects would
be familiar to their owners, and it is not difficult still to
recognise them, although the way of presenting the
picture varies. Often enough St. George is seen slaying
the Dragon ; in such pendants large pearls frequently
figure. Continental artists were particularly fond of
Biblical subjects, and especially of the chief events in
the death and burial of Our Lord. The Victoria and
Albert Museum contains many examples of these types.
There, too, may be seen the frequent introduction of the
ship in design — Naval jewellery has had many patrons.

SOME SPECIFIC EXAMPLES.

There are some objects which during the Middle Ages
and the period of later Gothic art assumed such notable
characteristics, and were used for such distinctive pur
poses, that they call for special treatment. These objects,
among which are included pilgrims' signs, armlets, royal
jewels, ecclesiastical ornaments and jewelled costumes,
are dealt with in separate chapters and can only be lightly
touched upon here, they cannot be omitted altogether,
however, in this chapter in which Mediaeval art is specially
classified.

142 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TRINKETS.

During the long period covered new names came into
being, and in inventories we read of " nouches," which
were a form of brooch. A kind of clasp was much used
and went under the name of " morse/' Inventories
record <c crowns and circlets " in the possession of the
nobles, and there were diadems of fine gold. Head
ornaments and bands were much jewelled. Pendants
were worn, but many of them were the receptacles for
relics. The " pectoral " was a kind of brooch which
took its rise in Mediaeval days ; it was sometimes sewn
on garments and at others fastened with a pin like a
brooch. Its use is doubtful, for it appears to have been
worn chiefly as an ornament.

In the earlier part of the Middle Ages the crusaders
acquired a taste for a new kind of jewellery, and the
precious stones they brought back with them were set
according to the style they had seen in the East. These
have all gone, but they are to be traced on monuments
and brasses and in illuminated books and the stained
glass windows of the Gothic cathedrals and churches.

In the Middle Ages there were some emblems worn as
brooches, and in other ways attached to the clothing,
which were of a religious character, chiefly affected by
the pilgrims who then so often made long journeys to the
shrines of saints or to other places where ecclesiastical
attributes were met with. One of the most notable
shrines was that of Thomas a Becket, at Canterbury.
Such emblems were appropriately designed, frequently
cast in lead, at other times engraved. Various representa
tions of Our Lord were worn, such badges being not'
infrequently engraved with some suitable legend, such
as "GLORIA IN BXCELSIS." The head of Christ
within a nimbus with more or less ornamental accompani
ment was common. The cross was used, and it has always
been a favourite emblem in articles of jewellery — it is

MEDIAEVAL ART. 143

worn to-day as of old. Among early fourteenth century
relics many of the pilgrims' signs were representations of
the Virgin Mary, often in conjunction with the infant
Saviour. In like manner the emblems of the Patriarchs
and the Apostles are met with. John the Baptist is seen
in many forms. St Peter too, is one of the designs which
have been found on the route by which the pilgrims
travelled.

The effigies or emblems indicating St. Thomas & Becket
were said to have been sold in Canterbury to the pilgrims
who visited the shrine and who always took back with
them some memento of their visit. Many of these have
been recovered from the bed of the river Thames where
they were lost on the return of the pilgrims ; sometimes
these relics are broken, but occasionally they are found
in very good condition with the brooch pins intact.

Badges of various kinds were once very common.
Sometimes they were in the form of emblems which were
selected by their owners, at others such badges were
worn by retainers and were suitable to their positions,
often, but not always, all or part of the crest of the over
lord or baron to whom they owed servitude or fealty.

Mediaeval jewellery is represented in the Guildhall
Museum, as are the earlier periods. As the prevailing
ornament during the Roman and Saxon periods, except
in the case of rare gold jewellery, chiefly possessed by
royal owners, the brooch, as the fibulce was afterwards
called, prevailed among the personal relics which have
been handed down, or have been preserved in Mother
Earth, to be found and recovered at a later time. The
brooch it may be pointed out is a very important ornament
which for centuries took precedence of all other jewels ;
it was a convenient form of fastening used alike by High
land clansmen and the followers and retainers of Norman
barons and Tudor lords, and in the more ornamental

144 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

forms by chieftains and barons. In modern days the
brooch has been worn according to changes in fashion
by ladies, but it was once much favoured by Englishmen
as it has always been by Scotch lairds — men and women
alike have made use of the brooch. Ben Jonson wrote ; —

" Honor's a good brooch to wear in a man's hat."

Scotch and other varieties of brooches are described in
Chapter xxiv., "Brooches or Fibulce," here, however,
reference must be made to some of the brooches which
have been preserved as mementos of Mediaeval EngJand of
which there are so many in the Guildhall Museum, in
London. In those days bronze was still used in the making
of jewellery, although an amalgam, which is better
described as brass, came into vogue a little later.

In Mediaeval England glass, paste and enamel were used
for decorations. Ring brooches were the most popular
form. Some of those in the Guildhall Museum are
inscribed, one very fine piece, dating from about the
fourteenth century is inscribed " O MATER DEI MEMEN-
TOR MEI ORA/* it is in good condition and has a pin
attached. Most of the Tudor types are of pewter.

There are small objects of special interest like rings, of
which there are many varieties. Most of these are of
bronze, although there are some of gold. The engravings,
usually deeply cut, are often incised. Mediaeval hair
pins are numerous, some of silver and others of bronze,
also some very small pins which have very pretty acorn
heads, of these there are several fine examples in the
Guildhall Museum.

Silver bodkins are trinkets of some value ; they were
an article of regular use in the Middle Ages, and indeed
were in use until Victorian days. In the Guildhall collec
tion there are some of brass which have been silver-plated,
as well as examples in steel and silver. One early piece

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MEDIAEVAL ART. 145

is accompanied by an ear-pick, and is ornamented with
engraved flowers, among which the Tudor rose is
prominent.

It is useful to remember that the common metal of the
Middle Ages was laten or brass, which was a mixture of
copper and zinc. In this it differed from the earlier Roman
metal which was bronze composed of copper and tin.
Mr. King in his excellent work on the subject says " Bronze
when polished has somewhat of a brownish tint with the
hardness of forged iron ; brass on the contrary, more
resembles gold in colour, and is much softer than bronze/'

The illustrations shown here, chosen to represent some
of the characteristics of the work of this period, are taken
from examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum, by the
permission of the authorities. Figures 12 and 13 represent
a gold enamelled jewel, a " Memento mori " in the form
of a coffin with scrolls and arabesques on black ground ;
.ound the sides is the inscription " Through the Resurrec
tion of Christe we be all sanctified/' within the coffin is an
enamelled skeleton. This curious and yet typical piece
was found at Tor Abbey in Devonshire and is of English
retake — truly a remarkable jewel.

Figure 18 represents the back of a jewel of enamelled
gold, a very fine piece. Figure 19 is a jewel of baroque
pearl and enamelled gold, it was bequeathed to the
Museum by the late Mr. George Salting who was such a
lavish donor to the store of the nation's art. It is an
example of sixteenth century Italian workmanship.

As it has been pointed out much of the work of the
goldsmiths of this period was of a sacred character, and
many of the finest works of art came from Italy or were
made by Italian workmen. Figure 22 is Italian, made
about 1560 : it is a reliquary in silver-gilt, set with a
sardonyx cameo representing the Virgin and Child.
Figure 23 is also Italian, and probably a little earlier in

146 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TRINKETS.

style ; it is a cross of enamelled gold. Figure 20 is another
cross, in silver-gilt, set with garnets and pearls, also of
Continental make. Another rare piece is shown in Figure
21 : this appears to be a badge or pendant ornament,
in silver-gilt open-work, the subject of its decoration
being the Coronation of the Virgin (the little scent bottle
shown along with the " Memento mori-" jewel is of
eighteenth century make. See Figure 11).

Possibly the most attractive piece shown as representing
this period is the very fine gold necklace illustrated in
Figure 24 ; it was found in the Castle of Ambras, in the
Tyrol, and is supposed to have been made about 1600 ;
the decoration consists of pearls and enamels with dia
monds in the pendant.

A PERIOD OF DECADENCE.

The long period during which the arts of mediaeval
England flourished ended with a time of decadence, until
political and social events once more caused a revival of
trade, and with it a search after the arts of previous days
which, sad to say, had been allowed to fall into disuse.

The events which had led to a distaste for all that was
beautiful and which added to the pleasures of living,
were many and varied. Their influences were not con
fined to this country, for they began their disturbance
on the continent of Europe. There had been the thirty
years' war in Germany ; the Reformation had been
carried through, and had brought with it sterner ideals.
The Civil War in England had changed opinions, and
the arts of the goldsmiths were not encouraged — the
crown jewels had gone into the melting pot, and much
of the valuable plate once belonging to the great cathedrals
which were demolished had been sacrificed. Jewellery
and plate were of no account, except for their intrinsic

PIG. 24. — NECKLACE OF GOLD. Circa 1600.
In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

MEDIEVAL ART. 147

value, and for the money they would realise for a common
cause, and for personal aggrandisement in monetary
wealth.

The era of colonisation had set in, and the founding of
British colonies was not heralded in by the creation of
rich plate and jewels. The commercial expansion of the
country found a use for money which had been locked
up in bullion, plate and jewels. It is true that after the
Great Fire of London in which so much of the valuable
relics of the city companies and the city churches perished,
there was a new inspiration among architects, and Sir
Christopher Wren was busy building new churches and
public buildings, but the solidity of those fabrics does not
point to any great revival in the arts with which the
jeweller's craft was associated.

William m. added the new wing and front to Hampton
Court, and as some would say, spoiled, the fine old
Tudor palace. When these added rooms were furnished
their furniture was in keeping with the spirit of the
times, and with Dutch influence on art, which was not
conducive to the artistic refinement of jewels and golden
setting. The Court jewellers of the days of Charles I.
had for a time at least lost their patrons. In Italy too,
there was a decadence of art. It would appear that
the art of the metal worker suffered most, and the
jeweller had to change his occupation and to wait for a
revival of art, and perhaps for his initiation into a new-
style.

There were signs, however, of a coming future, for in
consequence of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
many clever French artists came over to this country,
and settled in Clerkenwell, thus founding the industry
in that part of London which has so long been a noted
place for such work. The jewellery trade had made pro
gress in France, notwithstanding the levies made on

148 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY A1STD TRIltfKETS.

private property for the conduct of war ; indeed so many
were the workers in the craft that an edict was promul
gated by Louis xm. limiting the number of jewellers in
Paris to three hundred. In Germany there were some
jewellers of note, and it is recorded thafc Russian jewellery
was first heard of at that time. Here then were the
germs from which was to spring a revival of arts when the
newer conditions of things promised success for the craft,
and the higher appreciation of art would make the manu
facture of the ornate and beautiful profitable. It is thus
that we are led to the early days of the eighteenth century.

CHAPTER XIV.

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY JEWELLERY.

THE TASTE OE THE PERIOD — ECCENTRICITIES OF JEWELLERY
— MORE BRILLIANT ILLUMINATION.

THE modern period of the goldsmith's and jeweller's art,
dating from the beginning of the eighteenth century, is
of special interest to home connoisseurs because it brings
them in touch with their own possessions. Pieces of gold
jewellery representing most of the more important changes
in habit, costume, and influences of recent years are to
be found in many English homes. Such jewellery has
been stowed away because it is unwearable and yet
quaint ; , it is reminiscent of the ancestors who either wore
it or secured it from a still earlier generation.

There are many exceptional pieces, of course, but much
of this one time popular jewellery is quite valueless.
Even the gold of which some of it is made, and in which
the paste and stones are so solidly set, is not always of any
real value. Much that was interesting and that recorded
the taste of a former generation has of course been sold
for old gold, and new jewellery bought in its place. Some
few years ago, before any special antiquarian interest was
taken in such things by the ordinary person there was
quite a rage for clearing out what was then regarded as
rubbish, and thus many old things perished. Far-seeing
traders held on to what they deemed curios, and when
they bought old gold they generally selected some of the
articles for re-sale, thus many really delightfully quaint

150 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

jewels, now much appreciated, have been preserved and
change hands at prices much beyond those at which
they were sold by their owners who had inherited them
from relatives deceased.

THE TASTE OF THE PERIOD.

During the century under review the influence of con
stant contact with people from other countries was very
strong. Royal patronage of art too, had some bearing
upon the taste of the period, especially was this so towards
the close of the century, when French jewellery and art
trinkets were much sought after. The taste of the period
in furniture and furnishings influenced jewellery in a
marked degree.

Let it be made very clear that the prevailing style of
the period in every household adornment was reflected
in dress and in jewellery. Now, to appreciate, and to
locate some of the pieces of jewellery lying at the bottom
of the jewel box, the events which influenced those periods,
and are clearly defined in history, should be reviewed.
Then even more than now French art set the fashion in
England. When the eighteenth century dawned Louis
xiv. was still on the throne of France : Boulle cabinets
were the rage, and the art that great craftsman had intro
duced, and his metal and enamelled decorations of furni
ture, were reflected in smaller trinkets and in the designs
applied to jewellery. Some of the furniture made by
French ebenistes was covered with inlays of marble,
porphry, lapis lazuli and other stones. Imagine some
of these effects produced in miniature and then jewellery
following the style is apparent. Louis xiv. was a patron
of many arts. He it was who had raised the Gobelin
factory to such importance, and there, were woven many
of those marvellous blue tapestries with which furniture
was upholstered.

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY JEWELLERY. 151

The greater part of the eighteenth century was, how
ever, lived, in France, under the sceptre of Louis xv.
Furniture and art took a different form under the Regency
which preceded the actual reign of the young King.
Phillippe de Bourbon was fond of luxury, and as Regent
the Court was accustomed to the fashion of rouge and
powder, laces and curls. These and many other extra
vagant characteristics were seen in the commodes and
other ornamental furniture almost covered with metal
work and richly gilt, the designs of which were followed
by goldsmiths and jewellers. The very patterns of the
silks and tapestries suggested the baskets of flowers
and other jewelled pendants of that day. Gilded furni
ture meant golden ornaments and appropriate jewels
over the handsome dresses of the Court.

Later on came the paintings and varnishes of Vernis
Martin, whose screens and decorations again supplied
the subjects for miniature scenes and ornament. It was
then that enamelled woods were in vogue, and the scenes
painted under the glaze were repeated in the miniature
paintings which were set in gold jewellery, the lids of
snuff boxes, the jewelled knobs of canes, and in ladies'
fans.

Towards the close of the century the brother of Madame
de Pompadour, one of the favourites of Louis xvi., went
to Italy and there cultivated a taste for the style of art
found in the ruins of Pompeii and other places where
monuments of ancient Roman art were standing. In the
mosaic jewellery of Italy there is a glimpse of the style
of art which gradually influenced French decoration and
gave the severe taste in art lines which for some years
prevailed in strong contrast to the styles which had
previously been popular. Egypt, that is Egypt as it was
under the Caesars, gave the gay French capital a new
style in all kinds of art, including plate and jewellery,

152 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

which was not altogether in accord with the conditions
prevailing in Paris, so different from those which actuated
the artists of Egypt in later times, that is during the
days of Imperial Rome.

Then, and for many years, French art work was brought
to this country, and practised here without much altera
tion, because Continental artists were then very commonly
employed in London.

Concurrent with the influences of Continental cities,
of which Paris was only one, although of the greatest
importance, there were styles quite English in character ;
styles springing out of contact with French goldsmiths,
but given an English interpretation by the makers.

The dominating influences on art in England during
the century were the styles introduced respectively by
Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton. The former
was a maker and created many wonderful pieces of furni
ture according to his style which underwent several
changes in its development, and the latter gave many
cabinet-makers patterns which they could use and adapt
according to their individual tastes. The " Chippendale *'
style prevailed during the major part of the last half of
the eighteenth century, varied towards the close by the
furniture of Sheraton and Hepplewhite, and by the Adams
style which was architectural as well as applied to smaller
things. All these strongly pronounced characteristics
were reflected in metal work, the art and decoration of
the goldsmith and the silversmith, and also that of the
jeweller. It should be remembered too, that not only
were these styles in woodwork, found in decorative brass
and copper, and gilt and painted ornamentation, but
wrought iron smith's work and the ornamental castings
in such alloys as ormolu had a very great influence in
style, for many of the workers in metals had pronounced
ideas ; and those who worked in the more precious metals

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY JEWELLERY. 153

and used jewels and rare stones and other materials were
always open to receive inspirations, and nearly always
followed prevailing styles in kindred arts. The qualifica
tion nearly covers the influence exercised by church art
among other crafts and upon secular use of similar objects
and the materials for their manufacture. In the same
way the prevailing style in needlework influenced the
manufacturers of jewellery and they supplied patrons of
that particular style with ornaments of similar designs
in metal to those worked in silks and wools, such jewels
as pendants being similar in design.

ECCENTRICITIES OF JEWELLERY.

At no period of the English jewellery trade has there
been so many whimsical fashions as during the luxurious
times of the last half of the eighteenth century. The
oddments in collections which belong to that century
are t curious, foolishly extravagant sometimes, and un
mistakably point to the eccentricities of the age. At a
time when society was overloaded with grandeur, with
gambling propensities and with class distinction notwith
standing the low associates and questionable friendships
of some devotees of fashion, no bauble came amiss. If
the jeweller liked to set the fashion of wearing some new
trinket, and provided some fresh bauble or toy for the
lady love of an enamoured swain, then he found patrons,
and if the attraction was great enough to find favour a
new fashion with many followers, was set up for a season.

The eighteenth century was famous for its enamels ;
and watches, snuff-boxes, patch boxes and other oddments
were enamelled. The most popular self-colour was dark
blue, and lockets for miniatures and lockets filled with
locks of hair and fanciful souvenirs were made of gold
or gold alloy, some part of the frame being enamelled
blue.

154 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

It was in the eighteenth century that the Battersea
works were opened and so many trinkets composed of
copper overlaid with enamels, painted and gilded were
made. These little objects were sometimes, but not
always, made up into jewellery.

Perhaps the most attractive trinkets used up in the
fashioning of jewellery were the Wedgwood cameos of
which there are many extant (see page 213). The plaques
and medallions which Wedgwood made were of course
too large for jewellery, but many of the smaller objects
were set as brooches, scarf-pins, and earrings. Some of
the necklets consisted of as many as twenty different
pieces fastened together by gold chains ; the subjects
were mostly classical and the selection for necklets and
other ornaments was not always made with any idea of
fitness or grouping of subject. There were many oppor
tunities for utilising these charming little cameos, and
bracelets were made to match the brooch and necklet,
and thus sets which might be worn to many different
costumes and on different occasions were completed.

What is sometimes called memorial jewellery is a special
feature which was introduced late in the eighteenth
century. Some of this was very beautifully made, follow
ing the style of the art in which urns and broken columns
were introduced. These larger objects were copied by
the jewellers hi miniature, painted on glass or on enamel,
real hair being inserted. The principal objects made in
this memorial work were lockets, pendants, rings, brace
lets and pins. The fashion of wearing ponderous chains
and necklets of jet as an indication of mourning became
rampant a little later.

MORE BBILLIANT ILLUMINATION.

It was towards the close of the century that Matthew
Boulton and others in Birmingham began to make such

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY JEWELLERY. 155

charming jewellery of cut steel, and to intermix with it
many large crystals. Silver jewellery and buckles were
much worn and many of the leading jewellers mounted
diamonds and paste in both silver and steel. It seems,
however, as if fanciful and fickle changes of fashion must
be explained by decided changes in public opinion and
in the guiding influences on art. Thus it has been pointed
out by several that with the introduction of superior
candles and lamps and the use of those massive cut glass
chandeliers and brackets which became popular towards
the close of the century diamonds and silver jewellery were
found to accord with the better lighted rooms and the
brighter lights, and therefore their popularity steadily
increased, until diamonds with very little setting became
the fashion. With the cut crystals they would be in
harmony with the cut glass displayed, and the then
bright lights of the ball room — although they must have
been feeble and subdued compared with the greater
brilliance of the electric lighting of the twentieth century.

The story of the jewellery of the eighteenth century
must include some reference to rings — although they are
separately treated on in another chapter — for they were
much worn at that time. It was then that marquise
rings came into vogue, and that type of ring afforded
the jeweller an opportunity to set in the bezel large
cameos, Wedgwood jasper gems, and many rare clusters
of diamonds arranged in oval, oblong and other forms.

The memorial jewellery included rings, and many of
them were so choice that they were worn by their owners
long after the occasion had passed for their wearing, and
after the memory of the person commemorated had faded
away.

A good deal of moss-agate jewellery was at that time
fashionable. Some of it was very ugly and the setting
was often inferior, although not always so. Tiny bits

156 ANTIQUE JEWELLER, Y AND TRINKETS.

of selected stones were fitted in rings and in the quaint
setting of the eighteenth century looked very pretty.

There is still much of the jewellery which was made in
the eighteenth century which can be worn to-day, and
many are " gems " the setting of which has served
its purpose and they require remounting. Much of
the modern jewellery of the twentieth century is quaintly
beautiful, and is an honest attempt to make wearable
replicas of old style jewellery.

The collection of old jewellery is of course a pastime
of the wealthy, but many can in a small way follow the
example of those who are better able to pick up choice
pieces.

The examples taken for illustration in this chapter
are jewellery from the extensive collections in the Victoria
and Albert Museum. The eighteenth century necklet,
Figure 25 — made between 1760-1780 — is of Italian work
manship. It consists of twelve links of scroll open-work
in tinted gold, with birds and flowerettes in coloured
enamel. Figures 26 and 27 identical in style represent
a pair of earrings to match the necklet.

The very handsome piece illustrated in Figure 28 is of
a different style altogether and represents a breast orna
ment of gold, enamelled ; it is of Spanish origin and may
possibly date back into the end of the seventeenth
century, the enamelled flowers set with emeralds are
particularly beautiful.

Figure 29 is a fine cameo necklet. (See page 212).

0 CHAPTER XV.
VICTORIAN JEWELLERY.

EARLY VICTORIAN DAYS — CONTINENTAL JEWELLERY —
GEEAT EXHIBITIONS — LATEE TIMES.

AFTER the close of the eighteenth century there was a
period when art remained stagnant, and there were
few alterations in habits and customs, and the changes
which were to come later had not shown any indication
of fcheir presence. When the nineteenth century began
the Georgian style of architecture, furniture and metal
work was the accepted ornament, and all art, including
jewellery, was founded upon it. For some years there
was little change. During the Regency of the Prince of
Wales design and ornament were based on some model
in which Corinthian columns prevailed, or the decoration
was founded on fluted designs after the manner of the
French taste. The beautiful designs, stiff and formal,
of the Brothers Adam were in vogue, but the style was
not suitable for jewellery. The silversmith was still
imbued with Georgian ribands and wreaths, and urn
ornament ; script engraving was in vogue, although there
was a change in lettering early in the century, as may be
noticed on the spoons and silver plate engraved with
monograms and initials at that time. The brooches and
other jewellery were often ornamented with pearls and
jewels like the style of bead engraving and ornament
upon silver, and in some instances the rows of pearls and
turquoises looked very well. Undoubtedly the jewellery

158 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of the first quarter of the century was much the same as
it had been during the later days of the previous century.

EARLY VICTORIAN DAYS.

It is natural to look upon the jewellery of the nineteenth
century as comparatively modern, and equally so to class
it all as Victorian. To a very large extent it was, in that
all the changes in style were made during the reign of
that Queen whom so many still remember, and whose life
was wrapt up in the fortunes of the Empire for so long a
time. There are many who can look back to the days of
their youth when the efforts which brought about such
changes in art were being made, and further most of the
old jewellery lying still in the jewel box of the home
connoisseur was first worn by some one who lived in the
days when Victoria was Queen.

It is not unnatural that a long reign like that of Queen
Victoria, influenced in later years by the growth of the
Empire and the great countries and peoples brought under
her sceptre, should present many differences towards its
close, so that it may well be divided into two parts —
Early Victorian and Late Victorian. The young Queen
did not ascend the throne until 1837 and it was some years
later — indeed after her marriage with the Prince Consort,
and her little family had become the first scions of the
future " House of Windsor" — that any real effort was made
to introduce a love of arfc to this country's craftsmen.
The early days of the period were those in which a change
was gradually coming over furniture, and the decorative
woodwork of the Georgian age as influenced by French
ornament was giving way to the carved mahogany which
was destined to become so stiff and inartistic a few years
later when the true furniture of the early Victorian age
was made, and art as we understand it now was at a
low ebb.

VICTORIAN JEWELLERY. 159

It must not be supposed that there were no inventive
geniuses at that time, for several new fashions were brought
out quite early in the Queen's reign, indeed some of them
began earlier. There was an attempt to revive Gothic
art and some of the makers of jewellery approved of the
style and with more or less successful attempts introduced
it. There was a fashion in hair jewellery, that is chains
made of hair, mounted in gold ; and even decorative orna
ments were made in the same way. Mourning jewellery
was much worn, and the preponderence of jet ornament
in chains, earrings and brooches added to the mournful
appearance of those who were regretting the loss of friend
or relative. The use of lockets favoured the retention
of locks of hair, and some of the mourning jewellery in
which were paintings of urns and tombs were very sad
looking objects. One of the most regrettable facts in
association with jewellery of this period is the poor quality
of so many of the articles. We are apt to class strength
and solidity as emblematical of the possessions of the
early days of Queen Victoria and to regard quality as one
of the attributes of the commodities made during her
reign. It was not always so in jewellery for much that
was sham and poor in quality was made at that time,
as reference to the remains of the trinket box will show.

CONTINENTAL JEWELLEBY.

The manufacturers on the Continent of Europe were
busy during the reign of Queen Victoria, and they exercised
a strong influence on the craftsmanship of this country ;
some regret that there was so much continental art
brought over and so little local talent displayed. Per
haps, however, that long period of competitive trading
had a beneficial influence in that it educated the makers
of this country in some of the things in which they were

160 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

lacking, and by familiarity with the goods of other nations
they were able to evolve a national style, and later to
show to the world that the British people had the power
to provide for the wants of the Empire, and to bring to
bear the results of their long familiarity with the arts of
other nations upon their products.

At the beginning of the century there were wars between
Britain and continental nations, and there were wars on
the Continent in which Britain took part on the side of
her allies. Some of those wars were fought out between
continental nations alone. Their internal strifes had a
bearing on the trade of the nations, and in some instances
upon the jewellery trade.

Some interest has been taken in the beautiful ironwork
made in Prussia during the war in which most of the
gold jewellery was given up. This iron jewellery very
delicate in its formation, was presented by the Prussian
Government to the people about 1811 in return for the
gold jewels surrendered. One of the bracelets of that
period is illustrated in Figure 136. The iron jewels some
of which in years later found their way into England
consisted of brooches, earrings, bracelets and necklaces
— they are dull black in finish and look very well when
worn over lace or light material.

It is truly marvellous how effective jewellery made of
iron and steel is when properly used and worn over suitable
fabrics. Late in the eighteenth century many beautiful
cut steel buttons and buckles were made in Birmingham,
these fell into disuse, and it is said makers had stocks on
hand for years, until in the earlier Victorian days there
was a revival in their use and they were sold again.
To-day these little bits of ornament and jewellery are
found, and if not rusted with age and damp are ready
for use once more, for there is to-day a rage for anything
old. even a steel brooch or lace-pin is welcomed.

VICTORIAN JEWELLERY. 161

When the facilities of railways and steamboats afforded
many people an opportunity of visiting the Continent
of Europe they were attracted by the so-called peasant
jewellery which in some of the continental towns and
country districts is of such a distinctive form. Some
have made a special feature of the collection of this class
of jewellery, and have made some interesting discoveries.
They find that although the peasant jewellery is local
there is much which points in its style either to a common
origin or to the influence of peoples and arts long fallen
into disuse with which the nation can have no longer any
connection. It has been suggested that much of the
similarity of these locally-made peasant ornaments is due
to an intuitive taste for the same styles, and the same
forms which in the first instance were drawn from Nature,
or inspired by the same ideals taught them by some
connecting Imk with the same Eastern influences from
which they must have been severed many years.

GBEAT EXHIBITIONS.

The great culminating stroke in the education of this
people in continental ideas, and in affording them oppor
tunities of comparing the arts of many nations was the
Great Exhibition which was held in Sir Joseph Paxton's
great Palace of Glass erected in Hyde Park in 1851.

The memory of that exhibition lingered long and its
influence was far-reaching. It did good in many ways
for it brought many people together and did something
towards breaking down that rural isolation which had
existed so long. It brought together the arts of the
Empire in some measure, and the competitive exhibits
of Continental nations inspired the makers of this country
to go forward — it was the beginning of art productions
in Great Britain, and from that time onward there was

162 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
a marked improvement in the art of the silversmith and
of the jeweller. The arts of the nations attracted traders
and patrons of art from all parts of Great Britain. It
was but the beginning of a long series of exhibitions until
such trade marts became a regular institution.

The next exhibition to follow the Great Exhibition of
1851 was held two years later in Ireland. It was fitly
called a Great Industrial Exhibition and was supported
and patronised by Queen Victoria who lent many inter
esting objects of art and jewellery. Among the exhibits
loaned were some beautiful treasure which had been
presented to the Queen by the East India Company (who
had then nob surrendered the control of India to the
Crown) ; they included a powder horn richly set with
jewels, a shoulder belt, and three small bullet boxes edged
with gold work and set with jewels. There was a charming
little gold kettle-drum beautifully ornamented with gold
and precious stones. Many of the gold ornaments which
had been shown by the Queen at the Great Exhibition
in London were loaned to the Committee of the Irish
Exhibition. There were some exhibits of royal jewels
and some jewellery which had been presented by European
sovereigns to different noted persons. There was a set
of costly jewels belonging to the then Marquis of London
derry, among them the " George " given by the Prince
Regent to the Marquis, it had previously been worn by
the Duke of Marlborough. The Ribbon of the Order
shown with it was historic too, for it was worn by the
Duke of Wellington. Other jewels exhibited by the
Marquis of Londonderry were a plain garter in gold
given by Queen Victoria, and a jewelled garter presented
by the Marchioness of Londonderry to her husband.
There were four brooches which had been given by the
Tzar of Russia. Local jewels were shown, among them
much old jewellery and Celtic gold, but not the least

VICTORIAN JEWELLERY. 163

interesting were some then modern objects which must
now be classed with old jewellery of the Victorian period.
In this class were shown Irish gems in silver-gilt, bog oak
brooches, bracelets and gold jewellery, some of it encrusted
with precious stones.

One very interesting exhibit at that exhibition was
typical of the arts and trinkets of the day, it consisted
of specimens of rare flowers modelled in wax, and of wool
work intermixed with rare silver jewels and china figures
arranged in a basket of coral under a glass shade.

LATER TIMES.

The later days of Queen Victoria were not celebrated
for art productions. The styles in vogue were cosmopo
litan and rarely any of the jewellery could be said to be
artistic, and it certainly fell short of the older jewellery,
much of which was then being worn in preference to that
which was being made by the jewellers of London and
elsewhere. Sad to say much of the best work was Conti
nental, and the French artists were doing a good trade
in London with the retail shops. Such jewellery does not
call for special notice — it is not attractive. Fortunately
there is still much fine old jewellery to be had, for the
stocks of such jewels seem to be inexhaustible.

The question of price sometimes troubles buyers of old
jewels, but there is little to guide them except experience.
It is indeed difficult to convey any adequate idea of the
true value of jewellery. It is useless — indeed worse
than useless — to attempt to give any idea of value, for
it is misleading to quote high prices such as those paid
in some of the London sale rooms for exceptional gems
as in any way indicating the average value of similar jewels.
The rare matchings and wondrous lustre of some of the
ropes of pearls, or jewelled chains, creates competition in

164 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TEINKETS.

the sale room, and the prices realised sometimes cause sur
prise even to the most experienced dealers. Then again
when a famous collection is being dispersed, or the jewels
of some once wealthy titled family pass under the hammer
there is keen competition for historic treasures, and they
change hands at fabulous prices. Without accurate
knowledge of the relative worth of such things, and of
the cumulative value of an assemblage of rare gems, it
is difficult to understand the cost of jewels which do not
appear to possess more than ordinary brilliance or rich
ness of cutting and setting. It is useless to tell the home
connoisseur that a "* brilliant and pearl chain composed
of thirty-five brilliants and six pearls *' realised £600, or
that " a fine oval sapphire scarf -ring sold for £350."
Catalogue descriptions and sale room records of auctions
at well known galleries tell us that " Four large pearls
mounted as sleeve links " sold for £1250, and that an
<e emerald ring " sold for £150. Such records are meaning
less to those who possess far more modest jewellery ;
although to them the family pearls and emerald ring
worn by one of their ancestors a hundred years ago have
far greater interest — apart from their money worth.

It may be added by way of encouragement that there
are many rare treasures among even the oddments left
by an ancestor who thought them worthless. Some time
ago a lady left to her old shepherd a cupboard in which
she said in her will there were " many oddments included
in the gift/' Among these oddments were some miniatures
which realised over £2000 — and that is not the only gift
that has turned out a gold mine to the lucky recipient.

CHAPTER XVI.
GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES.

UNCUT STONES SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS — FAMOUS JEWELS

— SOME PRECIOUS STONES.

THERE is so much to say about the wondrous stones
and gems which have been used by the jeweller, cut into
many shapes and given many facets by the lapidary, and
chiselled by the engraver, that the story of their origin
must be told, briefly, before describing the jewels separ
ately. The term " gem " is often used indiscriminately
by the owners of precious stones and valuable jewellery
and art treasures ; but a gem, correctly so-called, is
engraved with some design. Precious stones, cut and
polished, assume a beautiful appearance and sparkle
with great brilliance, but they are not gems in the right
sense of the word.

Each of the stones from which gems are cut, and which
are employed by the jeweller are distinct, and their
several properties and attributed qualities are of interest
to the collector. The precious stones are by some authori
ties-restricted to very few varieties. According to Mr.
Street, the well known authority on the subject, they
are diamond, ruby, sapphire, spinel, emerald, chrysoberyi,
alexandrite, opal and turquoise. In the dim past these
beautiful objects were formed by Nature's power, and
through the long eras of chaos, when rocks and mountains
were being fashioned, they were deposited. Now they
are found embedded in matrices of hard stone, frequently

166 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

covered from sight and not easily detected by the amateur.
Gravels and old river beds sometimes yield many beauti
ful stones ; and even on the sea shore some of the less
important, yet very beautiful, pebbles can be picked up
— water worn and washed from their first homes where
they were formed ; awaiting the lapidary, who in his
varied operations produces such a different result from
that dull-looking pebble* This is especially so in the
case of the less reflective stones, which when cut and
engraved become " gems/'

U^CUT STONES.

Although the labour of gem-cutters produces such a
difference upon precious stones, there are some of them
which in their almost barbaric beauty are better worn
as they are found. Charming strings of uncut garnets
have been worn as necklaces and as bracelets by savage
races and by the most cultured women alike, and with
equally good effect. Garnets and rubies, uncut, look
wonderfully well on lace and on light-coloured fabrics.

Many of the best precious stones have been known for
centuries, indeed the stones of greatest brilliance when
polished were early discovered, and their use has been
recorded in well authenticated manuscripts and parch
ments. Some of ,the precious stones most valued to-day
were known to the prehistoric races who buried them
with their dead. The Egyptians have passed on to the
modern world some rare gems, identical with those
precious stones now known ; and in several instances
their names have been so accurately described that there
can be no mistaking their identity.

Many precious stones were familiar to the Israelites
who no doubt heard of them from the Egyptians whom
they spoiled, and from the Chaldeans with whom they

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GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 167

had dealings at a much earlier date. In the Bible there
are Jewish records of the diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper,
sapphire, emerald, carbuncle, topaz and other stones.
There has been some speculation as to the identity of
several of the stones mentioned in the Bible, and called
by similar names in the writings of early Greek authors.
Translators in the past were not always happy in their
definition of such things as precious stones with which
they were not very familiar, and it is probable that some
of those stones were misnamed — it is possible too, that
the early races by whom these jewels were first worn
were unable to distinguish their differences, for their
chemical or mineral properties by which modern experts
now distinguish them, would not be recognised.

It is difficult now to tell where the ancients secured
their most prized jewels. The almost legendary stories
about the African mines, spoken of by writers in different
countries, however, tell of a common origin from whence
these early nations drew their supplies of uncut stones.
As it has been pointed out there are some stones that
cannot even when polished be called jewels or gems,
but they are very beautiful when carved or polished and
used in the manufacture of jewellery, often with equally
good effect. Some of these stones are found in large
pieces and are made up into larger ornaments than
jewellery, although smaller pieces of the same substances
are mounted, set and worn as jewels. The artists of China
and Old Japan were very clever in executing such work.
They would take a piece of fluor-spar and fashion it as a
flower vase, embellishing it with all kinds of ornament
carved in deep relief. Sometimes they so cleverly under
stood the tints of the spar that they were able to make use
of the different layers of colouring to give relief and effect
to the design, and even to add to the beauty of the object
by taking advantage of reflective lights ingeniously thrown

168 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

upon the right spots. One of these pieces in the form of
a vase is arranged to show three distinct colours, light
purple, green and amethyst, which when viewed in certain
lights present many shades. A vase of amethyst quartz
is carved in such a manner that by taking advantage
of the layers of colour a dragon in quite a different tint
is made to coil itself about the vase and form a handle.
Light and shade have much to do with the different
effects of cut and polished stones, and when viewed in
different lights the result is often strikingly varied.
Light too, affects the colour of stones, and in some instances
exposure should be avoided. The cause of this- influence
of light has not been very satisfactorily explained, although
many theories have been advanced by scientists who
have much to say about the chemical reaction of light.
Rubies are said to be affected by exposure to light, one
very important ruby which had been exposed in a shop
window for a couple of years or so was found to be gradu
ally losing its colour and becoming lighter in tint. In a
similar way emeralds and sapphires change colour by
exposure, and generally assume lighter tints. A curious
contrast is reported in reference to the topaz and garnet,
the topaz becoming dull when exposed, the latter retaining
its brilliance and becoming lighter in colour.

SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS.

In prehistoric times, although we have no written
documents recording the facts, there is little doubt that
superstition in every possible way was rampant — it has
been so with the untutored savage in quite recent times
— and the bright and shining stones, each giving a different
coloured ray, would be associated with one or other of
the great powers for good or evil. Wicked spirits believed
to cause so much suffering to humanity would bo strongly1

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 169

in evidence in the evil they were supposed to have wrought,
and the stones would be associated with them, and the
habit of giving certain votive offerings in jewellery which
grew apace, to obtain the goodwill of supernatural powers,
would be early in evidence.

As it has been suggested in a previous chapter the object
of much of the Egyptian jewellery was preventative —
that is it was worn to prevent illness, misfortune, and
disaster — so the artist who in Egypt was a professional
craftsman well skilled in his trade repeated his designs
without much variation, and duplicated them to an
unlimited degree. No doubt he traded upon the super
stition of his clients, and reproduced again and again
those " charms " he found to sell. Prom the number of
the same objects found in many different localities it is
obvious that there was a widespread belief in the efficacy
of these articles of jewellery and precious stones — some
of which were engraved and inscribed.

There is great similarity of design or ornament in the
form of the object, and that is due to the popularity of
those particular symbols indicated by their shapes or by
their engraving. In some of these emblems very special
advantages were held to exist. The sacred beetle, the
emblem of eternity, was much loved, and countless
scarabs which have been found (and much copied by
modern Eastern craftsmen) show how much these little
objects were valued, if not actually worshipped. The
gems were cut in beetle-like form, but long use and much
practice gave the artist a stereotyped touch until many
of the commoner scarabs — made of inferior materials or
crudely shaped from stone — were very unlike the living
beetle portrayed in the costlier gems.

Precious stones and gems have always had a strong
influence on mankind, religious and superstitious.
Eastern art is peculiar for the preponderance of stones

170 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

and gems, and it would appear that Eastern ideas, which
alter slowly, have ever been attached to stones rather
than to the chiselling of gold which in modern days forms
the chief part in the ornament of jewellery.

The frequent use of certain stones for sacred and other
special uses early surrounded them with symbolic mean
ings. In the Bible some of these symbols then commonly
understood are alluded to, and their meaning mentioned.
It is not difficult to understand that stones accredited
with special symbolic meaning would soon have ascribed
to them more than their natural qualities and properties.
Some were credited with possessing curative value, others
with occult powers, as for instance the beryl in the reflec
tive facets of which many professed to be able to see
pictures of the future.

The employment of stones for occult purposes is also
of great antiquity. The magic mirror of crystal has
imposed upon many credulous persons. Curiously
enough many famous scientists and those who have
dipped deeply into mysterious researches have regarded
stones as powerful agents, assisting them in their studies.
Not very long ago the world was reminded of a once
famous Elizabethan sorcerer who had used the " Magical
Speculum of Kennell Cole/' It was among the curiosities
in Horace Walpole's collection at Strawberry Hill, and
had been in the possession of the Earl of Peterborough,
in whose catalogue it was said to have been the " black
stone into which Dr. Dee used to call his spirits/'' It
recently changed hands at Messrs. Christie's sale rooms.

FAMOUS JEWELS.

Many of the most famous jewels are noted because
of their unusual size, their peculiar cutting, or their excep
tional brilliance. Others are deemed especially valuable
either becau3c of their purity or their unusual composition.

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 171

Some, of course, have become famous on account of their
associations, or the historical personages to whom they
once belonged.

Most of these famous jewels are of great age and have
been handed down for many generations — some are
precious heir-looms. Some are traced to older races and
come from peoples now forgotten. Several wealthy
Indian Princes possess jewels of great worth ; some are
uncut, others show traces of having been cut by unskilled
and even barbaric races. Many of the best stones have
been recut in order to bring out their beauty — as an
instance the Koh-i-nor, first shown in this coirntry at the
Great Exhibition in 1851, was in the first instance badly
cut, but was afterwards recut in London by Mr. Coster
of Amsterdam.

The Koh-i-nor, the mountain of light, was given to
Queen Victoria in 1850 by the East India Company ;
it had formerly been in the possession of the Great Moguls.
When it came into the hands of Shah Jehan in 1640 it was
uncut, and even then had a history attached to its finding
in the mines of Golconda. Shah Jehan had it cut by a
Venetian cutter who, however, did his work very unsatis
factorily. In course of time this noted stone passed into
the hands of the Khan of Cabul. It was seized by Runjeet
Singh, of Lahore, and mounted in an armlet in which
were other jewels of great value. This priceless stone
eventually came into the hands of the East India Company
by conquest, along with other spoils, and now reposes
among the crown jewels of England and is worn on
special occasions by Her Majesty the Queen.

One of the most brilliant stones in the world is the
Regent diamond which came originally from Kistna,
and after changing hands several times was bought by
Mr. Pitt, the governor of Fort St. George, by whom it
was sold in 1717 to the Regent of France for £135,000.

172 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

It may be here pointed out that the use of jewels is very
varied. Primarily they were retained as an indication
of wealth, afterwards for their beauty, enhanced by
cutting and mounting, and in more recent times precious
stones have been employed for all manner of costly
decorative work. Many wonderful caskets have been
so ornamented. Snuff-boxes have been encrusted with
precious gems, miniatures have been framed in je\vels,
and larger pieces of precious stone, like jade, have been
used for fashioning many different objects for household
ornament. The most noteworthy objects in which the
chief decorations are stones are the " holy things " for
church use.

Sword handles and regalia of every kind are enriched
by gems, and thus in every direction there seems to be
a use for the stones which, whether cut and polished, or
engraved, are in themselves so beautiful, helping to add
to the ornament of the object on which they are inlaid
or set.

Among the more prosaic uses to which stones have been
put is the ornamentation of furniture ; the use of stones
in its manufacture was at one time so common that this
feature cannot be overlooked. Some of the cabinets
of the best period of the French decorative cabinet work
were made gorgeous by the use of precious stones. Special
forms of ornament have at different times attracted the
furniture makers, but perhaps the nearest approach to
the same use of stones as that associated with the jeweller's
art was the method of inlay adopted by Boulle. whose
coloured inlays of enamel and of other materials closely
resembled Eastern art as seen in the making of jewellery.
The furniture maker sometimes overlaid his finished work
with gold, and by the addition of jewels gave the things
he made the appearance of costly jewels of gold and
precious stones.

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 173

SOME PRECIOUS STOKES.

The following brief accounts of the most important
precious stones used by jewellers will, it is hoped, be of
some assistance in identifying stones in old jewellery :

AGATE:— Agate is one of the forms of chalcedony,
and is peculiar for its great hardness, being harder than
steel (for that reason it is the stone selected for the centres
of scales and for the pinions and some of the balances
of clocks and watches). The marvellous effects and
colourings are due to the presence of impurities in the
clear silica; that is especially so in the better kinds
known as " moss " agate. The stones which are influenced
by oxides of iron are of brown or yellow shades, and
sometimes quite red.

The chief source of supply is Brazil, although much of
the older jewellery was made from stones brought over to
this country from Hungary. Modern Scotch jewellery,
referred to in another chapter in this volume, consists
of the free use of stones mostly locally obtained, and
among the pebbles used there are many varieties of agate,
found chiefly in Ayrshire and near Montrose.

AMETHYST :— The amethyst is a quartz which takes
its beautiful tints from the presence of peroxide of iron
or manganese ; the rarer stones being the Oriental variety
of corundrum of violet tints. The amethyst is found
in Siberia, Ceylon, Australia and Brazil

The ancients regarded the amethyst as preventative
of drunkenness. There are several legends which may
have .given rise to this belief, one being that Bacchus
gave the stone the colour of wine. Perhaps the prettiest
sbory is that Amethyst, a mythological youth, was turned
by Diana into a stone of great beauty.

174 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TEINKETS.

AQUAMARINE : — This is one of the varieties of the beryl.
It is of several tints, usually pale sea-green, sometimes
with a slightly darker bluish shade. It is found in the
Ural Mountains and also in Brazil.

BERYL : — This stone, a silicate of aluminium, is a
hexagonal crystal. Its colour is green, somewhat tinged
with yellow. The common beryl is not of any great
value. The emerald is the " gem " of the family. (See
also " Aquamarine.")

CARBUNCLE : — The name applied to the better varieties
of the precious garnet, which in large pieces is cut en
cabockon, that is with rounded top, highly polished, for
which purpose the dark rich tints are chosen.

Some fine stones have been known, one of the best
historic carbuncles is that which was worn by Mary Queen
of Scots.

CARNELIAN : — This stone, sometimes called cornelian,
is a bright red-coloured chalcedony owing its tints,
which vary, to the presence of oxide of iron. It is found
in many places, and some very good varieties have been
found in this country, also in Scotland. The best varieties
come from the East.

Carnelian has been much used for seals and signets.
In the Middle Ages the stone was regarded as the symbol
of St. Bartholomew.

The sard of deep red colour, is a variety of carnelian.

CHRYSOPRASE : — This stone is a variety of chalcedony
of apple-green tint, due to the presence of oxide of nickel.
It is rather brittle, but is capable of giving a brilliant
ray when highly polished. It is found principally in

Silesia.

FIG> 29,-FiNE NECKLET OF WBDGEWOOD CAMEOS SET IN &OLD.
In the Collection of Mr. Edward Good,

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 175

Chrysoprase is used for rings, and also for making
small charms ; indeed it is worn with some degree of
belief in the virtue of its power for good over bbe person
who wears jewellery made of this stone. In the Middle
Ages much importance was attached to it, in that it was
mentioned in the Book of Revelations as one of the stones
of the " New Jerusalem."

To the artist chrysoprase presents many opportunities.
As a strong colour it was copied by the artists of Mediaeval
days who imitated its tints on canvas and in the beautiful
stained glass windows of some of the early cathedrals.
In China it was the stone kept in view when producing
those marvellous tints of " green aventurine " on porcelain.
Many beautiful altar sets in chrysoprase have been found
among relics of past ages.

DIAMOND : — The diamond is accredited with being the
hardest of the precious stones, and will easily scratch
others, even cf the same class. It is a form of carbon
and takes the shape of an octohedron crystal.

The diamond is dull enough before cutting and polish
ing, and is typical of many precious stones, the beauty
of which is hidden. Scientific research shows that there
is still much to learn, for different opinions are put forward
about the origin of the deposits of pure carbon in that
peculiar form of crystalisation in which the diamond is
found. The reflective powers of the stone are high,
some diamonds will shine in the dark after having been
exposed to a strong light. Another property of the
diamond is that it will often shine after having been
rubbed vigorously, although this property in a greater
or lesser degree is attached to all crystals.

The South African mines, India and Brazil have fur
nished the supplies of the stones for many years past.
Some of the older stones are of uncertain origin, indeed

176 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

many of the larger ones which have been worn for cen
turies have come from mines now unknown, and some,
of course, have acquired legendary histories.

The diamond was named by the Greeks " Adamas,"
because it was unconquerable, its hardness preventing
those early artists from cutting it with the same facility
with which other stones and gems were cut and worked.
According to legend Adamas, an attendant upon Zeus
in his infancy, had been translated to the stars and turned
into a shining stone of unusual brilliance.

Reference has already been made to some of the large
stones of great value among them the Koh-i-nor, or
" Mountain of light/' as its Indian name denotes. The
" Beau Sancy *' diamond which once belonged to Charles
the Bold, is thought by Mr. Streeter to have been the
work of an Indian lapidary. Various large stones have
from time to time been discovered, one of the most im
portant discovered within recent years is the famous
Cullinan diamond, so called after the chairman of the
Transvaal Diamond Mining Company, which was dis
covered in 1905, and was presented to King Edward
— a bright gem for the British crown now worn on State
occasions by the Queen.

Fanciful names have been given to many stones, and
these sometimes have reference to their origin, and at
others to their peculiar colour. Fashion changes even
in the popularity of certain kinds of diamonds as well
as in their cutting and setting. Yellow diamonds have
at times been much fancied by leaders of fashion. There
are diamonds the tints of which are red, green and
blue. Of the latter type was the " Hope " diamond
which carried ill-luck with it, and was eventually lost
at sea.

Experts judge the value of diamonds from their
cutting as well as their size and lustre and their rarity

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 177

of colour. The art of diamond-cutting was discovered
in 1456, and has -in the past been chiefly carried on in
Antwerp and Amsterdam. There is much skill required
in the cutting of the diamond, the methods adopted being
followed closely by all cutters, the varieties being princi
pally the " brilliant " and the " rose " cuttings*. The
" brilliants " are composed of fifty-eight facets, the
different parts being known respectively as the crown
(the top), the pavilion (the lower part), and the girdle
(the edge). There are also single cut brilliants with only
thirty-eight facets. The " rose " is the cutting which
was adopted in the seventeenth century. At one time
it was very popular and some of the crown jewels of
several countries are cut in that way. Cardinal Mazarin
is said to have studied the subject of diamond cutting
and the polishing of precious gems, as well as their appro
priate settings, and he personally directed the cutting of
twelve rose-cut diamonds which were set in the French
crown.

EMERALD : — The bright green colour of the emerald
is said to be due to chromium sesquioxide which is one
of its constituents. Its crystals are six-sided ; it is
hard, but is at first brittle, gaining greater hardness
and tenacity by long exposure to the aij^

In olden time the emerald came from several localities,
the best known being Queen Cleopatra's famous mines
in Egypt. In modern times the emerald has been ob
tained from Columbia, Siberia, India and New South
Wales.

Emeralds were well known to the ancients and were
frequentlv mentioned by old writers. The stone was
formerly sliced, the flat pieces being then mounted
without any further cutting. The Greeks cut their
emeralds flat too, one of their favourite uses for th§ jewels

178 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
being to ornament the heads of their walking sticks, as
one old writer has it " to dazzle the eye/'

Heroditus records the ring of Polycrates in which was
a shining emerald. Plato, too, mentions emeralds and
jasper. Medicinal qualities were once attributed to the
stones.

Of emeralds, which are of the corundum family, there
are several varieties. The Oriental emerald, however, is
the most valuable and is the variety mostly used. The
pale stones of bluish-green tints are generally found to be
aquamarines. There is also a green garnet which may
be taken for an emerald.

GARNET : — Garnets, which crystalise in cubic form,
are found in limestone, granite and other formations.
They are very plentiful, but the better varieties come
from Brazil, Ceylon, Burma and from Saxony. The
common colour is dark red, others are green and some
are almost blue. These stones are often mounted rough
and uncut, although generally polished. They make
excellent necklaces and bracelets, and in that form were
worn by the ancients, for many have been found in pre
historic tombs.

JADE : — Jade or jadeite, takes prominence among the
rarer stones (not technically " precious ") and in its
scarcer tints is costly, but not of jewel form. It is a
stone of mineral properties and contains sodium, it is
also fusible. It is notable for the different shades and
colourings which afford the artist so many opportunities
of cutting it into fantastic shapes and carving it with
grotesque figures in relief. It is chiefly found in Asia,
and is a favourite material in China and Japan.

It has been noticed that smoky quartz is very adaptable
in fashioning pictures, trees being made to stand out in

GEMS AND PEECIOUS STONES. 179

relief. Like the effects produced from quartz those
evolved from jade of the cloudy tints are the most beau
tiful. " Mutton fat " is one of the tints much appreciated
by connoisseurs. Although there are fine objects made
entirely of jade it is very often used in conjunction with
metal. There is a beautiful little gold trinket box made
many years ago in China, which has a lid of jade on which
is carved cranes on a clouded ground. Another fine box
of old gilding has for its cover the figure of a sage in jade,
his garments showing up in relief by the clever use of
different shades in pink. A very charming set of imple
ments for the writing table made of green jade, might
have been seen in a London auction room not long ago.
It was described in the catalogue of the sale as " consisting
of a pi-tong, a shallow inkstone, a tiny water vessel, a
circular box for sealing wax, a small cylindrical koro with
open-work lid, a small vase carved with bats, a wang chih
in open-work, and a tiny paper weight shaped as a boy
with a lotus leaf."

Green jade is especially a favourite material for small
trinkets, little boxes, charms, and for some jewellery.
Of such objects there are many varieties. The possibilities
of ornamental decoration are endless. Mowers are carved
readily, many standing out in bold relief. The variety
of tint makes jade very suitable for relief work, some
pieces of green, for instance, shading from quite dark
green to pale sea-green. Large pieces in flat panels
deeply recessed are set in wood frames, some of the
scenes- carved upon them being very effective. These
larger carvings, especially flat pieces of jade capable
of scenic relief, are very beautiful, many of them repre
senting the old legends of China, as on porcelain ; in
the same way the carvings of the sculptor help to hand
on the ancient myths. Alas, oftentimes these mystic
scenes fall into unbelieving hands some of whom miss

180 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

much of the value of their curios by omitting to search
for the meaning of these pictures, for few of them are
mere creations of the artist's brain. One pretty little
screen is carved with Garna Sennin and Li Tich Kwai
crossing a river mounted upon a toad, and a gourd
respectively — typical of many such pictures in stones.
Some of the small trinkets in jade are very curious,
as an instance there are jade pebbles on which can be
seen incised lotus plants in colours differing from the
remainder of the pieces. Another piece of smoky quartz
represents a stag, together with various emblems of the

LAPIS-LAZULI : — This stone is a silicate of alumina
and contains soda and lime. It is found in large pieces
and is much used for ornamental purposes ; in smaller
selected pieces it is used for jewellery. Persia, China,
and Siberia are named as places where the stone is chiefly
found. Its beautiful blue tints were much prized by
the ancient Egyptians by whom it was frequently used.

MALACHITE : — Malachite is green hydracated carbonate
of copper, distinct from the blue carbonate or azurite.

Malachite is found in large quantities in Siberia and in
some parts of Australia.

ONYX : — A variety of agate, amorpheus silica. Its
colours and tints are in bands or stripes ; there £*re
many shades of red, green, yellow, and black and white
are also in evidence.

Some very fine examples are found in the British
Isles, chiefly in Perthshire and Skye. Arabia is one of
the most important places from which large supplies
come*

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 181

OPAL : — Opal is a non-crystalline mineral, a hydrated
variety of silica. Its chief charm lies in its opalescence
which is said to be due to minute cracks in its composi
tion. It is very brittle, but with care it is lasting and is
much favoured as a gem for rings and ornamental jewellery.
There are several varieties, the best known being the so-
called precious opal which gives forth such bright rays
of flashing light. It has been spoken of as " the flashing,
fiery opal " which contrasts with the dull and yet at
times lurid colours of the other varieties. The fire-opal
is full of red fiery reflections, and the semi-opal, which
is dull and opaque, is by no means to be despised. The
stones are all found in a matrix or bed of stone coming
from veins or cavities in rocky fissures.

Many fine specimens come from Queensland and New
South Wales. Some precious opals are found in South
America. The wood opal has the appearance of petrified
wood and shows a wood-like grain.

The opal is perhaps feared by its owner as much as
it is admired for its beauty. Many wear their opal rings
with dread of some unknown evil consequences. Per
haps no stone has been held in greater fear and uncer
tainty than the opal with which traditional stories of
ill-luck are associated. Many have, in consequence
refused gifts of beautiful opals, the fire of which seems
like liquid living lurid flame when the sun-light dances
upon the gem.

PEAKLS : — Pearls are precious objects differing in their
properties and constituents from the stones which owe
their beautiful tints to the presence of minerals and
metallic oxides. The pearl secreted by the mollusc gives
rise to important fisheries. Its formation is caused by
some foreign substance entering the pearl-producing
mollusc which then coats over the substance and thus

182 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

forms the pearl which is possibly at first very tiny, growing
in its pearly coat of increased thickness as time goes on.
Loose in the shell the pearl assumes a globular form,
around which the substance is secreted layer upon layer.

The small globular pearls set by the jeweller in rings
and used for ornamenting many articles of jewellery differ
from the larger pear-shaped pearls which are mounted
as pins and ear-droppers and form the pendants of other
jewellery. The jeweller speaks of the " skin " of the
pearl, and distinguishes between the dull opaque and the
more lustrous gem of much greater value, and there are
many minor differences observed by the expert who from
them assesses the value of the gem.

The pearl fisheries afford abundant interest and romance,
far more exciting than the hunt for precious stones. The
marine pearl-bearing oyster is the Mehagrina margariti-
jera ; the fresh water Unionidce also rewarding the
searcher. At one time the river fisheries of Britain
yielded good results. In the days when the Romans
lived here they found many pearls. In modern times
the pearl fisheries are chiefly carried on in the Gulf of
Manar in Ceylon, in Australia, and in Lower California.

Mother-of-pearl must not be confused with the true
pearl, although some pieces of the former are full of
beauty and are much used for ornamental purposes and
jewellery. Mother-of-pearl is the lining of the shell of
the mollusc.

Curious properties are ascribed to pearls, and now and
then in some mysterious way they appear to be attacked
by a disease and quickly perish. Some people simply
cannot wear pearls for they crumble away. There is
a story that the Empress Elizabeth of Austria was attacked
by fever after wearing a string of pearls, and then the
pearls begin to fade and perish, being eventually put in
the sea to "recover/' There are many who have full

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES, 183

faith in the restorative power of the sea-water, and now
and then when opportunity occurs place their pearl
rings and other jewellery in the sea. The jewels when
removed should not be rubbed, but the salt water allowed
to dry upon them.

RUBY : — The ruby is of the corundum family, and is
of the same group as the sapphire. Corundum is the
generic name applied to several varieties, chief among
which distinctions are the Oriental ruby, which is rhorn-
bohedral, and the spinel. The Oriental ruby, a rich
lustrous stone, is seldom of large size, and is much more
valuable than the spinel and the garnet. When heated
it changes to a greenish shade, but regains its red tints
when cooled. It is dichroic, differing from the spinel
which crystalises in cubic form.

The ruby was known to the ancients who obtained it
from India and other places. Burma has long been noted
as possessing the most famous mines. The King of Burma
took a heavy toll upon the more important stones dis
covered. Vast quantities of these rubies are still to
be seen in the crown jewels of Burma, which are in the
Indian Museum at South Kensington where they have
been safely housed for many years. Many excellent
rubies are found in Ceylon, Siam and in Afghanistan.
The Australian mines have also yielded many specimens
of these stones, and especially of the commoner varieties
of corundum,

It may be pointed out that in assessing the value of
stones colour is not always a true guide to value. Gene
rally speaking, however, the spinel ruby is scarlet, whereas
the true ruby is blood-red ; the bolas ruby, which is
rose-red, is a minor variety. The mining industries are
regularly worked now as in ancient days, and there is a
plentiful supply of good stones, but large and perfect stones

184 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

are rare and the really valuable gems do not often come
into -the market. The mines of Burma are worked by a
well organised commercial company and yield a very
good supply. (For reference to artificial stones see
Chapter xix., " Pastes and Artificial Gems.3')

The ruby is thought to have been the stone described
as " Jasper " in the Bible. The ancients knew it as
" carbunculus " and deemed that it possessed self-
luminosity. Pliny referred to it under the name of
"lychnis."

Among other rubies of note is one of great size which
was presented by Gustavus in. of Sweden to the Emperor
of Russia when on a visit to Petrograd (then St.
Petersburg).

The ruby is one of the stones set in episcopal rings
where it is used in uncut form as indicating "glory."
(See Chapter xxxiv., " Royal and Ecclesiastical Jewels.33)

Rubies have figured among the notable precious stones
of many countries. One of the most important in Great
Britain is the historical ruby set in the State crown of
England, commonly known as the " Black Prince "
ruby. This beautiful stone is, however, declared by many
experts to be a spinel. It was given by Don Pedro the
Cruel, of Castile, in 1367, to the Black Prince. It was
afterwards worn by Henry v. on the field of the battle
of Agincourt — kings and field marshals do not wear
such gems on the battlefields of Europe to-day ! This
historic stone rests still in the crown of England, set in
the Maltese cross which surmounts it.

SAPPHIRE : — The sapphire is a variety of corundum,
and is in every way of the nature of the ruby except in
its colour. The blue tint of this precious stone is probably
due to oxide of cobalt. Some varieties are known as
" star " sapphires.

GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 185

The principal mines are in Burma, Ceylon, Australia,
Borneo, and in some parts of India, The European
varieties of the sapphire have been chiefly found in the
Rhine Valley.

The sapphire, unlike so many stones was not named
from any special properties it possesses, but from the
Greek Sapheiros. It was Pope Innocent m. who ordained
that the sapphire should be set in a bishop's ring. Accord
ing to legend this stone possesses special properties, and
conduces to the fulfilment of prayers. It was much
reverenced by the ancients.

TOPAZ : — This stone is a silicate of aluminium and
fluorine spar. The colours of topaz are widely different,
including blue, green, red and yellow with a great variety
of minor shades.

Siberia, Brazil and the Ural Mountains are the principal
places from which supplies come. There is a small
supply of topaz stones in Scotland and Ireland.

TUEQTJOISE : — This stone is a hydrated phosphate of
alumina. Its colour varies from sky-blue to a greenish
tinge the former shades being the most valuable. It is
apt to lose colour by exposure to the light a,nd it ought
not to be brought into too high a temperature.

Turquoise is found in veins and comes chiefly from
Persia and Arabia ; it is also found in Russia and to
some extent in India. Other varieties come from South
America and North America.

Some influences seem to act injuriously upon the
turquoise, indeed worn by some people good blue stones
deteriorate and turn green. There is no doubt that
exposure to an atmosphere in which there are certain
chemical properties has a bad effect upon all metallic
gems.

CHAPTEK XVII.
GEM-CUTTING.

INTAGLIOS — ENGRAVED DEVICES — THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE
GODS — GEMS IN WORSHIP.

THE engraving of stones was much practised by all
Eastern nations, but in the work of some of the countries
possessing early civilisations the form of the gems seems
to have assimilated to the designs and types then in
vogue in other branches of ornament. The designs too,
in most cases followed the national tendencies. In
Babylon and in Assyria many of the intaglio gems were
cylindrical, and the smaller ones were suitably mounted
in gold as rings, necklets and armlets. Many of these gems
were given special names and were worn as charms ;
others, however, seem to have been created purely as
ornaments and were worn as jewellery for personal
adornment.

INTAGLIOS.

It is, of course, clearly understood that the two methods
of gem-cutting are intaglio and cameo. The intaglio —
an incision into the stone — was quite distinct from the
cameo which was a gem in relief. The choice of stones
suitable for engraving must have been very difficult,
especially when those available were limited and the
tools by which elaborate gem-cutting could be performed
were simple.

GEM-CUTTING. 187

The purpose of the intaglio is important because it
would naturally have some bearing upon the designs
selected, and a-l?o upon the choice of stones which had to
be suitable for the use to which intaglios were put. The
primary and chief use was, of course, that of a seal, worn
for convenience, from quite early times, as a ring ; not
always so, however, for there is Scriptural evidence that
the signet was worn upon " the hand ** or wrist as a
bracelet. The insignia brought to David upon the death
of Saul were his diadem and his bracelet. Upon nearly
all these ancient ornamental insignia beautiful emblems
were engraved. Those who have studied this subject
have always marvelled at the way in which the minute
details of the design were carried out. The desire of
the engravers has always been to produce mystic signs
and symbolical emblems which would be appreciated
by patrons, and act as indicating the seal of authority
when they were impressed upon wax or other medium
attached to the document sealed by them. Most of the
older intaglios are quite small, and their subjects refer
chiefly to the older beliefs. The gem portraits of Ancient
Greece are especially noteworthy ; many of the intaglios,
however, are merely fanciful representations of the gods.
This is in accord with Grecian idealisation. The era of
true portraiture is found, as we should expect to find it,
in the gems of Imperial Borne.

From Northern Africa some rare old Phoenician gems
have been obtained, in most cases the designs showing
traces of early Greek influence. The Etruscans too, had
many rare gems in bronze.

Modern critics have had something to say about the
style and finish of old gems. Viewed in the light of
modern appreciation of art there is not enough margin
on the stone, the subject usually occupying the whole
of the field ; indeed it seems as if the artist had altered

188 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TRINKETS.

his design, and even in portraits had sometimes distorted
the picture, in order to fill up all the available space, this
is especially so in groups and mythological figures.

The way in which ancient gems are mounted is of some
importance to the collector. The Rev. C. W, King, in
his excellent work " Antique Gems and Rings 33 points out
that ancient intaglios are usually mounted with their
rough backs uncut, although rubbed down upon a slab
of emery. In this he says they differ from modern gems
which are cut and polished " upon a revolving metal
plate coated with emery powder and oil, which gives
them a perfectly smooth and even surface/'

For centuries the intaglio gems were a useful necessary
possession, and then there came a time when their use
waned as writing and reading became better understood.
The seal was, however, for a time revived in the eighteenth
century. The engravers of that day sought to design
fresh devices, but they often followed the ancient seals and
copied some of the mystic signs they found on old gems.
Crests and monograms came into vogue, and letters
were sealed with signet rings. The use of these things
is no more, and the collector and the home connoisseur
wear old rings and mount cut and engraved gems in
various forms as articles of jewellery ; and' they treasure
them for their peculiar forms and for their beauty and
intrinsic worth, rather than for any magic signs upon
them or for their ancient associations.

ENGKAVED DEVICES.

The commonest devices among ancient gems are those
cut in scarab form. Visitors to the East, and especially
to Egypt, have brought back many such gems ; and some
of their relics have, of course, been modem forgeries.
It is a fact, however, that the Arabs have from time to

GEM-CUTTING. 189

time secured many genuine gems which time has un
covered and the weather has left bare after a storm.
These old Egyptian gems and scarabs are mounted and
worn as jewels, and the larger amulets from Egyptian
tombs are worn also. The Arabs have rifled tombs and
they have made copies of many engraved stones for unsus
pecting travellers.

The subjects on ancient gems may be divided and
classified as historical, mythological, and symbolical. In
later days the first-named became the ancestral, the
second religious, and the latter heraldic.

Many of the Greek heads were symbolical of victory,
good fortune and the like ; some were designed merely to
show the attributes of the personified subjects. These
designs in time became emblematic, and were commonly
used by engravers ; on the later engraved seals were many
heads of the Pagan deities.

In the present day the emblems of the different Pagan
deities and those of mythological characters are almost
forgotten, and are seldom made of much account, it must
be remembered, however, that when the old intaglio
gems were cut they were very real to those who wore
them. It is of course very interesting to know what
these emblems are intended to represent, even if they
do not create sufficient interest to warrant research into
the mythology attached to the different subjects.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE GODS.

The attributes of the Greek figures— Pagan gods and
goddesses and mythological characters — found on intag
lios, cameos and plaques are numerous, and many of the
best known deities, so-called, are represented in a variety
of forms, and are often indicated by symbols.

190 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

The following are a few of the figures and symbols met
with on coins, sculpture and gems : —
ABUNDANCE, wheat ears and inverted cornucopia.
ACRATTTS, the Genius of Bacchus, as a winged Pan.
ADONIS, represented wearing a hunter's dress, commonly

seen in association with Venus ; his attributes are a

dead boar and a dog.
JSoLUS, seen guiding Bacchus to Ariadne, a bearded

figure and generally winged.
-53SCTJLANTJS, more frequently met with on coins as a

goddess of the mint ; her attributes are scales, money

and a cornucopia.
AMYCTTS, the son of Neptune is seen bound to a tree by

Pollux, Castor associated with him being distin
guished by the bracelet he wears.
APOLLO has many attribute?1 — the thunderbolt is one of

the commoner ; as Apollo Conservator he is always

seated, and as Apollo Sol the deity has a radiated

head.
APRIL, a youth dancing before the statue of Venus, to

whom the month of April was consecrated.
ARIADNE, with head partly veiled is crowned with vine

or ivy leaves.

ATLAS, a nude, bearded figure is seated on a mountain.
CERES is crowned with wheat ears, and often shown in a

car drawn by serpents.

CHARON, as an old man steers his bark across the Styx.
CONCORDIA as a civic emblem holds an olive branch ; in

military garb she stands between two standards.
DIOSCURI, The, (Castor and Pollux) wear oval bonnets,

and have a star as their attribute — they are usually

mounted on horses.
ENDYMION, asleep on a rock, or in the arms of Morpheus,

often in conjunction with Diana preceded by Love

holding a torch.

GEM-CUTTING. 191

ENEAS is shown carrying Anchises, leading Ascanius.
FORTUNE is seen with various attributes : with sun and
crescent she presides over the fortunes of men ; with
two cornucopia dispersing the good things of this
world ; with a helm she rules the Universe ; and with
one foot on the prow of a vessel the goddess presides
over land and sea. As Fortuna Manes she holds
the bridle of a horse.
HECTOR is shown with Andromache, or as driving a

quadriga.
JANUS, the two-headed deity, looking backward and

forward .

JUSTICE with scales and sword is a well known figure.
LEANDER, the common form of representing this hero is
partly immersed in water, at other times he is shown
swimming. Two dolphins and the crescent moon
are attributes of Leander, the latter attribute indicat
ing his night attempts.
MEDEA is shown with Jason plighting his troth near the

Dragon who guarded the Golden Fleece.
MENELAUS is seen with Agamemnon who wears the regal

bandeau.

MUSES, The, are always draped and are distinguished
from the Nymphs in that their busts are draped and
they wear long tunics : the distinguishable attributes
of the Muses are, respectively, Eurania a sphere at
her feet ; Polymnia, a roll, and her robe drawn up
below her girdle ; Thalia wears a mask and carries a
pastoral crook ; Terpsichore plays the lyre ; Calliope
wears a mantle folded round her waist ; Clio is fre
quently represented carrying two thongs with which
she chastises one of the Pierides ; and Melpomene
carries a poniard and wears a mask.
NARCISSUS stands by a fountain near a cupid.

192 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AKD TEESTKETS.

NESTOR is an old man with a large beard, usually carrying

a shield and a buckler,

PEACE represented as a goddess carrying the infant
Plutus stands, usually, before an altar on which is
but the single limb of a victim, explained by old
writers as showing that Peace desires no cruel sacri
fice : the goddess is sometimes represented burning
or destroying the arms of war.

PIETY is veiled, holding a cornucopia, at her feet a stork,
sometimes a temple model or sacrificial instruments
are shown.
POMONA carries a basket of fruit, often holding apples

and a branch of the tree.
PROVIDENCE, a female figure, leans upon a column and

has an inverted cornucopia.

PRUDENCE was symbolised by the Egyptians by a three-
headed serpent : Prudence has also been shown as
a Janus with young and old faces, applying the attri
bute in that she acquired the habit of looking back
and gazing, gaining from past experience, and there
fore was better able to judge of the future.
SATYR, The, is represented in various ways, generally with
the horns, face and legs of a goat : one beautiful
gem exhibits a creature snapping his fingers in token
of joy, as in ancient Italian dances.
SCYLLA is a mermaid with dogs issuing from her girdle.
SILENTTS is seen in many forms, usually with his ass.

Among other symbols seen on ancient intaglios and
cameos are trophies. There is a torch borne alike by
Diana, Hecate and Love : the thunderbolt of Jupiter,
and emblem of sovereign power : half prostrate figures
indicating rivers, as the Tiber personified : the peacock
of Juno : the fowl of Minerva : the nimbus, at first
associated with Phoebus : the lion skin the symbol of

GEM-CUTTING. 193

Vulcan : hands joined together the symbol of Concord :
and a butterfly, the emblem of the soul.

GEMS IN WORSHIP.

It has been pointed out that the engraving of gems
served a double purpose. It gave the wearers beautiful
objects with which to adorn themselves, and it provided
them with mystic charms and protective jewels. Further,
the religious found in precious stones — engraved and
uncut — objects worthy of devoting to the service of the
deities they wished to propitiate and to adore. It would
appear that the use of precious stones in worship was
customary among Eastern nations from very early times,
hence it is no doubt that mysterious powers wrere soon
attached to certain gems and when cut and engraved
in an approved form, and endowed with mystic and
sacred symbols were used by the Jews, by the Pagans
and then by the early Christians.

The old emblems of gods and goddesses as understood
by Greeks and Romans, and the myths of their beliefs
as typified in the emblems on engraved gems indicated
by the foregoing list, are a dream of the past ; they are
relics of a Pagan world, and of men and women who
feared what they could not see or understand. In vain
they sought protection from evil spirits by casting votive
offerings at the shrine of some " unknown god/' Priests
profited by these superstitions — but not all, for it is a
well established fact that many votive offerings have
remained where they were thrown in Roman times until
recent years. An instance of how these objects of gold,
silver and bronze have remained in so-called sacred wells
for centuries and have only by accident been brought
to light has already been given.

The emblems and symbols of Greece and Rome came
and went, and their gods are no more. The Pagan deities

194 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of Britain are now laughed to scorn, but there is an
emblem which has taken their place in worship and has
been duplicated countless times in all costly metals and
in precious stones and gems. The Cross which became
the popular emblem of pilgrims and saints in Anglo-Saxon
times in Britain is still revered. All through Mediaeval
days it was copied, and the cross, the crucifix, and the
crozier, so many of which are to be seen in the South
Kensington Museum, are art treasures testifying to the
power and love of Jesus and of God the Father. Such
jewels are used for similar purposes still. While holding
no magic power they are rightly pressed into the service
of the Church.

Precious stones shone in the breastplate of the High
Priest in the Jewish ceremonial worship of Jehovah ;
they shine still with greater glory as the noon-day sun
pours through the windows of cathedral and church upon
the jewelled Cross on the twentieth century altar, typifying
the worship of the same God, and of his Christ.

CHAPTER XVin.

THE LAPIDARY.

PREPABING THE STONES — SOME DIFFERENCES IN GEM-

CtTTTING.

THE name by which the cutter and polisher of stones
is called is derived from lapis, a stone, but it is generally
understood to mean one who includes in his work the
art of engraving small stones and thus creating them
" gems " for the use of the jeweller. Obviously the stones
which in their rough state, although in crystalline forms
usually coated over with an incrustation, must be pre
pared before they are ready for the jeweller or setter
of precious stones. The incrustation has to be removed
before the worth of the stone can be ascertained, for
then when cleared of its outer coating, flaws, should
any exist, are revealed. The uncut gem presents a very
different appearance from the stone rendered lustrous
by facets cut upon its surface, and the shining reflections
cleverly contrived.

Many ancient craftsmen were, probably, workers in
precious stones and in metal, and operated upon both
substances. Others were gem-cutters rightly so-called
for they confined their labours to engraving stones and
investing them with that peculiar charm which is attached
to anything on which are mystic characters or symbols
which the common people rarely understand. Many of
these ancient artists cut for their patrons stones which

196 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
had been obtained from various sources, and engraved
them according to their instructions, and then returned
them to be afterwards set by other craftsmen.

PREPARING THE STONES.

In the preceding chapter the story of the precious
stones has been told — their formation, discovery, and
the way into which they have been pressed into the
service of man — and used in worship in Pagan and in
Christian times. In its natural state as taken from its
matrix the stone may and has been used for artistic
purposes as well as jewellery, but the jeweller prefers
to make use of the precious stone after it has passed
through the hands of the lapidary, who cuts, polishes or
engraves it according to his fancy or that of his clients.
The term or craft-name, lapidary, is applied to all
cutters of stones — precious, and of commoner kinds. The
lapidary is one skilled in the cutting and polishing of
stones. The tools of this artist are few in number, the
principal being a lathe or wheel necessary for grinding or
polishing. The engraver's tools are varied, but very fine
and delicate. It is true much beautiful work has been
done by hand with scarcely any mechanical aid ; when we
examine the fine work done by ancient craftsmen with
few opportunities it is difficult to understand how they
achieved such marvels.

Eastern artists, however, have always been famous
for their wonderful handiwork with few tools and very
primitive apparatus. Their skill in the present day has
been seen in Eastern bazaars and in exhibitions in this
country where Oriental natives have given demonstra
tions of their ability. Drills were known as far back
as 725 B.C. The Etruscans used the drill and quite early
the Greek artists understood its use as well as that of

THE LAPIDARY. 197

fine engraving tools. There was a fraternity of gem-
cutters in 1373, in Nuremberg, where a trade guild was in
existence and even then exercised a beneficial influence
upon the craft. Apprentices were not allowed to trade
or work on their own account for six years, during which
time they were expected to become proficient, and to be
able to undertake the ordinary work of gem- cutting.

In a previous chapter reference has been made to the
different facets of the diamond ; of the brilliant and of
the rose diamond, which it may be mentioned was so
named because it was supposed to resemble a rose when
cut ; it does not flash like the brilliant, and is therefore
not now so much in favour.

SOME DIFFERENCES rsr GEM-CUTTING.

It may be well to make clear some of the differences
in the work of the lapidary, and in the methods adopted
to ensure the best results. There are many quite ordinary
stones in small slabs, cut and polished, which are used in
jewellery. They have little or no reflective powers, but
are in themselves beautiful, and for their rich colourings
and tints are chosen for mounting in gold and silver.
In Scotch jewellery the agates and the cairngorms are
attractive and need no added beauty other than their
setting. The veins of the green malachite are enough
for the artist without any engraving.

Such stones as the amethyst and the topaz need no
chiselling, other than simple facets to set off the flat
surface of the top of the stone. Diamonds, rubies, and
emeralds, and such precious stones, are carefully cut
by the lapidary according to the approved style which
gives the greatest brilliance to that particular stone.

Very different, however, is the work on which the
engraver is engaged. The subject selected after having

198 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

been scratched with a fine tool upon the surface (the
polish having been removed) is cut either intaglio or as
a cameo. Most of the ancient gems were cut intaglio,
that is the design was cut into the stone, and shown up
below the surface which was usually polished flat. The
effect of intaglio gem-cutting is of course the opposite of
cameo which is cut into the surface in order to throw up
the pattern or design. Seals and signets are almost;
invariably cut intaglio, and when impressed upon soft
was or other substance reverse the effect of the intaglio
and show impressed the clever cutting of the experienced
artist. The early Greek intaglios cut into hard gems
are indeed marvels of skill and patience, and show the
rare ability to transfer in miniature quite small details
of sculpture — the intaglios of Ancient Greece showing
the human form and deities personified are among the
priceless gems of the art of a far-off race of artists.

CHAPTER XIX.

PASTES AND ARTIFICIAL GEMS.

EAEE ANTIQUE PASTES — METHODS OE PRODUCING PASTES
— OTHER IMITATIONS.

THE study of old jewellery soon brings the enquirer face
to face with the somewhat startling fact that many of
the old jewels are " only paste/' It may be well to
disabuse the mind of any prejudice which that discovery
creates, for some of the old pastes are just what they
purport to be — neither more nor less. They are not
fraudulent imitations, only very good substitutes for
substances which either could not be procured or were
too costly for the purpose for which the gems were
intended.

It is true that in modern days much of the made stone
has been very inferior, and even that which has been
good has been spoiled in the setting. In olden time
pastes, enamels and similar compositions were looked
upon with greater favour and were thought worthy of
the most costly settings. In some of the later revivals
of pastes and imitation jewellery the guilds, by which
trades were regulated, placed restrictions upon the use
of pastes in gold and silver settings and consequently
many of the gems were rendered valueless after the new
ness of the inferior setting had worn off.

The custom of the ancients to use large gems in many
cases made it impossible to obtain genuine stones, and
fostered the manufacture of imitation jewellery. The
use of paste is common to all ages — in most cases it was
an accepted substitute, not an inferior copy.

200 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

RARE ANTIQUE PASTES.

There are many wonderful pastes among Egyptian
curios. The paste beads of which necklaces were formed,
and the blue paste scarabs, some so well imitating lapis
lazuli, have been found in countless numbers. Some of
the jewels in the Cairo Museum which came from the
tomb of the Queen Aah-hetep are enriched by the free
use of lapis lazuli blue pastes. In the British Museum
there are Egyptian amulets of red paste, some of them
representing the " buckle " of the girdle of Isis.

The Romans understood the art of making pastes,
and probably transmitted the secrets of the mixtures
they used to the barbaric races whom they conquered

Some very interesting examples of old paste are notice
able among the numerous relics from Saxon graves.
Many of the bronze-gilt rings and fibulce from Saxon ceme-
taries have paste ornaments, intermixed with genuine
stones.

The Greeks were not unacquainted with imitation
stones. In the Gem Room at the British Museum there
are many remarkably fine cameos and intaglios — of
pastes made in Ancient Greece. The Greeks also used
imitation small stones for the jewelled embroideries for
which they were famous.

In Mediaeval days many very large jewels were em
ployed in ecclesiastical ornaments, and in imitation
" jewelled " book covers and shrines.

From time to time men have been exceptionally success
ful in producing good imitations of ancient gems, and
many have tried to supply the demand which has at aL
times been greater than the supply. One of the most
successful fabricators of old pastes and of gems was James
Tassie, who was born in Glasgow in 1735. Tassie per
fected the discoveries he had made, and settled in London,

,. 30, 31, 32, 33 AKD 34.-GEOOT OF RARE CAMEOS.

In the Collection of Mr. Edward Good.

PASTES AND ARTIFICIAL GEMS. 201
where after a time lie won considerable fame. His
greatest achievement was the execution of a commission
from the Empress of Russia for a cabinet of about fifteen
thousand examples, to produce which he had to obtain
specimens from the best known collections all over the
world. An important record of Tassie's works, many
of which are represented in the collection in the British
Museum, is a catalogue which he published in 1791,
fully illustrated. Tassie also made some very fine medal
lions from a white paste. The business which Tassie
had created was carried on after his death, in 1799, by
his nephew William Tassie, who lived until I860, when
by his bequest a large collection of the gems which had
been produced by his uncle and himself came into the
hands of The Edinburgh Board of Manufacturers,

For a century or more the pastes and imitation jewellery
which have been manufactured have been common, and
most of it is obviously tawdry, both in the quality of the
imitation stones and in their setting, which is for the
most part of base metal. Time has not improved the
appearance of these comparatively modern pastes and
mounts, so that the difference between the quality of
more recent pastes and those of the ancients is the more
conspicuous.

This inferiority of later pastes has now been overcome,
but the prejudice against them lingers. Greater know
ledge of chemistry enables present-day artists to secure
excellent results — for it is no secret that imitation stones
are still produced — and worn.

METHODS or PRODUCING PASTES.

Artificial gems are produced by using pastes composed
of identical materials to those properties and chemical
and mineral formations in the real gems they imitate.

202 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TRINKETS.

Then again there are pastes which give similar results
although the materials of which they are composed are
quite different. Real stones are sometimes " faked,"
in that the surface of the gem proper is very thin — a
mere shoe — backed by the same or similar substance, as
already suggested.

It is not necessary to describe at any length the methods
adopted in modern production. In principle they are
the same as older pastes, but doubtless very different
in the shop practice of their manufacture. Diamonds
have been much imitated, and " old paste " jewellery is
highly valued, for although there may not be the same
brilliant fire the gems are very effective. It is well
known that the diamond is but crystalised carbon, and
many more or less successful attempts have been made
to produce good imitations from the same product. Old
paste, however, is a glass-like substance with high refrac-
tivity but without the trq.e fire. Other stones have
been copied, but the imitations are almost invariably of
glass-like paste, coloured.

Experiments have been tried by which tests could be
established. The hardness of the precious stones is a
good test — for the diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire
are much harder than any paste. A test which has been
applied with almost certain results is mentioned by Mr.
A. Beresford Ryley, in his exhaustive work on Old Paste,
in which he says " Recently a test, supposed to be
infallible, has been discovered in the shape of an
aluminium pencil, the points of which when drawn
across paste leaves a shiny, silvery line on the surface,
while no similar effect occurs with a natural stone/'

OTHER IMITATIONS.

Glass or paste has been made to give better results
by backing with foil or tinsel. Again a thin layer of

PASTES AND ARTIFICIAL GEMS. 203

genuine stone is often backed with paste which is given
the required colour to produce the correct tint of a stone
of unusual depth of colour. In some cases three layers
are used, the middle one being of gla^s ; such deceptions
T^hen suitably mounted are difficult to detect, and deceive
the unwary.

Another class of " precious stone " is made up of
inferior stones cut and fashioned like the best gems. In
the eighteenth century quartz crystal, oftentimes cut with
great care, produced excellent " diamonds." Most people
are familiar with " Cornish diamonds " found in the
tin mines and used in cheap jewellery. Such quartz
crystals flash in the sunlight and also in a strong artificial
glare, but they are rarely very brilliant, and are short
of the true fire.

Pearls have been much imitated, and in their produc
tion the scales of certain fish are sometimes utilised.
Artificial pearls were at one time produced by the Chinese
by inserting some small foreign substance in a fresh-water
mussel, such substances being in time coated over by the
fish thereby producing thinly coated pearls.

It is only necessary to make a tour of the jewellery
shops in London and the larger cities and towns in this
and other countries to realise what an immense number
of " sham " pearls are made and, from the supply, evi
dently worn.

There is, undoubtedly, much to be said in favour of
good imitation jewellery, so much less in cost than that
made up of rare gems. It is true that some shops are
delusive, in that their stocks and their displays are much
mixed, and the amateur cannot always distinguish between
the old and the " modern antique." On the other hand
there are some dealers who very wisely confine themselves
to the sale of genuine antiques — pastes and stones, and
of such articles of wear and of ornament there is no lack !

CHAPTER XX.

CAMEOS.

MATERIALS EMPLOYED — EARLY EXAMPLES — MEDIAEVAL

CAMEOS — MODERN REVIVAL — WEDGWOOD CAMEOS —

PATRONS OF THE ART.

GEM-CTJTTrN"G in relief dates back to the days of the
Etruscans and the Phoenicians, and possibly had its
rise in an earlier form of ornament ; it is, however, not
so old as the intaglios of Ancient Greece. So beautiful
was the effect of gem-cutting in relief, in almost any
material that when once its fame was established its
continued popularity was assured. It is true that the
career of the cameo has been somewhat fitful, at times
even intermittent. The earlier cameos were almost
forgotten when the Romans revived their popularity.
Some wonderfully good gems were cut in the earlier days
of Roman supremacy, probably by Greek gem-cutters
who cut so many of the best intaglios. Portrait gems
of the emperors were much favoured in Imperial Rome.
The generals and officers of the army brought the cameo
to Britain, and when the Romans settled in this country
for their long stay the cameo was one of the ornaments
worn. Cameo cutting, it is assumed became a lost art
here in the centuries which followed the return of the
Romans to Italy. Cameos were, however, made and worn
in the East, and when the crusaders went to the Holy
Land they brought back with them some of those gems.

FIGS. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 AND 40.— RARE CAMEOS.
In the Collection of Mr, Edward Good.

CAMEOS, 205

There was a Mediaeval revival, and a later time of popu
larity for the cameo, in this latter instance cut from
shells, in the Victorian age.

Some articles of old jewellery lose their charms because
they become worn and lose their freshness. Not so,
however, with the engraved gem or the gem in relief, for
unless actually broken even cameos are generally in very
good condition. Some of the very early cameos and
gems in the British Museum, and in other collections, are
in such splendid condition, that we are tempted to believe
that they must only just have left the engraver 's hands,
and the amateur may well doubt their authenticity. If
any possess gems about which they are in doubt they
ought always to inspect carefully the national collections,
where there are gems representing every period and style
of art ; many have been thus assured, and have often
discovered that they, too, have some excellent examples
of ancient art ; and on the other hand some are unfor
tunately obliged to admit that their gems are but worth
less imitations.

It cannot be made too clear that each style of art has
its own peculiar charm and beauty, and thus in gems
there are many varieties, and even in cameos there are
some cut from the most precious stones, some from paste,
and others from shells. Some of these materials add
to the intrinsic worth of the article, others have in them
selves no monetary value, the entire value lying in the
appreciation of the skill of the artist by whom the gem
has been fashioned. Some cameos are sharp and clearly
cut, but shell cameos have a peculiar softness of finish
which must be noticed by comparison in order that the
difference can be fully appreciated. It is possible that
some home connoisseurs regard the large shell cameo
brooches as representing the extreme size of cameos.
That assumption is, however, a mistake for there are

206 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
many fine cameos cut from precious stones and from
artificial materials of very large size. According to Mr.
Cyril Davenport, the well known authority on the subject,
the largest cameo known is in Paris, its size being 13
inches by 11 inches.

The purposes to which cameos are put are of some
interest to the collector who tries to obtain cameos made
up in various forms of art jewellery to which they have
been made use of* In such a collection their are plaques,
portrait groups, mythological groups, and the more useful
forms of mounted gems, among which are brooches,
bracelets, pins, necklets and rings. Cameos, too, have
been used to adorn the exteriors of jewel boxes, snuff
boxes, and even furniture.

The setting of the cameo is not without interest. Many
of the ancient cameos were set in gold and silver, and even
in bronze. The Mediaeval jewellery of the wealthy was
of gold and richly jewelled, the cameo being frequently
introduced. When large shell cameos came into general
use in Victorian days bright gold — not always of the best
quality — was used for the somewhat gaudy setting which
in many instances detracted rather than added to the
charm of the cameo. Commoner cameos were worn
freely, and " Pinchbeck " frames were very common. The
tiny cameos set in rings are very beautiful, and some of
those rings are a tribute to the good taste of the goldsmith
by whom they were fashioned.

MATERIALS EMPLOYED.

The cutter of cameos worked with the picture ever
growing before him, in which he differed from the cutter
of intaglios who had but an inverted representation of
the gem which when finished could only be seen in its
full beauty when reproduced upon some plastic material.

CAMEOS. 207

The aim of the cameo cutter was to work in relief, that
is to produce a miniature sculpture which showed up
well by contrast. For that purpose he chose a material
composed of layers of different colours or shades, generally
of the same material of solidified substance, although
not always so. He found the agate and the onyx stones
best adapted to his purpose. The onyx was probably
the chief stone used, more precious stones were, however,
used, for many of the best ancient cameos are cut from
the emerald, the beryl, and the chrysoprase. Garnet
and jasper are met with, but rarely a true ruby. Of the
blue stones the lapis lazuli and the topaz have been cut
as cameos, and there are many precious stones which have
been so cut, but the onyx with its variety of tints and
its many layers, is by far the best for the purpose, and the
ancients as well as those who followed the art they
had so well exemplified, took advantage of the beauty
of the relief the onyx gave when cut.

Real stones have not always served, for there have
been attempts to " improve " upon the natural stone.
Mr. Davenport tells of the way in which cameos have
been coloured for cameo cutters. He mentions in his
book on " Cameos " Oberstein, in Oldenburg, as the
place where this work of preparation was chiefly carried
on. He says " These stones were found in great quantities
in the neighbourhood of this town (Oldenburg), and the
works were originally established for the cutting and
preparing of the native stones ; but of late years the
natural supply has considerably diminished, so that the
greater part of the work now done at Oldenburg consists
of the cutting, staining, and polishing of rough onyxes
sent there for that purpose from all parts of the world."
The stones selected are, therefore, those possessing two
or more distinct shades, and in some instances these are
coloured or their effect heightened by artificial means.

208 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

The sardonyx often used by the ancients came from
India and other Eastern countries. The turquoise was
a favourite stone in Mediaeval days, and much favoured
by Queen Elizabeth.

The shell used in later days was the East Indian Cassia
rujus, and it was chiefly chosen because it has a sub-strata
not unlike the sardonyx.

There seems to be no limitation to the materials from
which cameos may be cut, so long as the relief effect is
produced, and the relief is shown up by different colours
or tints, although that is not absolutely necessary as
some of the cameos are like the pearl shells of Damascus
little more than relief work from the same substance.
Pastes have already been mentioned as materials from
which many fine cameos have been cut. Even ostrich
eggs have been made the subject of skilful cameo cutting,
giving excellent results in two shades. Some of these
are of ancient origin, others the work of more modern
artists who must have spent many days in producing
beautiful pictures in relief on the shells.

The shape of a cameo is of no importance, indeed
some are cut from irregularly shaped stones without any
attempt to reduce them to any geometrical form. The
size and contour of the stone or shell is selected more on
account of its colouring than its shape. Such stones
are filled as far as possible with the intended design,
which in order to fill the space is often altered and em
bellished with additional devices. Thus in the Greek
cameos it is obvious many of them have been filled with
additional attributes of the gods and goddesses portrayed,
and of the characters personified or scenes depicted.

EARLY EXAMPLES.

In the very early cameos the lives and habits of
the peoples who made and wore them are reflected.

CAMEOS. 209

Wlien the Greek artists cut their stones and fashioned
their gems, and the Etruscans worked so laboriously with
simple tools, the subjects chosen were the Pagan beliefs
and the myths of those early times ; they were not
representing something almost forgotten and little under
stood, but depicting very cleverly the religions in which
they had faith, and carving in stone the incidents relating
to those religions which they saw enacted daily around
them, and in which they in all probability took part.
The oldest examples of Greek cameos are probably of the
Mycenesen period, of these there are many fine examples
in the British Museum, among them a wonderful piece
which every one admires, a lion cut in amethyst, a remark
ably fine piece in excellent condition.

Cameos found favour among the ladies of Greece and
Rome, they wore them in their hair and mounted as
clasps used them as fastenings for their flowing robes
and for their cloaks. Military men wore them too, as
shoulder fasteners just as they were worn in later times
by the Crusaders. Roman art declined after the death
of Severus and then cameo cutting fell into disuse. There
was, however, a revival later, and many of the old cameos
show traces of the changes in religion after Constantine
the Great had adopted the Christian faith and discarded
the Pagan beliefs. The later emperors inherited and
acquired many examples of the early arts of Rome, and
some of them have been well preserved and have been
handed on with additional historic interest, A very
remarkable sardonyx was among the jewels pledged by
Baldwin n. of Constantinople to Louis of France. The
central part of this piece represents Germanicus returning
from his expedition to Germany when he was received
by the Emperor Tiberius.

Many of Wedgwood's famous cameos, designed by
Flaxman, were portraits of the older Roman Emperors,

210 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

and of course the gem of all cameos (not carved in stone)
is the Barbarini vase.

MEDIAEVAL CAMEOS.

The Renaissance of art affected almost every craft,
and it caused a revival of many lost and neglected arts ;
its influence made the curio hunter of that day look
up many of the rare cameos which the artists of ancient
Rome and Greece had wrought. The renewed interest
in all things beautiful caused the Mediaeval jewellers to
seek the help of gem-cutters, and they began to cut stones
like their fellow craftsmen had cut in the days of old ;
they also chose similar materials, although not always
the same, for they were accustomed to work in a some
what different way to the older artists, and possibly to
use more advanced tools.

The great revival of cameo cutting commenced in the
fifteenth century, and the material selected as best for
the purpose was German agate. There is another
difference of some interest to artists and collectors who
are trying to locate their specimens, in that whereas
the Greeks cut their cameos- in relief leaving one side
quite flat, the cutters of the fifteenth century and later
hollowed the underside and generally worked in higher
relief than the ancients. The subjects worked by the
Mediaeval artists do not help much in the way of identifica
tion, for they chose classic gems as examples, and often
copied very closely the ancient gems to which they had
access. It is said that the best guide in distinguishing
the cameos of the Renaissance is to note that in the
later periods of the art Oriental stones were seldom used.
Turquoise was much employed in the days of Queen
Elizabeth, who had very many gems from this material
cut by a cameo-cutter whom she employed.

CAMEOS. 211

The cutting of cameos on pearl shells has been carried
on in Damascus since the sixteenth century, the shell
being the Meleagrina margaretifera.

MODERN REVIVAL.

The modern revival of cameos as articles of jewellery
must be taken with a double meaning. The wearing of
cameos as brooches and pins had always been favoured
by those who were fortunate enough to possess genuine
antiques. It was, however, in the first half of the nine
teenth century that there was a serious attempt to revive
the art as an industry. The late Queen Victoria was
very fond of cameos and she encouraged the wearing of
cameo jewellery. The materials employed were chiefly
shells, and many very fine cameos were cut. Again
the artists found that they could not improve upon the
old designs of the early gem-cutters. There is, however,
a modern rendering of the Pagan deities and of the
attributes of the deities and other figures represented,
and it is not always of the happiest, in that it is very
difficult indeed to combine the ancient and introduce
modern tastes without in some way or other spoiling the
results. Some artists, however, were very successful,
one of these was Lamont who cut many cameos in the
early years of the nineteenth century when the "new "
art was beginning to be fashionable.

The second phase of modern revival is that which has
come into vogue during the last few years. There has
been quite a hunt in the old Victorian jewel boxes, and
many cameos once thought almost worthless are found
to be veritable gems of the cutter's art, although their
setting is inferior. Along with this mass of old cameo
jewellery brought to light there have been many worth
less things, some only common paste and others mere

212 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

glass imitations. The hunter after cameos marvels at
the quantity of these gems found here and there. The
finest collection anywhere perhaps is that which has been
got together by Mr. Edward Good of " Cameo Corner/'
New Oxford Street, London. The very fine necklet
formerly in the collection of the Duke of Marlborough,
shown in Figure 29, is one of the pieces he has secured.
Other examples taken from his cabinets are represented
in the illustrations of ancient cameo gems shown in
Figures 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39 and 40.

The collector wonders whether the art of the cameo
cutter will ever be revived. There are some who are
very optimistic and believe that there is still a bright
future for the art, not merely for shell cameos but for
the precious stones cut in cameo form. It is believed
that among English craftsmen there are some quite
capable of working as well as the ancient artists of old.
The matter of price might be some deterrent to the common
use of gem cameos for jewellery, but the work of the present
day could and would be facilitated by the use of drills
and fine cutting tools which would enable the cutter to
perform the work, which at one time must have been
very slow and laborious, at a reasonable pace. It is a
beautiful art, and one which ought to receive every
encouragement should it again be taken up. In the
meantime the collector has an ample selection of fine old
gems left us by the ancient artists, and also by the shell
cutter of Victorian days.

WEDGWOOD'S CAMEO JEWELLERY.

It would be difficult to find anything more beautiful
than the marvellously cut and chiselled cameos in delight
ful colours which the great Josiah Wedgwood executed

CAMEOS. 213

from designs of ancient art. In reference to these wares
in Old Pottery and Porcelain (a volume of the HOME
CONNOISSEUR series) it is said " The love of detailed
miniature work led Wedgwood to devote much time
to the production of fine cameos, so many of which
represented classic subjects, and in the excellence of their
workmanship rivalled almost the ancient cutters of gems
and cameos from which they were taken. Many of these
gem-like cameos were mounted in gold and set in various
ways."

In museums where collections of these small objects
are shown much of their real beauty is lost, because of.
the way in which they are shown, instead of being arranged
in rows they ought to be shown in suitable settings as
was the intention of the great artist who made them.
In the chapter on this subject in the catalogue of the
Wedgwood Works Museum there is a quotation from an
article by Professor Church who says " So also one would
like to see in a public gallery illustrations of the way in
which Wedgwood adapted his productions at the arts of
the jeweller Nor can the artistic effect of Wedg
wood's small and delicate jasper cameos be properly
seen when these choice gems are fixed in formal rows
upon a museum tablet, instead of being framed in cut
steel, in gold, in silver, or in ivory, or set in bonbonieres,
tea caddies, and patch-boxes."

These little objects are much sought after and may
be seen in shops to-day set in gold and silver. There are
modern replicas too, but they lack the sharpness of the
originals.

PATRONS OF THE ART.

It has been said that cameos are coming into their
own again. That, however, refers to the wearing of

214 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

cameo jewellery and to the revival of the art rather than
to the delights of the possession of cameos as a pleasurable
collection of gems and articles of virtu. There have
been patrons of the goldsmith's art and of gem-cutting
who have probably combined the delights of wearing
such gems and of their possession. Many patrons of art
in the past have ultimately become collectors in the
fullest sense of the word. Whether it will ever become
the rage for persons to collect cameos to any extent like
that wonderful collection belonging to Mr. Edward Good
remains to be seen.

There have been collectors in the past, and some of
them have been influential patrons. It has already been
mentioned that Queen Elizabeth was a patron of the
art and possessed many fine gems. Queen Victoria also
had many wonderful cameos, especially shell cameos.
The Emperor Charles v. gathered together many fine
cameos and employed one of the best cutters of his day
to cut portraits of himself and his Empress. Charles i.
of France was also a patron of the art. The Duke of
Marlborough's collection has often been alluded to on the
subject. The nucleus of that famous collection was
made by the Earl of Bessborough, in the middle of the
eighteenth century, and was afterwards acquired by the
Duke of Marlborough. The late Duke of Devonshire was
an admirer of art, and possessed many fine cameos. In
the British Museum there is a very important cameo vase
formerly in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire,
but subsequently in that of the late Baron Ferdinand
Rothschild, by whom it was bequeathed to the nation.

Another very interesting group of cameos is to be seen
in the Soan Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields where the
house of Sir John Soan is still kept, almost as it was
when the great architect lived there. Most of the best
pieces were formerly in the collection of the Archbishop

CAMEOS. 215

of Tarentum. These gems are mostly of onyx and sar
donyx, the subjects including a Bacchante, the head of
Medusa, and some dancing nymphs. Another interesting
case of jewels in the same museum contains many fine
gems gathered together by Sir John during his tours in
Italy.

CHAPTER XXI.

ENAMELS.

VERY EARLY SPECIMENS ART REVIVALS LIMOGES

ENAMELS SOME MUSEUM EXHIBITS MORE RECENT

ENAMELS.

THE enamelling of metals has been applied to many
articles of jewellery, and used in the decorative treatment
of trinkets. It is not exclusively confined to metals,
but most of the things associated with jewellery — objects
of wear or ornament — to which enamels have been applied,
are based on metal. The more precious metals as well
as those of a baser sort have been coated with some form
of enamel, the leading idea prevailing in all ages being,
it appears, to give colour, and by contrast relieve the one
colour tint of the metal, and in combination to produce
better and richer effects.

The use of enamels can be traced to an age when the
processes which produced such remarkable results cannot
be discovered, such works have to be judged by results
rather than from the methods of production.

VERY EARLY SPECIMENS.

From very early specimens practical artists can ascer
tain the materials used by the ancients, and follow the
different processes which gave improved results as time
went on, and as certain peoples advanced in their know
ledge of the art of enamelling. Although traced back

ENAMELS. 217

to a very early date the process of enamelling must have
followed the invention of glass-making, for enamels are
of a vitreous nature. It is well known that glass-making
was understood by the Egyptians, and from their tombs
come specimens of enamelling, showing that even then
they had made considerable proficiency in the art.
Although the work when finished is often elaborate the
principle of the art is simple in that it consists in fusing
a silicate of glass, to which is added metallic oxides,
reduced to powder, to produce the desired colours. This
powder is placed in the cells of the prepared framework
arranged according to the preconceived design, and then
fused until the enamel adheres or becomes embedded in
the metal work. In the finer works of art gold and silver
are used, copper has, however, been very generally em
ployed by enamellers.

It must be understood that whereas true enamelling is
a metallic art the term is frequently applied to the glazing
or " enamelling " of porcelain, and to painted substances
not fused, although sometimes heated for drying purposes.
Thus much of the Arabian pottery is enamelled, and some
of the finer porcelain of Japan is thus treated. Some of
the European pottery was composed of a coating of tin
enamel, as the early Delft ware. In recent times the term
" enamel " has been more extensively widened, until it
embraces many of the finer paints and varnish finishes
for wood ; and of course vitreous enamel subjected to
great heat is applied to metal culinary utensils of iron,
which after being dipped in metallic oxides are fired and
thus enamelled.

These common objects of every-day use are, however,
far removed from the fine arts of the jeweller, who early
learned the craft from Eastern peoples, by whom it
appears to have been first discovered. It was from the
East that the Greeks derived their knowledge, which in

218 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

time passed to the Romans, many of whose artists were
Greeks ; and then it was carried throughout Europe and
to the Isle of Britain by the Romans, although the Celts
probably gained their knowledge more direct.

The Chinese were early acquainted with enamelling,
and adopted the very distinctive form known as cloisonne,
a peculiar process of enamelling which was continued
throughout many centuries, and is still practised by the
Chinese and Japanese. In more modern processes of
enamelling much of the hand finish of early times has been
done away with, and enamelling is done more cheaply for
present-day markets. The older cloisonne trinkets, jewels,
incense vases and the like were fashioned with many
wonderful designs. The variety of colours introduced
in the delicate little cloisons or cells gave scope to much
fine detail and elaboration of design.

The pattern in this peculiar form of enamelling is made
up by numerous cells or divisions, usually of brass, securely
brazed or otherwise fastened on to the metal frame ; then
each cloison is filled with the requisite colour or shade of
the material carefully placed, the object being then ready
for the firing. It is noteworthy that in the finer work
the metal frames of the cloisons serve a secondary purpose
in that they often provide additional ornamentation, not
infrequently giving the appearance of fine metallic pen
cilling in the coloured portions, helping to make them
more realistic, as for instance the cloisons in a floral
design are often arranged to form the veins of leaves.
In the older work these cell outlines in jewellery and in
finer works of art were often gilded, or composed of metal
containing gold and other alloys producing most effective
setting to the coloured enamels.

The vitreous materials already stated to be used in
cloisonne and other similar processes did not always
constitute the method adopted. An equally ancient plan,

ENAMELS. 219

and possibly one antedating tlie other process, was to
inset in the cells, or to afterwards surround them, small
pieces of glass or paste which had first been appropriately
coloured. This kind of work is more correctly described
as mosaic (for fuller reference to " mosaic jewellery " see
Chapter xxxix.).

The reproduction of older works has as a matter of
labour-saying economy been effected by simpler plans
than the older method of producing a glossy surface by
rubbing down by hand. The rough and irregular surface
of the early enamels and inlays required much reduction
and polishing ; of later years more accurate adjustment
of the materials and better flux causes the vitreous
materials to run smoothly and form a well-finished sur
face without any of the older hand polishing.

ART REVIVALS.

The enamelling practised in England by the Anglo-
Saxons was doubtless derived from the Celts and the
Romans. The art has already been referred to in Chapter
xn., where some of the best known specimens of Anglo-
Saxon jewellery extant are described. Many discoveries
of late Celtic and Roman enamels have been found buried
in this country. In the account of historic caves in
Britain and the objects taken from them it is recorded
in the Encyclopedia Britannica, in reference to several
ornaments " deserving of special notice/' that the " enamel
composed of red, blue and yellow has been treated so
as to form a close union with it/* In the same volume
there is a quotation from Philostratus, a Greek classic
writer, who marvelled at the enamels of the British
which the Romans had found existing in Britain. He
wrote "It is said that the barbarians living in the ocean
pour these colours (those of horse trappings) on heated

220 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

bronze, and that these adhere, grow hard as stone, and
preserve the designs that are made in them." Here
then is the simple description of British enamelling which
after having fallen somewhat into disuse was again revived
in late Saxon times. The celebrated jewel of King Alfred,
and the Minster Lovell jewel are examples of this well
known revival. In the Summary Guide to the Ashmolean
Museum at Oxford (where the Alfred jewel can be seen),
a descriptive work of extreme interest, full of concise
statements from authentic sources, it is stated in reference
to the enamel work of these jewels that they are un
doubtedly " products of Early Christian art/' According
to one view mentioned " we may see in them a revival
of the art of enamelling which had flourished in Britain
in late Celtic times and was introduced anew by mission
aries from Ireland, where the art had been preserved/'
As it has been stated in an earlier chapter the art of
enamelling became general in the Middle Ages, when
under the guiding influence of the ecclesiastics, who were
great patrons of art, rich enamels were produced for
vestments, ceremonial use and altar decoration. During
this and later periods the older processes of enamelling
were worked and in some instances improved upon. Some
of the best results have been obtained by the Champleve
process, which, briefly described, is the enamelling of
solid metal by cutting away those portions to be filled
in with coloured substances — paste or enamels. In this
way gold, silver, bronze and copper have been worked
and the cuts or indents filled with fusible enamels.

LIMOGES ENAMELS.

The enamelling practised in the sixteenth century in
Limoges was so distinct that it calls for special mention.
Some of the small pieces are art trinkets of extreme

ENAMELS. 221

beauty and full of the finest detail ; most of this enamel
is, however, of a somewhat larger size than jewellery,
although every piece large or small is a priceless " gem/'
The older style of producing the picture effects seen on
Limoges enamels was hy cutting the design, to be after
wards filled up, into the metal ground of brass or copper.
In this a metal ridge appears to have been worked up
to divide the colours or shades, thus preventing running
when fired. A new style, introduced in the art work
of Limoges during the second half of the sixteenth century
is usually designated " surface painted enamelling," the
painting which is generally in white being put on a coloured
ground. The designs in the larger pieces were taken from
well known paintings or engravings. This art afforded
scope for the miniature painter who produced many valu
able pieces of Limoges treasured in collections, although
not classed as jewellery.

SOME MUSEUM EXHIBITS.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is particularly rich
in enamelled jewellery of the later periods when ecclesias
tical art had reached its greatest heights. The loan
exhibits in the Museum galleries too, are full of such
treasures in gold, enamels and precious stones set in
combination.

Many persons, however, find in the collections in the
British Museum even greater interest, because there
they can see classified according to periods the art of
enamelling from the very earliest times. There are some
fine examples of cell-enamelled brooches, the best being
the Dowgate Hill brooch, closely allied in style and forma
tion to the Alfred jewel.

The Middle Ages are well represented in the British
Museum collection. La the catalogue to the exhibits it is

222 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

pointed out that while the monks were the chief craftsmen
in course of time some of them had shops of their own.
Thus it was that the trade was established ; and gradually
the goldsmith and jeweller had lay patrons whose commis
sions they would receive for many articles, among which
would be personal belongings lite jewellery.

During the French Revolution many small trinkets —
snuff-boxes, brooches and the like — were made of Limoges
enamel. The enameller soon found many uses for his
art, not the least being the enamelling of watch dials and
cases. Some of these are very fine examples of miniature
paintings.

MORE RECENT ENAMELS.

The revival of old arts including that of enamelling has
been frequent in recent times. In many instances when
such revivals have taken place some quite new and dis
tinctive style has been introduced. An instance of such
a new introduction is found in the important works
opened by Stephen Jansson, in 1750, at Battersea, the
enamelling being worked chiefly on copper foundations.
Many very beautiful little articles were decoratively
enamelled, although few of them could correctly be termed
jewellery ; but most of the enamels made at Battersea
were undoubtedly trinkets. The work was well executed
and vied with the enamels of Lille and other Fre'nch
enamels of more recent years.

Art enamelling became very popular in the eighteenth
century and there were many small makers who produced
very excellent workmanship, one of these was Toussaint,
a Soho jeweller, who enamelled many fine and delicately
painted scenes and portraits — some of his best work
being miniatures.

Some interest has been shown in what is termed peasant
jewellery, especially that of Russian make, some of the

ENAMELS. 223

enamelled objects being rich in colours and distinctly
bearing traces of old Byzantine influence. The effect of
this jewellery is peculiar for the enamelling is carried
out within cells of twisted wire, but these jewels have
been often repeated and most of those articles met with
now are modern replicas.

Eastern enamels of quite recent date have a quaint if
not an ancient appearance. They come from all Oriental
countries and flood the market, so much so that collectors
while recognising their great beauty and attractive " old
look " are wary, for the collector of the antique rarely
likes to include modern replicas, however well executed,
in his cabinet. The jewel case in common use can,
however, with propriety contain a few examples of Eastern
enamels whether original in design, or following old
styles, for they are often very appropriate adornment when
worn with the more artistic costumes and embroideries of
the present day modistes.

CHAPTEK XXII.

RINGS.

PREHISTORIC, GREEK AND ROMAN — ANGLO-SAXON AND
MEDIAEVAL — SEALS AND SIGNETS STONE RINGS BE
TROTHAL AND WEDDING RINGS — HISTORICAL AND RELIC

RINGS.

ALTHOUGH not perhaps the most ancient object worn
by man as an adornment of the person the ring is, par
excellence, the article of jewellery around which centres
tradition, antiquity, utility, and symbolic meaning of the
greatest reverential character. It has been cut, forged
and hammered out of many metals and other materials,
and worn by all peoples — civilised and barbaric — from
the earliest periods. It is associated with magic rites
and ancient beliefs, and it is given and worn as com
memorative of the closest ties of friendship. The circlet
of gold has throughout the ages been the emblem of
trust, respect, and dignity ; and the ring unadorned by
stones or gems is still the symbol of fidelity given to the
blushing bride in her marriage ceremony.

Long forgotten rites have been associated with the
ring which symbolises Eternity, and the ancient stone
circles, druidical temples, and mounds surrounding the
dwellings of prehistoric races tell of the power of the
faith and belief in the symbol of the circle. The wor
shippers of the Sun god knew the form of the disc they
venerated ; it gave them warmth, shelter and protection ;
its form then was one to be admired, copied, and made

RINGS. 225

use of as a symbol of all the attributes of virtue with
which they were familiar.

Is it strange then that rings of bronze and gold are
found in the barrows and mounds of prehistoric peoples
in this and other countries ? The ring was an emblem
of the protective power of the supernatural. There is a
lingering trace of the Sun and Moon as objects to be
worshipped in many things appertaining to the common
habits of people to-day. Until quite recent years, and
perhaps still, in Russia the bridegroom wears a ring of
gold as an emblem of the Sun, and the bride a ring of
silver as an emblem of the Moon.

Rings worn by the common folk everywhere have had
a religious meaning in them, and they have often been
given, worn and used in accordance with the prevailing
faith of the nation. Thus in earlier times in Christian
England the rings were inscribed with suitable emblems,
the most frequently met with being that of the cross.
Then there were the decade rings, with ten projections at
intervals round the hoop ; these served the same purpose
as the Aves, a larger projection in the centre of the ring
reminding the wearer of the Paternoster he was enjoined
to repeat ; in some cases the little knobs were separated
by three tiny beads or dots symbolical of the Trinity.

There are rings of gold and silver, of bronze and iron,
of stone and jet. Some are quite plain, others are orna
mented by the engraver and are made for use as seals
and signets, others are enriched with cameos and with
precious stones, the setting of which adds to the beauty
of the gems. There are rings, every part of which bear
some symbolic meaning, and carried weight and perhaps
position to the wearer ; and there are some which convey
symbolic meanings to those who see them, and which have
at times caused hearts to quake and limbs to tremble.
Such collections as that in the British Museum is full

226 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of the deepest interest, and cannot be too closely examined,
for there are examples which come from afar, many
possessing great historic interest. There, too, can be
seen practically every example or difference mentioned
in this chapter, in most cases the best possible examples
of every style and period.

PREHISTORIC, GREEK AND ROMAN.

From the graves of the prehistoric peoples in this and
other countries have been recovered many rings of metal,
of stone and of jet. The simple rings, often called " ring
money " found in Ireland and in some parts of Scotland
are thought by many to have formed a kind of currency,
as do the armlets and rings of barbaric peoples to-day.
In like manner many rings of bronze have been found on
the sites of the Lake dwellings in Switzerland. Curious
rings with transverse perforations come from Ireland,
but although they are now without pins it is more than
probable they were originally worn as the ancient brooches
with pins which have perished.

The rings which can with certainty be classed as finger
rings, are perhaps of a less ancient date to those rings of
metal found in crannogs and barrows. The Etruscans
and the Greeks possessed many gems, and their rings were
numerous. At a still earlier time the Egyptians had set
their engraved scarabs in ring form. The beetle which
was regarded as so sacred a symbol by the ancient
Egyptians was the emblem of Kheper, the source of
creative power. The idea was favoured by the Etruscans
and Greeks who followed the device in their engraved
rings. At a later time in Greek art the influence of the
scarab waned, and the myths of Pagan Greece took a
greater place in artistic symbolism.

RINGS. 227

In the rings of Roman origin and of the later period of
Greece the subjects were somewhat intermixed, and the
work was performed mostly by Greek artists.

It has been suggested that the greater use of rings as
time went on was the outcome of convenience, in that
faith in the curative powers of stones and the protective
powers attributed to some of them, induced their owners
to carry them about their persons, and this they could
the better do by wearing them set in circlets of gold,
silver or bronze, on their fingers. The old Roman rings
were hand forged and solid. There were others, however,
of common metal, gold cased. Some too, were quite
hollow, which probably gave the idea to the first makers
of rings containing secret poison, of which type many
were carried in Rome in those days of uncertainty and
unknown intrigue.

The Romans wore rings of iron and of bronze ; gold
rings could only be used by persons possessing property
worth, at least, it is said, in our money about £4,000 :
freed men also had the right to wear rings of gold. There
were fashions then which were strictly observed in the
wearing of rings. Plain signets and bronze rings were
worn on either hand, but rings set with stones worn by
the men were so worn on the left hand, in that it was
considered effeminate to wear them on the right. Pliny
says that such rings were worn on the fourth finger by
Greeks and Romans, but he adds that the Gauls and
Britons wore their rings on their middle fingers only.
Wealthy Romans had rings for special occasions and
seasons ; in winter they wore rings of bronze of heavy
weight, but in summer they wore much lighter ones.
Among special rings was the birthday ring (often a gift
from some friend), worn on the natal day, known as the
annulus natalitus ; the annulus sponsionis was the Roman
pledge ring.

228 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TBINKETS.

The Roman matron wore a ring to which was attached
a small key, symbolising her authority and the right to
carry the keys of the house. (See Chapter xxvu.,
" Chatelaines, Chains and Pendants/')

ANGLO-SAXON AND MEDIAEVAL.

In the days when England was free from the Roman
control, and in the Middle Ages which followed, many
rings were worn doubtless, but most of them have perished,
although some very notable examples have been found
in Saxon burial grounds and in some of the places where
ancient British towns were located. Finger rings were
made of bronze, gold and silver during those periods.
Some of them dating from the days before the Norman
conquest were of brass and deeply incised, there are
several such rings in the London Guildhall Museum.

Rings of silver have been found, in every case the
fashioning of the ring being hammered by hand, for the
drawing of wire was not known until the fourteenth
century. The silver in those early days was cut into
strips from the sheet or plate, and then rounded up and
welded into a perfect ring. In the Guildhall Museum
there are some set with finely chiselled intaglios in jasper ;
green glass is in some cases used for the bezel.

In Anglo-Saxon days rings of gold were worn as badges
of nobility, indicating the position of the wearer, such
rings being generally worn on the third finger of the
right hand, which finger became known as the ce gold
finger/'

Some very interesting old rings have been found in
Scotland, and most of them are now deposited in the
National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh. Among
the collection may be seen some rings on which are in
scribed old runes, several of which were found in Cramond

RINGS. 229

churchyard. A curious prayer ring of bone was found
in Inveresk, and one of bronze at Duffus. Perhaps one
of the best in the collection is described in the Museum
catalogue as " a finger ring of gold, with the signet part
divided into two hexagonal panels, containing in one a
figure of the Virgin and Child, in the other an ecclesiastical
blessing, the sacramental cup, the outlines and back
ground with black enamel " : this was found in or near
Melrose.

There were many well engraved rings worn in the
fourteenth century both in this country and in France,
these often bore the arms of their owners, and sometimes
their emblems or crests. There were both gold and silver
gem rings, some very massive. The rings in the Victoria
and Albert Museum, at South Kensington, include many
fine and rare examples of Mediaeval art, one of these, of
fifteenth century make, is of bronze and set with a green
chalcedony engraved in representation of the lion of St.
Mark.

In later days there have been more distinctive styles,
and the purposes for which rings have been used and
worn have been more clearly defined, admitting of better
classification — a grouping according to purpose rather
than period, giving the collector who specialises on rings
some opportunity of sub-dividing his curios. Such classi
fication is adhered to in the following paragraphs.

There are a number of rings of modern types which
need not be described here, other than to point out that
the older examples, either for their quaint workmanship,
or the gems which are set in them, are worthy of a very
prominent place in a cabinet of old jewellery. Among
these are the beautiful giardinetti rings so prettily orna
mented with baskets of flowers in gold and precious
stones • and the marquise rings, many of which date
from the earlier years of the eighteenth century.

230 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

SEALS AND SIGNETS.

The seal or signet set in a ring dates from very early
times. Such rings were used in Rome during the days
of the Emperors, and from that time onward appear to
have been in common use. Their first inception began
with the employment of parchment documents, and
then written letters — oftentimes the work of the profes
sional scribe — to which was affixed the writer's seal in
wax. For the better preservation and privacy of the seal
and for the convenience of it being always at hand the
ring was the best adapted.

Signet rings were used by Roman matrons for the
sealing of wine jars and many such relics of Roman resi
dence in England have been found at Colchester and other
places. At Silchester there was a fine gold ring found
some years ago. It is described in the Victoria History
of Hampshire as being ornamented with a " rudely
incised head with ' VENVS * round it " : it is supposed
to be of late Roman make, for also engraved upon it is
the Christian legend " VIVAS IN DEO." Many Roman
rings have been found in Hampshire, a county where the
Romans dwelt in considerable numbers.

Seals in ring form were used until more modern days
when there were other means of keeping the seal, set in
a suitable frame, from wrongful use. Various metals
were employed for the manufacture of old seal rings but
the engravers rarely used gold, a metal which was always
a regal privilege, the possession of a " bulla " in gold being
a distinction. Curiously enough the permission to use
silver seals was a greater honour, and such seals are rare.

The signet ring was common in Italy in Mediaeval days,
and in England too, but armorial signets were seldom
met with in this country before the sixteenth century,

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RINGS. 231

although they had been used in Italy and in some parts
of the Continent more than a century before that time.
Stones were often engraved with coats of arms and with
monograms and crests, and in that form the wearers of
seal rings employed them throughout the eighteenth
century, during which period written letters were generally
closed with a wax impression of the arms of the sender.
The seal on all deeds of importance continued longer ;
and although the sealing of a document is still continued
in form, it is only a legal fiction, for the ancient security
given by the use of the seal is no longer any advantage.
Visitors to Rome find in the Gregorian Museum a fine
collection of ancient rings ; there too, may be seen a collec
tion of old Etruscan jewellery. Much of it is arranged
in a marvellous revolving cabinet, a mass of shining
gold and precious stones. There are beautiful breast
plates, chains, head-dresses, brooches and bracelets. A
special feature is the collection of laurel crowns of gold,
such as the ancient Etruscan warriors received as the
result of their success.

STONE RINGS.

Stone rings — that is rings cut from the solid stone —
are by no means uncommon among ancient gems. The
Romans were fond of amber and jasper rings. Some of
these were worn primarily as amulets, just as stone rings
were worn by the Egyptians at an early date. The
Romans of the Lower Empire were very fond of solid stone
rings and appear to have had a great variety of them.

In our own country many early stone curios have been
discovered, and in Ireland, among the prehistoric relics,
are very many rings of stone and jet. Some very remark
able jet rings were found many years ago during excava
tions on Castle Law Fort, near Abernethy, and some
well formed bracelets of the same material.

232 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

BETROTHAL AND WEDDING REKTGS.

A halo of romance surrounds the sentimental rings —
that is rings which have been given as emblems of friend
ship, affection and love. Such rings have been common
enough at all times, although the seventeenth and eigh
teenth centuries were prolific in the production of " posy "
rings and love tokens. Many of these were engraved
on the inside with sentimental mottoes ; sometimes the
rings were quite plain at others they were set with stones,
each one being chosen as symbolic of some special meaning
or attributed with the possession of some charm. Senti
mental words were spelled by the stones chosen, the initials
of the Euby, .Emerald, 6?arnet, Amethyst, -Ruby, and
Diamond spelling " REGARD/' a common form of
setting. Another variety of more modern type is a ring
set with Zapis lazuli, Opal, Ferde antique, and Emerald,
spelling " LOVE/'

Many of the inscriptions on the posy rings were quaint,
especially those made in the Middle Ages. It may be
explained that the " posy " comes from the French p&sie
and is expressive of poetry or verse in which the sentiment
conveyed in the ring was couched. Flowers often accom
panied the gift. The inscriptions were not all sentimental,
however, for many religious phrases were engraved on
rings given in token of friendship and regard. Birthdays
were chosen as appropriate times for gifts from friend to
friend. St. Valentine's fame has waned, but there was
once a time, not very long ago, when such gifts were
bestowed in honour of the day. It was a custom of long
standing, for Sam Pepys wrote in his famous Diary,
" My wife has increased her stock of jewels by the ring
she had made as my Valentine's Day gift this year, a
Turkey-stone set with diamonds/*

-RINGS. 233

In some countries the betrothal ceremony is accom
panied by the formal gift of a ring. The Jewish ring was
a very imposing affair shaped like the roof of the Jewish
Temple, on the inside of the ring being inscribed such
legends as " Joy be with you/' Although the use of such
ceremonial rings in token of betrothal goes back to an early
date few of those still preserved are earlier than the
sixteenth century.

The betrothal in Anglo-Saxon times was also followed
by the gift of a ring, which was blessed by the early
Christian priest and worn until the time of marriage.
The gift of rings to be worn by both parties to the contract
was at one time common ; so-called " gemmel " or twin
rings until separated presented an unbroken appearance.
Shakespeare, alluding to the custom of plighting troth
by " breaking " the ring — one half to be kept by each
party until the day of marriage, when they were to be
put together as proof of agreement says : —

"A ring of pure gold she for her ringer took."

Some " gemmel '* rings of the seventeenth century are
in the form of two rings united by clasped hands. The
engraved rings used as betrothal gifts often bore such
sentiments as " Hearts united live contented " : others
breathe constancy, as " I will be yours while breath
endures " ; and some are of a deeply religious character
as u God's blessing be on me and thee/' Engagement
rings with fancy settings and various stones took the
place of posy rings, and in more modern times pearls and
diamonds have been popular ; the half -hoop diamond
ring being still in vogue.

The plain hoop, the simple and enduring ring of gold,
is the one worn by the matron signifying the complete
union of man and wife as it is declared in the marriage
service " Until death do us part." The ring of gold, the

234 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

circle regarded by ancient man as the emblem of Eternity,
is a fitting gift for the bride who receives it from the
husband on her wedding morn. It was not always plain,
for fancy rings were once worn.

The ring of gold too, has another significance, for it is
but following the ancient practice instituted by the
Egyptians who placed a ring on the finger of the woman
as a sign that the man trusted her with the custody of
his house. To-day the man declares, as he places the ring
of gold on the third finger of the left hand, "With all
my worldly goods I thee endow/'

The gift of rings commemorative of the marriage has
been at times observed by the wealthy. When Queen
Victoria was married no less than six dozen rings bearing
the royal likeness, in profile, engraved, and so delicately
chased that the features of the young Queen were only
distinguishable by the aid of a magnifying glass, were
distributed among distinguished ladies of the Court.

HISTORICAL AND RELIC RINGS.

In the past there was a close connection between the
Church and State, and many of the ecclesiastical prelates
held almost royal powers. They used similar symbols
of authority, and their signet rings were employed in
much the same way as the royal signet. The great
cardinals wore rings which were at once massive and
indicative by their form and setting of the position held
by the wearer. Bishops to-day wear rings in which are
set large stones of special form and setting — they are,
however, small compared with the great Pontifical rings
of the Popes and the ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages.

One of the best known symbolic rings indicating office
and power is the " Fisherman's " ring given to the Pope
on his election. This wonderful ring is of pure gold, and
is engraved with the symbol of a boat in which St. Peter

RINGS. 235

is represented seated. The sapphire was the stone
chosen to be set in the episcopal rings for bishops and
archbishops as indicative of perpetual chastity. Both
amethysts and sapphires were worn by the prelates of the
fourteenth century. Such rings are rare, but a few ancient
examples are known, one of the earliest being the ring
of Ahelstan, Bishop of Sherborne Minster, whose name
was engraved upon it. Some rings were engraved with
the names of patron saints, and were no doubt worn with
a superstitious belief in the protective power of the
emblem.

There have been gifts to the church by kings and
nobles ; in the deeds conveying such gifts rings have been
mentioned. William de Belmeis gave certain lands to
St. Paul's Cathedral in his will, or deed of gift, directing
that his " gold ring set with a ruby should, together
with his seal " be affixed to the charter for ever.

A ring which is said was once worn by the Vicar-General
of the Spanish Inquisition was sold in London a few
years ago. It is thought to have been brought over to
this country at the time of the Spanish Armada, and
was for many years preserved in the family of Captain
William Neville, who commanded one of the vessels
which guarded these shores from invasion. The ring,
which is of gold, is enamelled and ornamented with
strap-work in niello, and in it is set a large emerald en
graved with a shield of arms.

As amulets and charms many rings have been worn.
Charles v. of France had great faith in the curative and
protective powers of rings, and is said to have had rings
and amulets in all his " trunks." He placed great reliance
in certain stones which were reputed to prevent infection
against the Plague : other stones were chosen by the
royal monarch as protections against almost all then
known diseases.

236 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

The royal signet, the seal of office, has frequently passed
from one to another in token of friendship, and as con
veying royal favour. The kingly ring was an ancient
emblem of office, inseparable from the regalia of crowned
heads. Such rings were carefully preserved by Assyrian,
Egyptian, and Jewish kings. There are many touches
of real human frailty in the pomp and glory ascribed to
the wearers of rings by Jewish kings, prophets and priests
in their records of sovereign power which they fully
understood.

There are many historic rings in the British Museum,
and among them one formerly belonging to Mary, Queen
of Scots, which is engraved with the arms of Scotland,
and the monograms of Mary of Scotland and Francis n.
of France. The fate of Mary of Scotland was similar to
that of Charles I., who on the morning of his execution
gave his ring to Bishop Juxon.

The faithful representation of rings in portraits painted
by the great masters has on more than one occasion led
to the identification of the portrait, for even coats of arms
and signets have been clearly shown. The ill-fated
Stuarts were long remembered, and memorial rings of
the lost kings and their descendants were made. Such
souvenirs, held sacred by the Jacobites, were engraved
with portraits of Charles I. and the Pretenders — father
and son. Some were set in black enamels and were not
unlike the memorial rings which were much worn last
century.

Relic rings have often been popular after some great
event. At the present time many small souvenirs of the
War are being worn, set in rings and as other " jewels/'
Relic and mourning rings were frequently given as keep
sakes. Anne of Cleaves who survived Henry vm. left
in her will a large quantity of mourning rings for distribu
tion among her friends and dependants. " Mortuary "

RINGS. 237

rings were often ghouly souvenirs, for the chief emblems
were the " death's head and cross bones/' Rings —
memorials of the Holy Sepulchre — modern, of course, are
eold to visitors at Jerusalem. Many years ago they were
mostly of silver, although they are now frequently of
gold or gold-plated ; on them are Hebrew characters.

Much more might be said about rings, of which there
are countless varieties. Those illustrated are but a few
sketches of different types taken at random from several
museums — some in the British Museum, others at South
Kensington, and a few are types from private collections.
Many of them are by no means unique, for such styles
are not infrequently met with, for although there were
no machine-made replicas " dumped " on the market in
olden time jewellers and engravers got into the habit of
duplicating their designs — indeed the rings of those days,
even the engraving of monograms and mottoes, were
frequently duplicated. Figure 41 is one of many on which
are Greek heads such as have been repeated in many forms,
most of the Pagan deities being honoured by the engraver.
Figure 42 is a late Roman ring on which is the familiar
Christian symbol which was adopted by Constantine and
placed on his standard, it is in good condition and is of
almost pure gold. Figure 43 is another common form of
ornament, for Mercury has been much favoured by the
gem-cutter and engraver. Roman matrons and others
wore a key ring symbolic of their position, like the one
illustrated in Figure 44. Figure 45 is a fine ring now in
the British Museum, and is typical of many engraved
bezels like this one on which are Egyptian emblems.
Figure 46 is also an Egyptian ring, the bezel of which is
of scaraboid form.

Memorial rings have been mentioned, the one shown
in Figure 47 having, it is said, belonged to the unfortunate
Charles I. The decade ring illustrated in Figure 48 has

238 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

two projecting pieces round the sides, and one large one
to remind the wearer of the Paternoster which he should
repeat. The large Pontifical ring shown in Figure 49
is massive and its emblems are deeply cut, it is of fifteenth
century make the emblem on the side being the winged
lion of St. Mark, a very fine green chalcedony in the centre.
In Figure 50 may be seen an ecclesiastical ring of the
usual type in which are three saints. Figure 51 is another
ring on which are the sacred initials.

Figure 52 represents one of the commonest forms of
posy ring such as were worn in the sixteenth and seven
teenth centuries, on them were many mottoes in line with
the one engraved on this ring which reads " HEARTS
UNITED LIVE CONTENTED/' Figure 53 represents
a marriage ring now in the South Kensington Museum.
Figure 54 is a sixteenth century ring of silver, also in the
South Kensington Museum, and is typical of many
betrothal rings of the period. Figure 55 is a ring of
another type, one such as might have been worn by a
merchant man of the sixteenth century. A very imposing
ring is shewn in Figure 56, a Jewish betrothal ring, on
the top of which is a representation of the Temple and
the engraving round the sides has upon it the legend
" JOY BE WITH YOU." The last illustration Figure
57 is a beautiful seventeenth century ring with jewelled
setting.

Just as there must always have been a great sameness
in the general appearance of the Egyptian rings, the bezels
of which were always the inevitable scarab, so the jewellery
of the Middle Ages and of later days showed little real
novelty. Th^t explains the similarity often observed
in museum collections.

The jewels worn by ladies of fashion at all times have
shown a remarkable similarity and paucity of variety.
Although some additions have been made, and some are

RINGS. 239

less popular, the description of the jewellery of the early
days of the seventeenth century given in a pastoral acted
in Norwich in 1631 is not far removed from what would
still be an appropriate statement. The description of the
requirements of a lady of fashion ran thus : —

** Chains, coronets pendants, bracelets and earrings :
Pins, girdles, spangles, embroideries, and nngj."

CHAPTER XXIII.

BEADS AND NECKLACES.

BEADS OF STONE AND CLAY THE MAKING OF BEADS

NECKLACES OF BEADS — VERY EARLY EXAMPLES — NECK
LACES OF THE MIDDLE AGES ROPES OF PEARLS 3 AND

DIAMOND NECKLACES.

IT is fitting to associate beads and necklaces, for they
may well be bracketed together, in that the one is to a large
extent the foundation from which the other is constructed.
Necklaces are formed of links, beads or some small objects
strung or otherwise fastened together and secured by
clasp or other form of fastening, so that they can be worn
round the neck. By using separate pieces in its forma
tion the flexibility of the necklace is secured. Other
methods of construction are adopted, but not only primi
tive but modern necklaces are chiefly made of beads and
precious stones, with simple mounts, like the ropes of
pearls, often of great value, or made more decorative by
the admixture of golden ornament.

If we turn to a dictionary or an encyclopedia the
definition is somewhat disappointing to the antiquarian
who has in mind the more ancient jewels and stones or
perhaps only scraps of pottery from some prehistoric
grave — the remains of an ancient necklace. A bead,
the authorities say, is " a little ball of glass, perforated
for the convenience of threading/' That doubtless is the
modern conception of the bead which has been made in
countless thousands for present-day use. Such beads,

BEADS AND NECKLACES. 241

although made in Venice or at home in Birmingham, may
be worn round the neck in single, double or treble rows,
but they scarcely constitute " jewellery/' There are
many uses to which the beads of glass of early days and
of the present have been put, but it is only with the
beads which have been worn as jewellery, or substitutes
for it, in which the collector or home connoisseur of
jewellery is interested.

BEADS OF STONE AND CLAY.

The simple beads of prehistoric man were made of stone
and clay. Such beads were worked by hand and labori
ously rubbed or chipped into shape. Many of those found
in prehistoric graves were burned after having been shaped
from natural clay. Sometimes the different earths were
taken advantage of in order to secure variety of colour,
and thus produce some form of ornament by inlaying the
materials, or by colouring some portions before baking
in a primitive oven. It is evident that there was some
use of beads as isolated ornaments, but their use when
strung together was very general, and was early adopted
by most primitive peoples.

Beads have been found in the graves of the Ancient
Britons in many parts of England. They have been found
on the Continent of Europe in many countries, and
especially among the remains of the Lake dwellings in
Switzerland. Beads of stone, of jet, and of clay have been
frequently met with in the northern counties of England.
In Scotland many interesting finds too, have been recorded.
In the National Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh, there
are some very pleasing beads of green paste with an
enrichment of enamelled yellow spirals. In the Sturrock
Collection there are some of triangular form made of
brown paste and ornamented with spirals of yellow

242 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
tint. There are beads of jet and cannel coal there too,
the dark coloured lignite beads being found in Arran, in
East Lothian, and in Peebleshire.

The early examples of ornamented beads which have
been found in Egypt are indicative of an advanced art,
even when beads were the chief ornament. The glass
beads from the tombs are frequently highly coloured,
and some of them are carved in conventional forms.

In like manner the prehistoric bead ornaments found
in British barrows differ, and represent degrees of skill
in their manufacture. Some have evidently been shaped
by hand, and a pattern has been inscribed with a simple
tool of flint or stone. Others have been moulded or
shaped when the clay has been in a plastic state, and
then artificially hardened. In the barrows on the downs,
and at varying depths below the present surface there
have been finds of beads of clay, stone, amber, bone,
ivory, jet, tin (sometimes notched or tooled) and clay
burned and afterwards painted or impressed with a
pattern.

THE MAKIKG OF BEADS,

Many of the beads made and worn in Mediaeval days
are really very beautiful, and on that account have, no
doubt, been preserved among the odds and ends of the
jewel box for centuries. From such sources it is possible
to collect old beads and make them up into chains and
necklaces. The beads of clay, stone and glass of olden
time were of course hand-made. Those of glass were
manipulated when the glass was in a semi-fluid state,
and often coloured before the ** metal " was removed
from the furnace.

Some few of the beads met with in old collections date,
probably, from Roman times. It is said that years ago
before the barrows and graves of the ancient dead were

R 8

8

BEADS AND ISTECKLACES. 243

fully explored many little trinkets were brought to light
when mounds were ploughed over, and such relics of no
intrinsic value were kept by the labourers and cottagers
as souvenirs, and perhaps as charms. One collector says
that his best finds of glass beads of Mediaeval and earlier
times have been among the old bobbins which are still
used by the lacemakers of Buckinghamshire. Many of
the bobbins of wood, ivory, bone, and metal are very
decorative and are cut and carved in a remarkable manner.
At the end of each bobbin there is a small group or string
of beads of odd shapes and colours by which the lace-
makers distinguish the bobbins and threads they are using.
These bobbin beads are very varied ; some are certainly
hand-made and of considerable age, quite different to
others of modern types used in conjunction with them —
these ancient beads together with the bobbins are the
heirlooms of the cottager, and may be classed with the
spinning wheel and other household curios of former
times — now much treasured, even if once only cottagers*
property.

In modern times the making of glass beads has become
an important industry centering in several towns now
noted for their manufacture. Among Continental towns
Venice is the best known seat of the bead-making industry.
Countless numbers of glass beads have been made there,
and sold to the public, mostly threaded in strings or
ropes. So skilled were the women of Venice in this
business that it is said that with needle and silk a woman
worker could thread as many as two millions a day.
The manufacture of glass of which Venetian beads is
composed is very interesting. To describe the process
of glass-making — of which the production of beads is only
a small part — would be outside the scope of this work,
which only touches upon glass in so far as glass becomes
a part of jewellery.

244 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Glass is but one of the many materials of which, beads
have been made. Chains of precious stones have been
shaped as beads, and ivory and other substances have
been used up in fashioning beads for necklaces and brace
lets. For mourning, jet necklaces were once very fashion
able, and they were cut and shaped in all manner of cubes
and diamond-shaped oblong pieces. Carved wood beads
are sometimes met with, in several instances beads of
cherry stones and hard woods are covered with miniature
carvings, each one often being an object of great beauty
and a marvel of the patient skill of the carver.

It would not be right to pass over entirely the beads
which have in the past, even more than in the present,
been made and sold in this country for other than purely
ornamental purposes. Many changes have taken place
in London, the Metropolis of the Empire, during the last
few years, and still more so within the last two or three
centuries ; and yet memories of former occupations, of
trading centres, and of the needs of the people of former
days remain, and many of them are perpetuated by the
names of streets and famous byways. There are few
better known streets of minor importance as thorough
fares than Paternoster Row, where in Mediaeval days
the makers of beads and paternosters dwelt. Off that
street, so high on the hill upon which stands St. Paul's
Cathedral, in Panyer's Alley, near by Paternoster Row,
there was, years ago, a stone placed in the centre which
was engraved as follows : —

" When you have sought the city round,
Yet still this is the highest ground." —

August 27th, 1688.

In this high and healthy locality — Paternoster Row,
Ave Maria Lane and Amen Corner, paternosters, aves,
and glorias were made ; each of the beads of which they

BEADS AND NECKLACES. 245

were composed was placed in the chain with a purpose,
and were " told 3> with a deeply religious motive and
purport. Some of the beads were turned in a lathe,
others were wrought by hand. There were beads of jet,
coral, amber, bone, silver, gold, and wood. It was a
busy industry, like most of old London trades centering
in one locality. Upon the manufacture of some of these
beads much time was expended, for there were buyers
then as now of beads of more than ordinary beauty.
Indeed, some of the beads were elaborately carved,
many of the rosaries having pendants carved as fruit
and otherwise ornamented, and the more costly of the
beads were enriched with gold and silver, and some were
jewelled and enamelled.

NECKLACES OF BEADS.

The beads however decorative, engraved or polished,
whether of precious stones and gold, or merely of glass,
serve no useful purpose until made up into some form
of ornament or piece of jewellery which can be worn.
Such ornamental " jewels " are mostly met with as
bracelets and necklets. It is with the latter, more com
monly known as necklaces, that beads for personal
adornment are chiefly associated. Very many necklaces
of early types have been found complete, threaded and
fully showing their purpose. In a still greater number
of cases among early remains have been found beads
which undoubtedly formed entire, or parts of, necklaces
when worn. In the relics of prehistoric races as seen in
their graves, or when the mounds which have covered
their interments have been opened, the position of the
beads on the skeleton has frequently shown that they
were deposited on the body as a complete necklace, but
the material on which they were threaded having perished

246 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

the beads only remain. In such cases there is presump
tive evidence of their use, which is confirmed by better
preserved examples of similar types.

The different beads of which necklaces were formed
have been described. Their arrangement has seldom
been haphazard, for in most cases some well understood
plan of gradation has been adopted. The general principle
seems to have been a system of graduated size from the
middle to the ends, terminating with clasps or some form
of fasten or tie. This method of arrangement is noticeable
in the beads found in Anglo-Saxon graves. In most cases
the larger bead was in the centre, and from this often
protruded or was suspended some form of dropper or
pendant, which as time went on became more imposing
and of even greater importance than the beads of which
the necklace was formed.

Referring once again to the isolated specimens found
in some of the British barrows, and the few beads dis
covered together in some of the later burials, it would
seem that the fair possessor of the beads was proud of the
few collected, but had not acquired enough for a complete
necklace. The collection of stones and glass beads in
early days was probably as difficult as the collection of
pearls of great beauty and uniform quality in more recent
years. In other interments the beads show great uni
formity in size and colour, and perhaps indicate that the
" prehistoric lady " bought by barter a necklet of beads
wrought and fashioned by some noted bead-maker. Can
we imagine the savage at work with bits of flint, scraping,
rubbing and polishing beads of stone and jet into shapely
forms, and then laboriously drilling them with some
equally primitive borer ? Perhaps his fair customer was
looking on as the necklace slowly evolved under the
skilful hand of the patient stone-cutter, who for ought
we can tell had his axe or his spear handy in case some

BEADS AND NECKLACES. 247

one else coveted the necklace before he had parted with
it, or perchance before he had presented it to the maiden
he admired.

The necklace of beads was the first kind of chain for
the neck, afterwards golden chains and many wonderful
pendants were wrought. With the primitive necklace,
however, some of the romance of production vanishes.
It may be useful to note that the wearing of jewellery
has had freak fashions at times. Rings which we asso
ciate with the finger have now and then been worn round
the neck. Mr. H. Clifford Smith, in Je.welle.ry tells of the
use of charm rings in early times, and of other rings
which enclosed small trifles. He says " rings so used
seem for the most part to have been worn attached by
a ribbon or chain to the neck and not on the finger."

Necklaces of all kinds went out of fashion in the seven
teenth century, and ribbon was worn often without any
adornment or jewellery. Then came the vogue of little
miniatures and afterwards pendants which began to be
worn from a ribbon or chain. From that time onward
there have been many changes in fashion, but necklaces
and pendants and ropes of pearls continue to have a
fascination for their fair wearers — and, some would add,
for their admirers.

VERY EARLY EXAMPLES.

Eeference has been made to the beads found in the
barrows and other prehistoric graves in this country.
Other races almost forgotten have left necklaces from
which some of their handiwork can be valued and assessed.
The necklaces of the Etruscan women, many of which
have been found in Italian tombs were very beautiful,
their chief charm, however, lay in the pendant which
they had adopted at that very early period. The Etruscan

248 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

pendant was often made of hollow concave plates between
which was a relic charm, or some object held in veneration
as a charm, cure or preventative of evil or danger. Greek
necklaces were of gold wire plaited and frequently ter
minated with a pendant or dropper of richly coloured
enamel and chased gold.

The Phoenician jewels, as it has been pointed out, had
a distinct Egyptian and Oriental character ; so the
Phoenician beads of carnelian, onyx and of gold were
cut and shaped and even ornamented in accord with
Egyptian tradition. There are many fine examples of
that period in the British Museum, especially of glass
beads in the manufacture of which the Phoenicians
excelled.

The gold torque of the Celts is a form of necklet of
great beauty and -much interest (see page 109). The torque
was not exactly a necklace, in that a necklace, correctly
so-called, is made of beads or some flexible chain ; it is,
however, an ornament serving a similar purpose but
quite unique in its way, and is a form of neck ornament
which has no other counterpart in modern jewellery.

The Romans were very fond of beads, and most of the
necklaces of that period during which they occupied
Britain were composed of beads of some form. They used
beads of gold, of bronze and of glass, those of blue glass,
striped and variegated being the most frequently found.
Jet beads are common among the remains of the Roman
jewellery as well as being found in the more ancient
barrows of the Celts and even earlier races. In the North
of England near the site of the great Roman Wall many
interesting relics have been found, among them are neck
laces which were formed of current or earlier coins.
Coins have always been popular as articles of jewellery,
mounted and strung in chains by the aid of holes drilled
in them.

BEADS AND NECKLACES. 249

Passing on for a few centuries the Roman remains are
intermixed with relics of the so-called Anglo-Saxon period.
In this latter time terra-cotta beads were common and
seem to a large extent to have taken the place of glass
beads which were more generally used in Roman days.
The terra-cotta beads are often rendered attractive by
coloured ornament and sometimes by incised design
filled in with some colouring material, probably before
baking. Amber and garnets are common to both periods,
but amber is very frequently found among the remains
of Anglo-Saxon civilisation. Quartz and amethyst are
found in Saxon graves, and some crystal droppers seem
to have been used. Summed up, the beads with which
necklaces are formed appear in the Anglo-Saxon period
to have been chiefly of terra-cotta, amethyst, amber,
quartz, and common glass. There are a few of gold, but
beads of this metal are rare. The setting of such beads
of metal and stone varies, some is of the plainest type,
others quite ornamental, exhibiting some skill in design
and in working the metal and cutting the stones. The
Anglo-Saxon jewellery of cut garnets is often very decora
tive, large stones being used as droppers or pendants,
suspended from the necklace of beads or of gold. The
arts of the period usually reflect Byzantine inspirations,
and the more ornate Anglo-Saxon pendants are distinctly
Byzantine or late Roman in style, although the art has
a local interpretation.

NECKLACES OP THE MIDDLE AGES.

As time went on the revival of art in this country and
on the Continent of Europe, chiefly due to the greater
use of chains and ornament for civic pomp and to the
richness of ecclesiastical ornament, and to some extent
regal splendour, brought with it a change in the style

250 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of necklaces. Beads were no longer thought to be suffi
cient, and the goldsmith wrought much fine work which
when linked together made necklaces for the women
and collars of gold and enamels and many rare jewels
for men and women of all positions. Some of the jewels
set as necklaces were very large and cumbersome ; many
ot the enamelled ornaments were clumsy although very
rich in workmanship and in the colouring of the enamels.
These were then worn high up close round the neck. In
this way double rows of pearls and necklets and chains
of pearls and jewels were worn in profusion. The pictures
of the Middle Ages show the grandeur of the ladies of the
Court in the days of the Tudors, and especially during the
Elizabethan period.

The very fine example shown in Figure 58 is of course
of more recent date than the Middle Ages, it dates, how
ever, from the middle of the seventeenth century. It is
a necklace of enamelled gold, set with table-cut diamonds,
hung with a sapphire and a pearl. This charming neck
lace now in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South
Kensington was bequeathed by the late Lady Alma
Tadema.

ROPES OE PEAJRLS AND DIAMOND NECKLACES.

The ladies of the twentieth century are familiar with
the blaze of diamonds worn upon the corsage and the
ropes of pearls and necklaces of diamonds' some ladies
possess. There have been many famous necklaces in
cluding matchless pearls which have taken years to
collect, for the selection of pearls is an art few possess
and the difference noticeable only to an expert has a
material influence upon the market value of famous
necklaces, when brought under the hammer.

Stories have been told of historic necklaces and of their

BEADS A1STD JSTECKLACES. 251

making. The story of the diamond necklace made for
the Countess Dubarry has often been written, and it is
worth repeating. This wonderful necklace was made
by the order of Louis xv., in 1774. The King died
before the necklace was complete, for like many other
costly things it had taken long to procure, and court
intrigues resulted in consequence of the adventuress
Lamotte endeavouring to get possession of it through
enlisting the offices of Cardinal Rohan, on behalf of Queen
Marie Antoinette — so it was said. The plot was successful
in that the necklace was secured and taken to England,
where the stones were separately disposed of, Madame
Lamotte was traced and was imprisoned, but afterwards
escaped. The necklace caused much trouble for the
unfortunate Queen who was thought by many to have
shared in the " robbery " in which the jeweller, who
made and owned the necklace, and the Cardinal, were
duped.

Although preference is given by many to necklaces
of diamonds and pearls there are some who favour neck
laces made up of less costly materials. The necklace
of cameos illustrated in Figure 29 is one now in the
collection of Mr. Good, to which reference has already
been made. It is a rare example of a cameo necklet
and was formerly in the possession of the late Duke of
Marlborough.

CHAPTER XXIV.

BROOCHES OR FIBULM.

FROM PIN TO BROOCH — ROMAN AND CELTIC BROOCHES

TYPES SHOWING EASTERN INFLUENCE EARLY ENGLISH

JEWELLERY — LATER TYPES OF BROOCHES.

THE brooch appears to have always been the most useful
article of jewellery, for it emanated from the necessity
which had come into being when man first took to wearing
something more than a loin cloth and a girdle. To
accommodate the skin of an animal to the shape of the
human form, and with it to make some kind of covering
for the shoulders there must have been some primitive
fastening. The thorn or some other plant probably
supplied the first pin, a simple article which was easily
shaped and made artificially ; and from that foundation
the evolution of pin to brooch was not an unnatural
step, indeed it was the beginning of invention as applied
to wearing apparel ; and thus the brooch became the most
necessary article, one which rich and poor, young and old,
male and female, required. There must have been
universal demand for the early brooch, and the craft of
the brooch or the fibula as the Romans taught the people
of this country and of other countries to call it, became
the useful article which all possessed, and which was
generally found buried with the remains of warrior and
chieftain.

The fibula, called by their Latin name, are so varied
that the collector discovers many varieties of all the

BROOCHES OR JIBULM. 253

periods into which he divides his collection. The lover
of the antique specialising on fibulce very naturally confines
himself to early specimens, for the brooches of modern
times are different, and although such articles of jewellery
are often large and very handsome, they come under
another heading.

The climax of size was reached by the Scotch jewellers
who made many wonderful brooches with which to fasten
their plaids, and the more important museums have many
examples of such clasps and jewelled brooches. The
brooch beginning with utility has perhaps more than any
other ornament retained its first use to the present day.
It is true some brooches are used for ornamental purposes
rather than any real use, but even when they are so worn
there is some pretence at preserving the original intent.
According to an old Latin dictionary a fibula is " any thing
by which two things are joined or fastened together, a
clasp, buckle or button." In the narrower sense in
which the term is regarded a fibula- is a brooch or some
similar kind of fasten used for holding together the folds
or ends of some garment when worn about the person.
A fibula fastened the Roman tunic which in later years
had sleeves secured from the shoulder to the wrist, so
that one side of the tunic lay at rest on the left shoulder
the other falling over the arm. It is mentioned by early
writers that fibulce were used to fasten the veils of the
Vestal Virgins.

FEOM Pm TO BROOCH.

The spina, described as " a thorn or anything like a
thorn/' became a pin when used by the early Romans,
and made of metal was the spina ferrea used as an instru
ment for fastening clothing or such like materials, or for
similar purposes ; in due course when embellished and

254 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

ornamented and its use was further extended the pin
which began with being a spine from a common thorn
developed into a very ornamental and elaborate piece
of jewellery, known to the ancients as a fibula, and to the
modern world as a brooch.

The course of evolution is traceable when a large
collection of old fibulas is examined. To follow the stages
through which this simple little object of metal, the pin,
passed into a brooch for a variety of purposes it is well
to pay no attention to the ornament which developed too,
but to watch closely the differences which were introduced
as time went on in its construction, and in the way in
which it was used. Practically all the later types which
have been discovered are in principle brooches, it is only
the very early examples that show the plan of develop
ment, the outcome of invention slowly making itself
felt in the mind of man. It would be difficult to find
anything more clearly shown in the advance of manu
facture in the ancient races than in the march of progress
from pin to brooch ; the landmarks, although few, are
clearly defined.

The cave dwellers of the later part of the Paleolithic
Age left behind them a few relics of early civilisation,
and indications that art was dawning, and that the love
of finery was even then inborn in human nature. In the
British Museum among the relics of that period coming
from the remains of some of the cave dwellings in Prance
is an ancient necklace of periwinkle shells from a cave
at Cro-Magnon. There are some small instruments
among these early remains which may have served as pins
for fastening the rough skins with which some of these
people must have protected themselves.

In the Palaeolithic Age Britain was joined to the Conti
nent of Europe, there was no English Channel to protect
these shores, and many animals roamed about, the skins

BROOCHES OR FIBULA 255

of which would be useful, and in their use pins would be
welcome. That was in the Stone Age, and we can only
look for flint pins to supplement the thorn pricks in the
" family jewel chest *' which was then forming. The men
and women of the Neolithic Age advanced somewhat,
and had pins of flint finely worked. Man had then learned
to spin and weave materials which they grew for the
purpose, and their clothing was better formed ; their cloaks
needed fastens, and the time was coming when an advance
on the pin was to be made.

The Bronze Age dawned, and brought with it the use
of metal, making many things possible, and pins of bronze
soon came into common use, and as the Age advanced
the pin became the brooch. Most of the examples to be
found in museums are of the earlier part of the Celtic
period, that is the period before the Romans came,
although some of the examples met with are of the
Romano-British period or late Celtic. The pennanular
brooch, a ring on the pin, became very large, even at
quite an early date. At first simple in construction it
was enlarged, and the ring became broader and more
ornamental. Among Roman remains there are ring-
divided brooches which many liken to buckles in their
form and use. The principle of the brooch as a completed
article of use, and ornamented, having been settled it
remained but a matter of artistic taste to improve its
appearance and so establish its fame.

ROMAN AND CELTIC BROOCHES.

Most of the illustrations of early brooches shown (see
Figures 14, 15 and 16) are taken from examples in the Hull
Museum, where may be seen a very fine collection, many of
them secured from finds at South Ferriby, in North Lin
colnshire. They include the three best known types of

256 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
early Roman brooches or fibulse, the safety-pin type, those
with disc-shaped heads, and the cruciform brooches which
are perhaps later than some of the others. The safety-pin
type evolved from the simple pin by using the pin and
bending it up for convenience. The point was doubtless
soon caught up, and the spring-like hinge which held it
in shape would soon suggest itself to those early
" jewellers/' The pins with disc tops became very
common in the later Celtic period, and with little change
have been adopted throughout succeeding ages. The
pennanular type differs from the ring type, in that it has
an opening or cut in the ring, through which the pin can
pass, and then with a slight turn be held in position.

The varieties of head used in the Roman and Celtic
periods can be best understood from reference to the
illustrations in Chapter xi.

Many very interesting finds of Roman jewellery have
been made hi different parts of England, although none
have given the collector a better or so varied examples
of the different types in common use as the finds from
which the Hull Museums have derived their treasures.
In London there have been some notable finds. Some
years ago when the foundations were being got out for
the National Safe Deposit Company's premises many
old fibulce were found, one of them was heart-shaped and
not unlike some of the examples found in Scotland.
There were also many examples of a later type, although
distinctly Celtic in form. In the same find there were
hairpins, earpicks and finger rings of bronze.

Of early brooches of curious types mention should be
made of the so-called " spectacle " brooches from
Denmark. These made on the safety-pin principle closely
resemble a pair of spectacles, only that instead of glass
in the circular discs metal ornament is in evidence. In
the Guildhall Museum in London there are many of the

BROOCHES OR FIBULAE. 257

safety-pin type of Roman fibulae, some decorated and
seemingly inlaid with silver. There are a good number
of cruciform shapes too. Ring brooches are well repre
sented, all the examples having been found in London.

TYPES SHOWING EASTERN INFLUENCE.

The conditions of Europe at the time when Anglo-Saxon
art was being practised and a " style *' formed were
responsible for the influence brought to bear upon the
art of the then civilised world. Eastern art was making
itself felt, and throughout the later years of the Rpman
Empire Oriental taste was gradually permeating the habits
and desires of the people of Europe, and that was in a few
years to spread farther West. Byzantine influence was
strong, and the Oriental taste for colour, in jewellery
produced by means of bright and rich enamels, soon
became apparent in the brooches and other objects made
in Britain and in Ireland. Brooches would be the best
articles upon which the art of the East could be shown,
for in the large frames or flat rings, the brooches which
had now developed from mere rings lent themselves to
the full display of the use of enamels.

The restless movements of the barbaric tribes caused
art and all other traditions associated with their race to
spread quicker than at any other period of time. The
great Roman power had waned and no longer restrained
the introduction of Eastern influence, and therefore in
manufacture and other things the art of the Eastern
jeweller became popular and was copied by artists in other
countries. It has been pointed out that the path by
which the new art travelled was quite natural, for it
followed trade routes and also emigration. This artistic
ornament and rich inlay of colours came from Persia,
and along the Black Sea route entered Italy, passed

258 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
through Spain and entered Gaul by way of Denmark,
and through the Saxons it came to Britain. It may,
according to some authorities, have reached Ireland by
a more direct route. In any case the fact remains that
many finds of jewellery which show every evidence of
having been the art of the period in this country and in
Ireland in what may have been the late Celtic or the
Anglo-Saxon periods are distinctly Byzantine in character.

It is astonishing what can be accomplished by using
coils and twists of fine wire — units made by the aid of
small pliers or some similar tool effecting the same purpose.
The Byzantine work was made up of such little coils of
which there were hundreds, creating great possibilities
in combination. That characteristic is considered the
test of pure Byzantine art of the sixth to the tenth cen
turies, which although in some instances combining the
coloured inlays constitutes an advance on the early
types which were more barbaric in structure.

Some very remarkable finds of brooches of the early
Christian period have been made, showing the very
great advance in the fifth and sixth centuries in art
jewellery, in some cases illustrating the influence of
Eastern or Byzantine art and the superadded effect of the
adoption of Christianity which brought with it the addi
tion of symbols and inscriptions, many of a deeply religious
character. In her book on Brooches of Many Nations
Miss Heaton tells of the discovery of a silver casket in
1793, in Rome. This fifth century treasure contained
a *e buckle, ten fibulce, two hair pins, ornamented with
figures of Venus : several pairs of earrings, two signet
rings, a hand inscribed * BYZAN/ a hand holding a
torch, a mouse, a scarf-pin, a frog, and a leopard with a
fish's tail." The casket, Miss Heaton tells us, was richly
embossed and chased with figures resembling those
found in the sarcophagi of the fifth century. " On the

BROOCHES OR FIBULM. 259

front of the lid are the words ' SECVNDE ET PROIECTA
VIVATO IN CHRIS (TO) — ' May you live in Christ,
etc/ On the top of the lid are portraits of the bride and
bridegroom encircled within a wreath supported by two
cupids. A roll in the hand of the lady probably represents
the marriage contract. A palace crowned with cupolas
the residence of the bride and bridegroom is beautifully
portrayed on the back of the casket. Three figures bearing
mystic presents are represented surrounded by attendants,
one of whom holds a mirror, and another a torch/' That
indeed is a wonderful masterpiece of the art of the fifth
century but it shows .clearly the height to which the craft
had attained, and makes it easy to accept as jewellery
representing the art of the period the examples of brooches
which have been preserved, and those which have been
found from time to time.

The Anglo-Saxon art of England shows how well the
craftsmen of this country had learned their trade, and to
what an extent they had benefitted by their touch with
the outer world and by the spell of Oriental influence
to which they were subjected by their dealings with the
Phoenicians and others who came to these shores, and
brought Oriental products and bought other goods and
materials in return. As it has been pointed out the use
of enamels in Ireland began in the La Tene period in
France, and was practised right on for some time during
the Christian era which began very early in Ireland, for
St. Patrick landed on those shores in th'e fifth century.
Some of the Celtic brooches found in Ireland have already
been mentioned.

In the Guide to the Celtic Antiquities of the Christian
Period preserved in the National Museum in Dublin, by
Mr. George Coffey, there are some admirable descriptions
of the brooches in that Museum. He tells of the large
silver brooch found at Killamery, county Kilkenny, on

260 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

which there is a small letter inscription on the back. The
inscription is a pious wish " OR AR CHIRMAC," lfc a
prayer for Kerwick." This brooch, and one called the
" Ballyspellan " brooch, are said to be the only examples
known of any indication of former ownership.

There has ever been changes in fashion, although it is
not always known by whom such innovations were made.
Mr. Coffey tells of the special kind of brooches with cross
and bulbous heads which have been found in Lancashire,
Yorkshire and in the Isle of Man, as well as in some parts
of Ireland, having enormous pins of great length. They
were for the most part ornamented with a kind of thistle
ornament, and in principle were pennanular. So danger
ous were these pins that by the Brehen laws men were
compelled to shorten their length.

The size of the brooch itself rapidly increased in the
seventh century, and then commenced the period of the
more ornate decoration, during which amber and enamels
were freely used. Some of these masterpieces which are
still recorded in old illuminated manuscripts and on
sculptures have perished, and probably the few examples
which have been preserved do not include the best pieces
of workmanship. It is recorded that some beautiful
jewels were once in the ancient churches in Ireland but
that raids made by the Vikings caused their loss. The
way in which these great brooches were wont to be worn
is open to no manner of doubt, for there are well authen
ticated sculptures still extant on which they are shown,
notably the High Crosses at Clonmacnois and at Kells.

EARLY ENGLISH JEWELLERY.

Turning from the examples of brooches found in Ireland,
representative of the early Christian period, we find

BROOCHES OR FIBULA. 261

another kind of ornament in the remains of the Anglo-
Saxon graves. There, may frequently be seen the
saucer-like fibulce so many of which have been found in
Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire, a
particular style which was peculiar to the jewellery of the
West Saxons. They are generally of copper-gilt, the
ornament of the otherwise plain shield on the top being
interlaced.

In the Isle of Wight and in Kent the brooches found
are nearly always circular ; some have jewels and are
much chased, others are enamelled. One of the finest
examples in the British Museum is the brooch found at
Sarre, near Canterbury, in 1860. It measures 2f inches
across and is a very fine example of the work of the Kentish
Saxons ; its chief ornament is a large central boss of
pearl, surrounded by four smaller bosses. In the Asmolean
Museum in Oxford there is the fine " Abingdon " brooch
which has many garnets and turquoises set in it, and
much fine decorative work in its ornamentation, another
peculiarity being the introduction of ivory and horn
bosses.

There is a special interest in the cruciform brooches
peculiar to this early period in English art. They are of
bronze-gilt, and are found mostly in the North of England,
the decoration not unnaturally showing traces of Scan
dinavian influence.

It is interesting to note here that the trade of the
jeweller not only received special attention and was
preserved with more than usual care during the Middle
Ages, but it was under the patronage and practice of the
Church, then a fast growing influence for good upon art.
The monks were by no means the idle men they after
wards became, for they were busy building and adorning
those great cathedrals which took so many centuries to
uprear. Every monk learned some useful craft, and

262 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

there were lay brethren very skilled craftsmen in the
fine arts. There were noted jewellers among them. Mr.
H. Clifford Smith, in his instructive work on Jewellery
says, " Many monks became excellent goldsmiths. St.
Dunstan like St. Eloi of France, at once a goldsmith and
a royal minister, himself worked in the precious metals ;
and he appears to have been a jeweller as well/" He adds
" The artistic traditions of the old Saxon jewellers became
almost the sole property of the clergy ; and the Venerable
Bede, writing at the commencement of the eighth century
alluding to the monastic jewellers of his day, describes how
6 a skilled gold-worker, wishing to do some admirable
work, collects wherever he can, remarkable and precious
stones to be placed among the gold and silver, as well as
to show his skill as for the beauty of the work/ "

It is curious to note the retention of the art of the
Anglo-Saxons in later times. It would appear that the
arts of that early period were from time to time revived.
In the Hull Museum there is a very interesting brooch
which was found at Paxfieet near Staddlethrope. It is
undoubtedly of fourteenth century workmanship and is
in a fine state of preservation. It is especially interesting
in that it is a survival of the style and ornament of the
Celtic and Saxon crafts. It has too, a distinct Scottish
style about it.

LATER TYPES OF BROOCHES.

The change in dress which took place in the Middle
Ages lessened the use of the brooch as a cloak fastening.
The brooch, however, continued in use as an ornamental
piece of jewellery. Pictures show the large hats worn
in Tudor days and their jewelled ornaments — a new use
for the brooch. This love of ornament which grew apace
became ridiculous in that little brooches were pinned on

BROOCHES OR FIBULJE. 263

the dress or sewn upon sleeves. Countless pictures of
Queen Elizabeth and her courtiers have been painted,
and close scrutiny reveals little brooches worn for no
other purpose than fantastic ornament. It looks as if
there was a want of some new ornament to serve as a
jewelled decoration, for the brooch was not in all cases
appropriate, although it served.

The little decorative brooches worn in the hat and
sometimes in the hair were called enseignes — a mark or
sign. They are not all as brooches with pins, some are
more like badges, of which many were worn in the Middle
Ages, and were sewn on by loops fixed on the back of the
ornament. The cap ornaments worn by men at that
period are also known as " nowches/' The way in which
all these ornaments were worn is best understood by
reference to a portrait gallery of contemporary paintings.

The chief styles of jewellery of the eighteenth century
may be ascertained by reference to traders' old pattern
books and engraved designs, many of which may be
seen at the library of the Victoria and Albert Museum,
at South Kensington.

These designs are suggestive, and were like the designs
of furniture by Chippendale and Sheraton not necessarily
patterns of actual things produced. They are, however,
sufficiently accurate to indicate the prevailing fashion.
Brooches during this later period — the period from
which the home connoisseur draws his or her earliest
examples were varied. They were all built upon the
safety-pin type of fashion and were strictly utilitarian.
The larger ones were necessary and held together cloak,
shawl, or dress collar. Smaller brooches served as lace
pins and were required to secure the finery then much
affected. There are brooches of gold, of silver, and of
" pinchbeck." The stones are not always valuable, and
even glass of inferior cutting and colouring met with

264 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

approval. The big topaz, emerald or amethyst (which
has been regarded as a jewel of value) has often proved
disappointing when a bequest has been appraised and
the expert has called it "glass/' The value of old
jewellery lies too often in its associations, although that
does not apply to the brooch of diamonds and fine gold
setting, and pearls of large size often surrounding a stone
of good colour and purity although perhaps not of any
great rarity. In short there are many objects of con
siderable interest among old brooches worn seventy or
eighty years ago — and it is quite possible that some of
them were old even then, for the mixed styles of the later
years of the eighteenth century, and those of the early
nineteenth century are very deceptive — and family
tradition is very unreliable*

CHAPTER XXV.

BRACELETS AJSTD ARMLETS.

ANCIENT BRACELETS WHEN THE ROMANS CAME A PAUSE

IN THE USE OF BRACELETS — LATER STYLES.

THE bracelet and the armlet are inseparable, for both
are worn on the arm, and although there are different
shapes and forms, and many varieties of metal and other
substances of which they have been made, they are of
equal antiquity. The names by which these ornaments
have been known have come down to us from Roman times,
and are almost synonymous : the bracelet derived from
the Latin ~brachium, the arm, appears to have been mostly
worn on the wrist ; the armlet is so named from armilla,
and is defined in dictionary terms as " a circular ornament
of gold (or other material) for the arm/' These ornaments
and evidences of wealth have been worn by most savage
races. They were early favoured in the East, and the
ancient peoples " with great pasts " have records of
their common use ; moreover many ancient bracelets
and armlets have been found in Egypt and elsewhere,
confirming Scriptural mention of their use.

Some of the references to bracelets in the Bible referred,
no doubt, to armlets which were then much worn by men
and women, the former sometimes regarded them as some
sort of protection to the arm in battle attack. The
bracelet was a symbol of authority — and it will be
remembered that the bracelet of gold from King Saul was
brought to David. In Exodus xxxv. 22 (Revised Version)
in reference to " the Lord's offering " rendered by the
Children of Israel, it is written, " they brought brooches

266 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

and earrings, and signet rings, and armlets, all jewels of
gold.0 When Abraham sent his servant out of the city
of Nahor, in Mesopotamia to seek a wife for his son,
among the gifts he carried with him were " two bracelets
of gold, ten shekels in weight/' It was these Laban
saw on his sister's arm when he received Abraham's
servant, who afterwards produced " jewels of silver, and
jewels of gold." One more reference will serve to show
the common use of such jewels by the Hebrews ; it is found
in Ezekiel xvi. 11, in which the Prophet, speaking of
Jerusalem as God commanded him said, " I decked thee
also with ornaments and I put bracelets upon thy hands,
and a chain on thy neck. And I will put a ring upon thy
nose, and earrings in thine ears and a beautiful crown
upon thine head/' Such symbolic utterances to have
been understood must have referred to things in common
use.

Persian kings are represented in sculpture as wearing
armlets and bracelets. Indeed there are many indications
in ancient writings that this form of jewellery was favoured
as evidence of possessions, and worn as symbolic of
power.

Savage races have adopted armlets and bracelets as
a method of " wearing " their possessions for personal
custody, and others have used the same means of dis
playing their wealth.

Many writers have referred to the ancient regalia of the
Mogul Emperors of India in which one of the chief features
was a pair of bracelets of wonderful workmanship, set
with diamonds and precious stones. Men and women
have expended their money upon jewelled bracelets of
many forms — women are now the principal wearers of
these ornaments, many of which, fashioned according to
modern art, are rare and costly examples of the jeweller's
craft-

BEACELETS AND ARMLETS. 267

ANCIENT BRACELETS.

Mention has been made of the bracelets of Eastern
peoples, of those who dwelt in Mesopotamia, and later of
the jewellery of the descendants of Abraham before and
after the Israelites came under Egyptian influence.
There seems to have been some confusion, owing, probably,
to similarity of name and purpose, between the torques
and necklets and armlets of gold and silver by the trans
lators of the Authorised Version of the Bible, for several
of the mentions which were originally given as bracelets
are in the Revised Version named as necklets. In Britain
necklets and armlets were commonly worn at an early
date. The Celts made many wonderful pieces of jewellery,
and the torque of gold for the neck was duplicated in
smaller sizes for the arm. Spirally- twisted bangles
showed considerable skill in production and were worn
by many. The most ancient bracelets which have been
preserved for the present generation to admire, like other
articles of jewellery of past ages, come from the graves
and burial places of races and peoples whose inner life
can only be guessed, fortunately for us they left them in
a way that ensured the preservation of their possessions
for a later generation to discover.

The bracelets from the Bronze Age are either of gold
or bronze ; they are of two kinds, pennanular and with
trumpet-like ends, the opening admitting of their being
pressed on to the wrist or arm upon which they then
rest. Most of the ancient gold bracelets and armlets
of this period are plain and seldom ornamented, those
of bronze, however, are decorated, occasionally with
geometrical patterns. Some very early bracelets have
been enamelled, although in many instances the enamel
has disappeared.

Many of the bracelets worn in ancient Egypt, and by

268 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
the Hebrews, were enamelled in colours, and are mostly
of gold a-nd silver.

The earlier bracelets worn by the Celts in the Northern
part of England were chiefly of bronze, some of them
consisting entirely of spirally-twisted metal, alt-hough
some portion of the ornamentation was often enamelled.
Silver was used by the Norsemen in preference to bronze,
and many of their ancient bracelets were of that metal.

WHEN THE ROMANS CAME.

A most stirring event in English history, surpassing
the inroads and emigrations of the Celts, must have been
the landing upon these shores of the Roman legions.
Man^ tales of that great and powerful nation, whose armies
had made their way into many countries of Europe, had
been told ; and the British must have waited their attack
with dogged determination and pluck. They had their
war chariots on the sides of which were scythes of bronze,
and the British chieftains put on their " war paint,"
and some of them wore their jewels, especially their
bracelets of bronze, which to a certain extent were some
protection to the arm. Golden armillce were among the
trophies of war taken with torques and neck ornaments
from the British Queen Boadicea by her Roman
conquerors.

The British chiefly used bronze, but these now dull
and unattractive objects were often gilt and would look
very different then, for they were exceedingly massive ;
and enamelled ornament was freely used on bracelets at
that time. The Roman armillce were worn on the arm
near the wrist} many of them being what would now be
termed bracelets from their form and size ; others, how
ever, were probably worn on the arm itself. The spinther
was a bracelet or armlet worn by Roman women above

BRACELETS AND ARMLETS. 269

the left elbow. The Germans, with whom their Roman
conquerors intermixed, wore bracelets ; and they in
common with some other European peoples gave bracelets
as awards for bravery, such honours being given to warriors
on their victorious return from battlee

As the world grew bigger, or rather the peopled portion
became more populous, an interchange of ideas tended
to introduce greater variety of styles and to amend older
ones. At all periods, however, there was some distinctive
feature by which forms and periods can be identified.
The serpent has had great fascination for women — and
men too — since the days of our first parents in the Garden
of Eden. Snake-like bracelets have been common at all
periods. They have been found in the Etruscan tombs,
they were made by Roman goldsmiths, and Greek artists
fashioned them — and they are still made by jewellers.
It is a strange taste to wear emblems of a creature sym
bolical of all that is evil ; yet on the principle that " like
cures like " the serpent has been worn and figured, and
some of the most ancient temples are built or surrounded
according to the twisted form of the coil of the snake.
Many Roman bracelets, copied it is said from the Greeks,
terminated in serpents' beads ; and the golden snake
coiled itself upon the arm of many a fair Eastern maiden
in days of old as it does on the arms of British girls,
and on the fingers of men to-day.

There is nothing more instructive to the lover of the
old and curious than a visit to one of the best collections
of the objects specially admired. The Guildhall (London)
collection of Roman armlets is very interesting, for they
are exceptionally varied in type. There is an armlet of
bronze composed of a flat band with snake-like ends ;
another of bronze with fluted bands and hook and eye
fastenings. Other armlets are quite simple in construc
tion being formed of twisted wires ; one found in the

270 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Old Steelyard is described in the Guildhall Museum cata
logue as :< ornamented with incised transverse lines/'
and two others found in the same locality have a herring
bone pattern and dots. It is interesting to note the
varying sizes of these old armlets, which range from 2j
inches to 2| inches in diameter. These Roman bracelets
must have been raorn on the wrist, for the diameter is small
compared with the massive armlets in the Scotch Museum
found on the Links of Drumside, Belhelvie, which measure
4J inches internal diameter — these were evidently worn
on the arm in the Celtic period to which they belong. A
remarkably fine jointed armlet of late Celtic type was found
near Plunton Castle, Kirkcudbrightshire.

The bracelets of the Roman and slightly earlier Celtic
period, shown in the Hull Museum with the antiquities
found in the neighbourhood, are all of bronze. Several
of them have incised lines ; a thin flattened bronze
bracelet, ornamented on the outside with an impressed
scallop is an interesting specimen. Many of the bracelets
found in that locality are broken, and some are only
** pieces/' but even scraps of such ancient jewellery are
of great interest and often reveal traces of different ideas
in the minds of their makers — germs of future develop
ment in style and design.

The Dublin Museum is rich in ancient bracelets found
in Ireland ; there are gold and silver bracelets and arm
lets — mostly twisted bangles. In the same collection
there are some ancient silver bracelets — and torques
from which the origin of types which afterwards became
more general in this country can be traced.

Later Roman art became more decorative and altered
the taste for heavy bronze jewellery. When Oriental
art was adopted in the Eastern Empire of Rome during
the so-called Byzantine period a new art in jewellery of
gold was introduced. The style was peculiarly adapted

BRACELETS AND ARMLETS. 271

to larger pieces such as bracelets It is astonishing what
can be accomplished by simple coils and twists of fine
wire — units made by the aid of ^mall pliers or similar
tools. The Byzantine work was made up of such little
coils — of which there are hundreds of varieties, creating
innumerable possibilities in combination. The taste for
Byzantine art increased and permeated Europe, dominat
ing the craftsmen of many nations between the sixth and
tenth centuries.

A PAUSE IN THE USE OF BRACELETS.

Although Eastern nations have worn bracelets from
the earliest times, almost without intermission, bracelets
were not much worn in Europe after the fall of Byzantine
power and influence. Many jewels of great beauty
were made for the abbeys of the Middle Ages, but the
monks who were clever goldsmiths and' silversmiths had
little use for bracelets — the bracelet an Eastern sign for
regal state was not worn for such a purpose in Europe
then, and the bracelets worn by women were probably
of a very simple kind. Men discarded the ornament as
effeminate, and the bracelet was no longer found among
emblems of greatness like rings, chains, pendants, sceptres
and crowns.

The absence of bracelets of the Middle Ages in the chief
museums points to their rarity, indeed there are few
examples of these early periods in the British Museum
which is so full of most of the objects used and worn
then. The collection at South Kensington while including
many fine examples of the art of the Renaissance has
few examples of the earlier period of English jewellery.
In the fine collection of jewellery of Mediaeval times in
the Guildhall Museum (London) there are many brooches,
rings and pins, but no bracelets. Yet among the older

272 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

jewellery, that of Londoners in Roman times, there are
many examples of armlets in silver, bronze and jet,
confirming the opinion that the bracelet was seldom
worn in the Middle Ages, although common earlier and
again later,

It has been suggested that it is not fair to judge of
the relative uses of jewels in the Middle Ages in comparison
with those of earlier times in that the customs of that
day and the conditions affecting their preservation are
not equal. That is explained to some extent by the
fact that for several centuries after the beginning of the
Christian era — indeed until the ninth century — personal
jewels were buried with the dead. This was the case
with prehistoric interments, but the burial of jewels
and other objects then was according to Pagan belief
and from superstitious motives. Many treasures were,
however, buried in early Christian tombs out of regard
for their owners. These tombs have been opened and
jewels of great value have been recovered after having
been preserved from prying eyes for centuries by the
fear of desecrating the tomb of an ancestor.

During Medieval times, however, much that was of
rare beauty and of some artistic merit perished or was
cast into the melting pot. Treasures of gold and precious
jewels have been preserved in the great cathedrals —
although, alas ! many have been robbed and officially
plundered. With the personal jewellery it has been
different. It is probable that few bracelets were worn
by the women during those times, for other forms of
jewellery, referred to in other chapters, became more
popular, and of those few a still smaller number remain.

In the great Renaissance of art fresh impetus was
given to the work of the goldsmith, but bracelets con
tinued to play an unimportant part in the jeweis worn
by the ladies of the period — and men had entirely

BRACELETS AND ARMLETS. 273

discarded them. (There were a few exceptions : see
Chapter xxxiv., " Royal Jewels.3')

Many of the noble families whose heirloom? had been
given up during the Civil War, and whose possessions
had been subjected to rough usage began afterwards to
acquire jewels and plate from foreign and other sources.
Many of the family jewels now existent date from the
Restoration, a time when much money was expended in
acquiring new plate and jewels. Some, however, were
fortunate in having been able to retain their possessions ;
many bequests and mentions in deeds enable present-day
owners to identify rare pieces of historic and old family
interest.

About the time of the Spanish Armada much Spanish
wealth came into this country, and some of these relics
escaped the general casting into the melting pot. Mr.
Clifford Smith in Jewellery mentions a very interesting
bracelet, a family heirloom preserved at Berkeley Castle,
a piece which may have had Spanish origin. He tells
us that amongst the heirlooms bequeathed by George
Carey, Lord Hunsdon, who died in 1603, was a bracelet
" composed of crystal and gold, 3| inches in diameter.
The crystal, a complete circlet overlaid with open-work
gold is encrusted all round with rubies around a sapphire."
This, according to Mr. Smith, shows traces of Oriental
influence in the setting of the stones.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum there are many
examples of jewellery of the Renaissance period and some
of foreign art which came into the possession of old
English families at an earlier date. These delightful
relics of the jeweller's art must be seen to be properly
appreciated ; mere written descriptions such as are
found in catalogues and pen sketches cannot convey an
adequate idea of their full beauty and appearance. All
interested in " old gold " should visit that Museum so

274 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

full of the Nation's treasures and loan exhibits of rare
objects, and thus gam knowledge, and carry away delight
ful reminiscences of Mediaeval art, and of the arb of the
later periods, those times immediately preceding our own.

LATER STYLES.

From the seventeenth century onwards the style of
bracelets is in keeping with the forms of other jewellery.
Many bracelets are composed of medallions, cameos, and
stones fastened together by rings, chains and links. In
similar styles bracelets have large medallions in cut steel
ornament. Steel jewellery was made extensively in
Birmingham in the eighteenth century. Wedgwood
cameos have been made up in bracelets and necklets, and
in modern times too, old jewels have been mounted and
have been adapted to the present-day requirements of
the fair wearers of jewellery.

Bands of velvet with jewelled or cameo buckles have
often been worn. Coral, jet, steel, lava, and other
materials have not infrequently been introduced. Indeed
the bracelet has ever given many opportunities to the
artist and the craftsman, the gem-cutter and the enameller,
and many relics of old time taste remain. Some are in
appropriate to modern requirements — others are adapt
able. It has been sagely remarked that careful inspection
of a few of the display windows and cases of a modern
jeweller shows very clearly that most of the brooches,
earrings, rings, pendants, hair ornaments and the like
are copies of the antique, or that their designers have been
influenced or inspired by jewellers of olden time ; modern
bracelets, however, are in the following of a new or recent
art — style and pattern — and although some favour
barbaric design few are good copies of the strictly antique,
or pure adaptations of ancient art.

Fro. 59. — PAIR OF

EARRINGS OF GOLD,

G R A X I' L A T E D A FT E E

THE ANCIENT

ETRUSCAN

MANNER.

In the Victoria and
Albert 'Mufteum.

FIG. 60. — PATE OF GOLD

EARRINGS CONSISTING

OF THREE OPENWORK

PANELS, HINGED

TOGETHER.
THE WORK OF THE

LATE SlGNOR CARLO
GlULIANO.

In the Victoria and
Albert Museum.

CHAPTER XXVI.

EARRINGS.

EASTERN JEWELLERY GREEK AND ROMAN EARRINGS—

EARRINGS WENT OUT OF FASHION POPULAR ONCE MORE.

IT is elementary knowledge to point out that an earring
is worn from the ear, usually droppers or rings in suspen
sion. The mode of wearing the pendant was for many
years by a hook passed through a hole drilled in the
lobe of the ear — a somewhat barbarous practice which
is now largely superseded by a patent screw attachment
which holds the pendant in position on the lobe of the ear
without the necessity of piercing it.

Single rings have been worn as nose rings, and by
Oriental races in one ear only. The common practice of
civilised nations has been, and still is when earrings are
worn, to use them in pairs — two identical droppers.
The use of such ornaments has always been general ; the
idea having apparently occurred to early peoples, other
than prehistoric races, among the remains of whom
the traces of earrings are seldom if ever found, far apart,
independently.

The earring has like all other ornamental jewellery
been subject to current ideas and prevailing designs and
decoration ; it has been subjected to the same influences
and partaken of the same style of ornament, material
and colouring. The earring attained high popularity
among all Eastern nations., and from the remains of their

276 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,

former grandeur, as illustrated by their sculptures, many
of these rings were of considerable size and weight.

EASTERN JEWELLERY.

As in many other instances we turn for actual proof
of the conditions of life and society among Eastern nations
at an early period, to the Bible, so we must look to the
same source for definite records of the wearing of earrings.
It is curious that earrings should have been chosen as
objects which by their wear conduced to the safety of
the wearer, acting as charms and amulets.

Rebekah, Jacob's mother, had received golden brace
lets from the servant of Abraham. Her son Jacob had
acquired jewels of gold in the land to which he had fled,
but he had taken into his household those who had
made idols, and their earrings had been worn by them
as amulets, in which they had put faith instead of placing
all their reliance in Jehovah : thus it was that when
Jacob was ordered to make an altar to God in Beth-el
" they [his family] gave unto Jacob all their strange gods
which were in their hands, and the rings which were in
their ears " (Gen. xxxv., 4) and he buried them under
an oak. Many years afterwards, when Jacob's sons
had founded a tribe of great numbers, and had left the
land of their adoption owing to the oppression of the
Egyptians, some of their wealth was to be found in the
earrings they wore — some of which would, according to
Scriptural record, be of Egyptian design and make. It
has been surmised that the Hebrews had still a lingering
belief in the potency of the earring as an amulet, for it
was these jewels they cast into the melting pot when
Aaron, from the rings in their ears, fashioned a golden
calf and said, "This is thy god, 0 Israel/' a derisive
cry to which the people responded — they lost their
amulets — and many their lives.

EARRINGS. 277

When the Israelites warred against the Mideonites
they defeated them with very great slaughter and took
much booty, the golden ornaments taken from them
proving their possession of objects which like earrings
were commonly worn by Eastern peoples. The share
of booty ordained as " the Lord's oblation " was " jewels
of gold, ankle chains and bracelets, signet rings, earrings
and armlets/* (See Numbers xxxi., 50.) One more
Biblical mention in reference to ancient possessions and
customs, and perchance a rooted faith in the potency
of the protective power of an amulet which had been
handed down from the days of the Patriarchs, must
suffice. In Job XLH. 11, it is written, " every man gave
him [Job] a piece of money, and every one a ring/' in
the Authorised Version, *can earring of gold/* Thus
when his prosperity came back two-fold Job's former
critics gave him of their wealth — that was in the " land
of Uz."

GREEK AND ROMAN EARRINGS.

The women of Greece and Rome wore earrings, and even
contemporary statues and bronzes show that female
divinities were given such jewels ; a noted example is
the famous Venus de Medici, the ears of the statue being
bored, presumedly for the insertion of jewelled rings.

Among the remains of Roman occupation in this country
earrings have been found, although by no means common
like the fibulce. In the Guildhall (London) collection
there is only one, a bronze earring, oval in form, although
finger rings, fibulae and hair ornaments are numerous.
Greek women wore earrings, and there may at that time
have been some remaining belief in the earring as an
amulet, for tiny cupids were often suspended from the
ring as droppers.

278 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

The very fine examples illus orated here are from
examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum, at South
Kensington. They are reproductions of the antique,
and were given to the Museum by Messrs. C. & A. Giuliano.
Figure 60 are earrings of gold, each earring consisting of
three open-work panels hinged together ; the centre
panel is square and contains a large quatrefoil, the two
smaller, above and below, are oblong and each contains
two quatrefoils ; beads are set between the leaves, in
the centre, and at the corners of the quatrefoils. At the
bottom are five pendants in the form of inverted pinnacles,
and the whole hangs by a triangular plaque enriched with
beadwork from a flower attached to the front of the hook.
The second pair shown in Figure 59, which together with
those illustrated in Figure 61 were made by Signer Carlo
Giuliano, are of gold and after the Etruscan manner.
Each is in the form of a flower with granulated centre
set round with beads.

EARRINGS WEOT OUT OF FASHION.

When we examine the remains of Anglo-Saxon jewellery
the earring is found to be remarkably small and plain,
often just a simple ring of twisted wire ; the practice
of wearing a small jewel or bead as a dropper, or close
to the lobe of the ear, was apparently a fashion followed
at that time. It seems to indicate a lessened popularity,
and to have marked a decline in the fashion which had
been introduced into the West from Eastern countries.

In the periods which followed earrings were not much
worn, they seldom occur in Byzantine jewellery except
in crescent form, and in the pictures of women in Mediaeval
England few are seen wearing earrings. It has been sur
mised that the way in which the hair was then worn
did not tend to encourage the use of earrings, which were
for a time under a cloud.

Fid. 61.-SBCKLACB OF JET BEADS, FROM

BARKINGS. 279

POPULAR ONCE MOKE.

Jewelled costume and the grandeur of the Elizabethan
period favoured earrings once more, and paintings and
miniatures of the ladies of that age show them wearing
many jewels.

Pearl earrings were much worn in the time of the
Stuarts. They were fashionable at the Court of the French
kings, and many pear-shaped pearls were used in their
manufacture. Indeed there were many varieties of earrings
worn during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in
this country, and on the Continent, where in Spain and
Portugal some distinctive characteristics were observable ;
large stones of somewhat bright colours were chosen, and
the open gold lace-like setting was very effective, although
somewhat gaudy.

Some of the old makers' pattern books which were
published on the Continent in the early years of the
eighteenth century show very many designs of large
earrings, one by a French designer representing excep
tionally large specimens with what must have been very
weighty stones. It is often stated that portraits by the
old masters are excellent guides to the prevailing fashions
of the day in which they were painted, and many such
paintings are to be seen in the National Portrait GaEery
and in private collections, and among the family portraits
of the nobility. Such " guides " to fashions must be taken
with caution, for it is obvious that many of those portraits
indicate that the lady sitters were not only specially
posed but even over dressed for the occasion, and they
seldom give a true picture of domestic life, or of the
every-day costumes of the ladies of the eighteenth century.
The popularity of earrings, however, steadily gained
ground, and became a practice of much extravagance in

280 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
the nineteenth century, when many of the earrings were
massive and very ugly.

Earrings were worn by the ladies of the Court of Queen
Victoria, who herself wore long pendant droppers. Por
traits of the young Queen on the early postage stamps
of the British Colonies show Her Majesty wearing her
jewelled crown or coronet, necklet, and earrings of large
size — in a few instances extremely large. Ladies were
not content with precious stones set in long pear-shaped
setting, but fancied rather unwieldy ornaments of jet,
and tortoise-shell inlaid with gold. They favoured
large cameo earrings, some too, made up of Wedgwood
cameo ware, a small cameo near the ear, and a large
cameo pendant on which were Grecian figures or some
mythological device in the pear-shaped pendant dropper.

The earrings of the present day are mostly small,
very pretty, and not obtrusive. They are generally
fastened by a patent screw and therefore do not require
the boring of the ear — a somewhat barbarous practice.
Many antique earrings are adaptable, and it is not un
common to meet with a pair of old earrings modernised,
and once more setting off the beauty of the natural ear
— Nature's ornament 1

CHAPTER XXVTL

CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS.

CHATELAINES CHAINS PENDANTS BADGES .

THE grouping of what are jewels of varied purpose in
this chapter may be deemed somewhat erratic, but
these three decorations, ornaments and objects of utility
have a common bond hi that they are all suspended, and
have for the most part chain connections. The chate
laine worn at the girdle in olden time was in later years
suspended from the belt or held by a chain or band passed
round the waist. The chain itself worn as an ornament
round the neck, sometimes like the girdle or waist belt
or chain, served a useful purpose, and from it often hung
locket, miniature or watch attachment, or as a chain of
office carried some badge or other decoration. The
pendant was sometimes subservient to the chain, acting
as a decoration or finish ; at times the pendant was the
jewel of importance, the chain holding it in position or
safeguarding it,

CHATELAINES.

The chatelaine, correctly described, is a brooch or
clasp from which are suspended trinkets, keys and the
like, generally hung by short chains. This clasp or brooch
fastened at the waist took its name from the authority
it symbolises, in that the lady chatelaine or wife of the
castellan was mistress of the chateau or castle.

The clasp in some of the larger specimens is very
imposing, and from it dangled many chatelaine chains,

282 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

its use at one time becoming very extravagant. Although
the chatelaines as represented by examples in museum
collections are chiefly of eighteenth century make their
counterparts are found in very early times. The Roman
remains in the Guildhall Museum contain some very
interesting examples of early chatelaines. One of these
is described in the Museum catalogue as a " chatelaine in
bronze, the upper portion with flattened circular expan
sion above ; the shaft is ribbed horizontally, the lower
portion terminating in a snake's head, the mouth of which
forms the swivel, to this is attached a square pendant
with an embossed face at each corner, from which depends
three chains of figure-of-eight links/''

The key hanging from the girdle as a symbol of authority
and indicative of position is traceable to Roman times,
and it may well have originated in Egypt, in which
country small keys made for that purpose have been
found. The Egyptians were in possession of a variety of
locks, one of which, although primitive in construction,
was made on a principle which has survived to this day.

Roman keys have been found in large numbers ; the
status of the housewife was not assured until, when as a
bride she entered her new home, and as a Roman matron
was presented with the keys of the household, one of which
she attached to her girdle. Some wore keys as finger
rings, and several of these which could on occasion be
suspended from a chatelaine have been found in the ruins
of Silchester and other Roman stations in England and
elsewhere — in connection with keys as chatelaine pendants
it may be interesting to recall that the warder and jailer
in olden time carried keys from their girdles, and in
pictures of ancient costumes the key frequently figures as
a symbol of office. The custodian of the key has often
gained notoriety !

From Anglo-Saxon graves come little objects which

CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS. 283
have evidently been worn at the girdle ; occasionally
keys are found in bunches, some quite small keys with
other trinkets being found in Kentish graves. Very
interesting notes on the chatelaines or girdle hangers of
the Saxon women are given by Baron de Baye in The
Industries of the Anglo-Saxons. The remains of these
things, it is said, are generally found near the waist in
graves, and the metal frames, engraved on one side only,
are frequently associated with little trinkets in ivory or
objects much decayed, which have evidently once been
attached to the frame which it is surmised was suspended
from the girdle.

There seems little doubt that the chatelaine is but a
continuation of the girdle, once of stout leather, from
which hung many objects, varying from the dagger for
self-preservation and attack to the domestic knife and
keys of the larder. Presentation keys in modern days
have been wonderfully ornate, and many which once
hung from the chatelaine of the girdle were exceedingly
handsome. The Renaissance of art on the Continent
of Europe stirred up British craftsmen, and at that time
some of the locksmiths made very beautiful key-bows
which were trinkets of value, not only from their beauty
of workmanship but for their usefulness. Queen Eliza
beth favoured the locksmith and had many splendid keys
wrought in gold and silver and jewelled bows which along
with jewellery hung from her girdle.

In Mediaeval days the chatelAine became cumbersome
and its extended frame must have been very inconvenient.
Erom this, among an ever increasing variety of trinkets
most of the objects served some really useful purpose.
For instance the tiny silver nutmeg grater must have
been very useful in the days when the bowl of punch was
a common beverage. These graters or nutmeg boxes
were quite small and unscrewed in the middle, holding

284 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
one nutmeg and sometimes only half-a-nut. Now and
then a tiny corkscrew was an accompaniment of the box.
The little curios are generally hall-marked and dated
between 1790 and 1810, the years during which they
appear to have been made in large quantities and sold
everywhere. Then when punch lost its popularity the
nutmeg grater was no longer carried ; indeed the chatelaine
had then began to wane, for the housewife no longer
thought it necessary to carry the oddments which sym
bolised her position as head of the household, and, inci
dentally, as custodian of the keys which marked her
right to rule the household and to control its expenditure.

Scissors, knives and little instruments which would be
very useful in housewifery, the sewing room, and at the
toilet table took the place of larger objects. Some of
these oddments were novel but many of them survivors
of far more ancient instruments, among such are silver
bodkins, many of which are so beautifully chased. In
the Middle Ages the bodkin was the name given to a
small dagger, but as a useful household instrument whan
tapes and ribbons were used instead of hooks and patent
fasteners, the bodkin was a necessity. Silver bodkins
have been discovered in Herculaneum, and they have been
found with oddments of the chatelaine and of the work-
box of the Middle Ages and of succeeding periods.

Old silver bodkins have been put to curious uses now
and then. In Victorian days fortune-telling picture cards
were drawn, and under petals of roses and in the flowers
painted and laid on some sentimental forecast of the
future was often written. A silver bodkin was attached
by a silken cord, and with it the seeker after occult know
ledge hesitatingly pointed to the leaf or petal of his or
her choice under which was found the answer to the
timid enquiry.

As it has already been stated toilet instruments once

CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS. 285
hung from the chatelaine. In the books of designs for
jewellery and trinkets, several of which were published
towards the close of the eighteenth century, these chate
laines and their accessories were illustrated.

The use of ear-picks seems to have originated years
before such instruments were worn at the chatelaine, for
there are many ancient specimens in the Guildhall Museum
dating from Roman times. Some are of silver but most
of them of bronze — many have been found in the neigh
bourhood of London Wall in the City. When chatelaines
were worn ear picks were in common use, some very ornate
and decorative. It is said that Queen Elizabeth had
one of gold always at hand ; she had another with a gold
handle ornamented with pearls and rubies, it was a very
smart affair and may have been used on special occasions
only. That such picks were then and much later put to
practical use may be gathered from the fact that in 1690
mention is made of a new magnetic ear-pick guaranteed
to have been painless in its use.

Tweezers, tongue-scrapers, and tooth-picks were
arranged in rows upon the chatelaine in conjunction with
needle-books, thimble-cases and other objects, not the
least formidable being lancets and knives.

The chatelaine served its day but it is no longer needed
in modern society. It is not necessary now to carry such
things as once hung in suspension from the girdle about
the person, for present-day domestic arrangements are
quite different, and houses are furnished with convenient
receptacles for all the oddments which might once have
been lost had they not been tethered to the person of the
owner. The girdle and chatelaine, and great pockets
which once contained so many things which served a
useful purpose in their day, are gone or put away, but
many of their contents are preserved as valued mementoes
of a former generation by collectors of curios.

286 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Figure 62 is a fine example of a chatelaine from the
collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South
Kensington. It is a chatelaine hung with etui, thimble-
case, and vinaigrette. It is made of gilt-metal, chased
and repousse with figures of Apollo and Minerva, and
very decorative flowers, foliage, and scrollwork. The
etui contains a tooth-pick and scissors, and has places
for other instruments. This interesting example is
covered with shagreen and is of eighteenth century make :
it forms part of a collection given by Miss Edith J. Hipkins
in memory of her parents.

CHAESTS.

The chain is of very ancient origin — link by link it has
been laboriously forged by hand, twisted and coiled in
many ways. There are chains of iron and steel which
have held great weights, and chains which have made
secure dangerous criminals and which have tormented
persons whose only crime has been fast adherence to
principles and creeds they held dear ; chains too, have
held in captivity men loyal to their country and their
Sovereign. Chains have held priceless books to their
desks and preserved intact ancient tomes in cathedral
and church libraries.

Symbolical of power and honour men have been
decorated with chains of gold ; the statues of Pagan
goddesses have been wreathed with floral chains, and
they have received votive offerings of chains of more
costly materials. It is no new thing to hang a chain of
gold about the newly-elected mayor or alderman, symbolic
of the honour conferred upon him. In Daniel v., Bel-
shazzar promised to any of the wise men of Babylon who
could read the writing on the wall " a chain of gold about
his neck/* and it was Daniel who received the chain.

PIG. 62.— CHATELAINE HUNG WITH Etui, THIMBLE-CASE, AND VINAIGRETTE OF
"PINCHBECK" METAL.

CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS. 287

Years before that, down in Egypt, e: Pharaoh took off his
signet ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand,
and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold
chain about his neck .... and he set him over the
land of Egypt/' Genesis XLEL, 43.

By these references the antiquity of the chain is estab
lished, confirmed by the rare examples of Egyptian
chains which have been recovered.

The chain was at first decorated by gradations of orna
mental beads, by settings of precious stones, and eventually
by the addition of ornamental pendants.

Some of the golden Celtic ornaments found in Ireland
and elsewhere are better described as chains. The
Phoenicians had chains of gold and used chains with which
to suspend from the fillets of gold they wore other orna
ments or droppers.

In the Middle Ages the badge or pendant was in the
ascendant, and the chain seems to have been worn chiefly
as a badge of office or in connection with a badge. It
appeared in heraldic design and was emblazoned 'with
much ornament and decoration.

Many of the necklaces might more correctly be described
as chains, but as personal jewels the purpose for which
they were worn — as a necklace — rather than the form of
ornament predominates. It was in the nineteenth cen
tury that there was a great revival in the chain as an
independent ornament, and jewellers were busy fashioning
chains for pendants, 'and for watches, eyeglasses and
seals. These long chains have lain at the bottom of the
jewel box for many years, but some are worn again in the
modern revival of jewellery of Victorian art. The present-
day idea is that a pendant is a jewel of minor importance
— merely a decoration. At times a beautiful necklace
is still further enriched by an equally handsome pendant,
but it is the latter that claims chief attention. No doubt

288 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TRINKETS.

at first the pendant was but a small ornament — a finish
to the more important work. Then came a time when
superstitious beliefs suggested wearing charms or amulets
as pendants for necklaces, and eventually the pendant
became of greater value to the owner than the necklace.

PENDANTS.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is rich in rare pendants
of many periods, those selected for illustration, although
very fine examples give but a very poor idea of the wealth
of beauty in the collection. Figures 63, 64, 65, and 66
are four splendid jewel pendants of enamelled gold, set
with precious stones and hung with pearls. They are
either Spanish or Italian, and were made in the sixteenth
or seventeenth centuries. Many fine pendant jewels
of enamelled gold also set with pearls and precious stones
and enamelled.

As it has already been pointed out many of the pendants
of the seventeenth century took the form of crosses.
In Figures 67, 68, 69, and 70 are four remarkable examples
of these rare works of art. Figure 68 is a silver-gilt
pectoral cross, ornamented on one side with cloisonne
green enamel and aquamarine stones ; on the other side
is a silver-gilt crucifix set with garnets and ornamented
with a suspensory bead. Figure 70 is a silver-gilt cross
partially oxidised, ornamented on one side with inscrip
tions, on the other side with the Cross of Our Lord and
the sacred monogram — it is in Russian. Another silver-
gilt cross is shown in Figure 69, on either side being the
Cross of Our Lord and the sacred monogram, that also is
Russian. The last example Figure 67 is a pectoral cross,
the ends prolonged and curved to meet each other and
terminating with small knobs — there are inscriptions on
the face of the cross ; this example is probably earlier,
and may be of sixteenth century work.

CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS. 289

As it has been mentioned the collection at South
Kensington includes many very early examples, some
dating from Saxon times, which like the Alfred Jewel
were made suspensory. Some of these early jewels of
garnets and enamels were worn from equally beautiful
chains, and during recent years have been recovered
from tombs and graveyards in excellent preservation.
In the sixteenth century, during which so much jewellery
was made, Flemish craftsmen were at work and executed
many grotesque pendants in which uncanny figures were
introduced, and in their ornamentation large pearls
prevailed. As will be noticed in the descriptions of the
pendants and other jewels illustrated, Spanish, Russian
and Italian goldsmiths were busy and produced many
marvellous pieces.

In later years the pendant was not so strikingly dis
tinctive in form ; the shape, design, and outline as well
as the ornament being more clearly allied to the chain
or other jewellery which was to be worn with it , indeed
in most cases the pendant was simply a decorative finish
to the chain. In the nineteenth century when many
objects which in themselves were not necessarily jewels
were made the chain was actually a setting for the jewel.
Thus the pendant of Wedgwood cameos, miniature
paintings, Italian mosaics, mourning lockets and jewels,
and fancifully designed pendants in memory of special
events, and made for the purpose of preserving the object
of veneration, like an ancient gold coin, were specially
designed to add and not to detract from the beauty of
the pendant.

BADGES.

It may be convenient here to refer to badges such as
have been worn as jewellery, mostly in suspension,
although not always so. Badges like the jewelled Orders

290 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of Chivalry are referred to in another chapter. Of the
lesser badges perhaps none have created greater interest
than the old pilgrims' badges many of which have been
found in London.

It has sometimes been a matter of conjecture about
the mode of carrying or wearing pilgrims' signs when
travelling. As early as the twelfth century it is recorded
that pilgrims wore them in their hats, at other times as
brooches in their cloaks, indeed many of the signs or
badges are fitted with brooch pins so that they could
be so worn. The pilgrims returning from Canterbury
were wont to wear the badges, denoting their pilgrimage,
which they had obtained in the Cathedral city, round
their necks. Some seem to have regarded merit as lying
in the number of badges they wore ; for Erasmus, referring
to pilgrimages, told of the pilgrims from Canterbury
being covered over with badges. If this were so then it
is no wonder that many were lost or stolen when the
pilgrims returned to London. It is said that the place
where the most extensive finds have been made is near
London Bridge, many having been dredged up out of
the river in that locality. Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales,
speaking of pilgrims arriving at Canterbury, says : —

"Each man set his silver in such things as he liked,
And in the meantime, the matter had y-piked
His bosom full of Canterbury brooches."

There were several objects in wearing these badges,
one being the superstitious belief in their efficacy to
protect the wearer from harm and disease, the other as a
proof of the wearer having performed the pilgrimage to
Becket's tomb. Horses were also so decorated, and
were given small bells, many of which have been found
buried in places on the route, and dredged up from the
Thames.

FIGS. 63 TO

6. — FOUR RARE PENDANTS IN THE FORM OF DOGS, BIKDS, ETC.,
AND SET WITH PEARLS.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

CHATELAINES, CHAINS AND PENDANTS. 291

Many of the older parishes possess articles of jewellery
and badges connected with their official standing and
worn on special occasions by their officials. One of these
curiosities is a badge of silver — very large in size — owned
by the ancient parish church of Cripplegate where so
many old relics of civic and religious use are to be seen.
This badge was formerly worn by the parish beadle when
beating the bounds of the parish on All Saints'' Day, a
custom which dates in that parish from the year 1693.
There are many such badges in London parishes and
provincial towns.

CHAPTER XXVIIL
JEWELLED COSTUMES.

NOTABLE COSTUMES — DRESS CONSIDERATIONS — ENGLISH
DRESS — SERVICEABLE JEWELLERY — MODERN COSTUMES.

IN many an English home there is a treasured store of
" old clothes/' In an oaken coffer, an old clothes box,
or the bottom drawer of an ancient chest are to be found
bits of stiff brocades, scraps of lace, perchance a Tudor
stomacher or an Elizabethan ruff, evidences of good
birth or ancient lineage. Here and there are a few pieces
of jewelled silks, taffetas, brocades, and laces, sufficient
to indicate the one-time gorgeous, rich and costly apparel
of the well-to-do ancestor.

No good housewife or well informed matron imagines
that such relics of a past generation are typical of the
every-day costume of her grandmother or great grand
mother ; she knows intuitively that these fabrics — often
times mere scraps — were treasured for something more
than their actual ^orth. No doubt they were worn on
some very special occasion, and the jewellery worn with
them has gone ; although in some rare instances a gorgeous
gown has been preserved entire, and even the jewelled
stomacher, although faded is still studded with the actual
jewels or the paste imitations then worn.

NOTABLE COSTUMES.

To form an accurate idea of the costumes of different
periods, and of the way in which jewellery was at that

JEWELLED COSTUMES. 293

time worn, it is necessary to visit some authentic collec
tion where the actual costumes worn by well known
personages, during certain periods, are to be seen. The
best collections on view to the general public are those
in the Victoria and Albert Museum, at South Kensington,
and in the gallery of costumes in the London Museum
(Lancaster House). Those collections are very representa
tive of all periods since quite early times, mostly costumes
worn by English ladies, although there are a few notable
exceptions. These costumes carry us back a long way,
and visitors marvel at the freshness of some of the exhibits,
which it may be pointed out have very probably been
carefully packed away for many years before they were
brought out to be exhibited to the public.

The pictures in the portrait galleries, painted by the
old masters have been referred to as evidences of the
costumes of the periods they represented. They have
also been carefully examined so that the jewellery of
the times could be better understood, for some of the
clever painters who made those wonderful portraits from
the Tudor period down to the more recent times were
very careful to paint correctly the personal belongings
of their patrons. Such pictures may be taken as repre
senting the best examples of jewelled costumes, because
most of these portraits were painted to idealise and
enrich the sitter rather than to give natural poses and
the actual every-day costumes of those who sat to the
most famous portrait painters.

DRESS CONSIDERATIONS.

Although not strictly within the limits of the story
of the history of jewelled costumes it may be useful to
review, briefly, some of the leading characteristics of dress,
in as far as they apply to the wearing of jewellery.

294 ANTIQUE JEWELLEEY AND TBESTKETS.

Women's attire, and at some periods the costumes of men,
were seldom complete without some piece of jewellery,
however plain — for most of the simpler forms, although
decorative, have an underlying utilitarian purpose.
There are evidences of man at an early stage in his
existence adopting some form of clothing — skins, leaves,
or grass which gave rise to the use of the thorn or pin
from which fibulce and the like sprang. It is immaterial
where originated the human race. It may have been
in the traditional Garden of Eden which has been located,
and from thence the developing and growing race possibly
migrated to Africa ; vast hordes as time went on traversing
continents, gradually through long periods becoming
accustomed to new conditions that necessitated more
clothing. It is sufficient for us to know that prehistoric
man lived in the Stone Age in Europe, also that when
the Age of Bronze, and later that of Iron, came, he wore
clothing which suggested ther use of pins and fibulce :
that women, if not men, adorned themselves with neck
laces, and that remains of those far-off periods have
revealed the fact that some knowledge of constructive
art, the outcome of necessity sprang from the enforced
use of clothes.

In the East in Egypt and Assyria, about 1650 B.C.,
skins of the leopard were worn, loin cloths followed, and
then caps of leather and sandals. An Egyptian king
wore a shirt and a sash, and a crown. At this period
although the costumes of the people were scanty armlets,
bracelets, anklets and rings were worn , the women,
however, had girdles, and jewelled ornaments upon cloth
over their breasts. Linen was worn in Egypt, and in
Assyria at a slightly later date, and rich embroidery was
not uncommon.

The royal and ecclesiastical apparel of the Hebrews
was enriched with gold and jewels. Much purple and

69 70

FIGS. 67 TO 70. — CROSSES OF SILVER-GILT. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

For description see page 288. In the Victoria and Albert Mu

JEWELLED COSTUMES. 295

fine linen was worn. The Jewish women as well as the
Egyptians wore embroidered garments worked with
gold thread and silver wire. They had many under and
outer garments in those days, and their cloaks and mantles
were fastened by jewelled clasps, and over their garments
they wore embroideries of fine linen and gold and jewels.

As a sidelight upon the conditions of wearing apparel
among the Jewish people in ancient times, in Isaiah cxi.,
18, the Prophet in recording his vision of the captivity of
the Jews says, " In that day the Lord will take away
the bravery of their anklets, and the networks of their
crescents, the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
the head tires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes and
the perfume boxes, and the amulets ; the rings and the
nose jewels ; the festive robes and the mantles and the
shawls and the satchels ; the hand mirrors, and the fine
linen, and the turbans, and the veils."

The costume of the ancient Greek women is well known ;
the female dress consisted chiefly of the chiton a garment
of sack-like form, open at the top and bottom, girt about
the breasts by a girdle which admitted of much ornamenta
tion. The garment was caught about the shoulders by
fibulce. The himation was an over-garment worn by men
and women and was often embroidered and decorated
with jewels of thin plates of beaten gold which were
attached (stitched) in place like heavy bead trimming in
modern times. Hair-pins fastened the rich coils of hair
of the Grecian maidens, some of whom wore pins ot ivory
and gold,

ENGLISH DRESS.

As most of the jewelled fabrics of which there
are any traces in the wardrobes of British "" home
connoisseurs " come from wearers in this country it is

296 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

commonly assumed that they are of English make and
embroidery. That view is not always correct for many
of the richer fabrics worn in this country in Medi&val,
and even in much later times, were from Continental
countries, where noted industries were carried on in
silks, lace and embroideries.

The remains of jewellery of quite early peoples have
already been described ; their clothing although held
together by fibula and pins was certainly not jewelled,
and the crude ornaments they wore other than those of
strict utility adorned their persons and not their dress.

The Anglo-Saxon women were very clever with their
needles, and there are many accounts of the marvellous
embroidery of gold and silver threads, and of the jewels
and pearls they sewed on their vestments. The girdle
was worn by women in those days, and it was enriched
by embroideries of gold, and was eventually jewelled.
Men wore girdles in Anglo-Saxon days ; but the girdle
was then of leather, often of white leather, and served
many purposes, chiefly that of supporting the sword,
the hilt of which in later days was lavishly encrusted with
gold, silver and with jewels. It is not an uncommon
thing to look upon the men of Mediaeval England as
dressed in armour and continually wearing their '' war
paint/' That must be rather an erroneous idea, for
there were many who never donned armour, and even
the great fighters, whose chief recreation was found in the
tilting yard, had costumes for everyday wear of much
simpler and less burthensome type. Moreover their
costumes of dignity were rich and sometimes jewelled,
although they had then discarded the twisted torques
of the Anglo-Saxons.

It is said that the Norman nobles wore rich dresses
and displayed their personal jewels. They had costly
furs and chains of gold. In the days of Henry n. a

JEWELLED COSTUMES. 297

crimson dalmatic, on which were golden ornaments and
embroideries, was worn. There were golden spurs and
jewelled gloves. Some of the gloves were much em
broidered, and at one time richly decorated garters and
gloves were given away as presents at weddings. It was
such gloves that were worn by the knights in their helmets
as favours. It is said that at the battle of Agincourt
the sons of the nobles and of the knights all wore either
ladies' jewelled garters or gloves. In the reign of Edward
m. gold and silver garters were worn by the ladies, some
being heavily embroidered and covered with enamels and
jewels. The badge of England's most Noble Order of
Mediaeval chivalry suggests such a garter : the story of
the creation of the Order is well known. Even boots
were jewelled in those days. Isabella, Queen of Edward
n,, was very extravagant and is said to have worn
habitually dresses of gold and jewelled clothing, setting
a most expensive fashion in dress, the materials of which
were costly and not always easy to obtain.

In Mediaeval England royal personages and their
personal attendants wore costumes emblazoned with
heraldic devices worked in gold and in coloured silks, often
jewelled. The present-day evidences of the costumes
of that period are to be seen in the state dress of the
King's heralds and other court functionaries, who still
wear Mediaeval and Tudor vestments.

Among old craftsmen as still represented by existing
guilds are the Tapissers or Tapestry-makers and the
Broderers, now merged in one Guild. They fostered the
love of rich clothing and dress and wrought much fine
work for the English Court and for wealthy ecclesiastics
and nobles.

The needleworker has at all times grasped the heightened
beauty given by the introduction of coloured stones as
well as gold and silver threads, to which must be added

298 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

beads, paste and pearls. The textile industries although
far removed from the worker in metal have, however, con
tributed to the use of jewels and especially to their heraldic
blazonry.

Jewelled robes were much worn in Elizabethan days
when costumes became ultra-extravagant, and stomachers
were all ablaze with jewels — they were gorgeous in the
extreme although the taste that prompted them was
very questionable. Colour schemes of clothing have
been in constant use of late years, but jewels have not
been so freely used, although they have been chosen by the
wearer in conjunction with the garment upon which they
wece to be worn. Again, blonde and brunette wear
different jewels, for they know what will heighten or
detract from the respective types of beauty.

SERVICEABLE JEWELLERY.

Old pictures and engravings of costumes show the
usefulness of certain jewels. The girdle or belt from
which was suspended chains, keys and dagger was essen
tially useful, besides holding garments in place round the
waist. Jewelled garters were useful enough although
their adornment was unnecessary. The use of brooches,
clasps and buckles can be readily understood, and when
buttons became articles of regular use, taking the place
of cords and tapes, they would suggest decorative treat
ment. In the time of Edward vi. the cassock was a
garment worn over the doublet ; it was often of velvet,
embroidered, and fastened with loops of gold. The
buttons of gold and precious jewels stitched on the front
v/ere for ornament only. It has been thus ever since,
for quite as many buttons worn to-day are as decorative
as they are useful.

JEWELLED COSTUMES. 299

MODEKN COSTTTMES.

Modern costumes — that is relatively modern wearing
apparel — excepting dress worn on very state occasions,
is dignified, enriched and rendered more attractive by
the free display of jewels, but it is not so commonly
plastered with jewels stitched on to the fabric. Much
gold lace was used in the Georgian period, especially upon
men's hats which were small and three-cornered. The
high head dressing of that day (the eighteenth century;
enabled women to show much jewellery in their hair.
Towards the close of the eighteenth century knee-breeches
were worn, and stockings were caught up by small silver
and steel buckles, some of which were jewelled.

In the old jewel box there are many small jewels of
gold and of good old paste which are not of sufficient
importance to set in modern jewellery, of modern types.
Many of these, however, can be worn on the corsage with
good effect, but it has become the fashion to use them
up in making pendants. Some jewellers show in their
windows an excellent selection of the adaptation of jewels
such as once figured on costumes as necklaces and pen
dants, and those who possess such trinkets might with
advantage study the different forms of jewelled ornaments
into which they can be made up.

CHAPTER XXIX.

FANS.

TEADTTTOTTAL SPLENDOUR — BBITISH FABTM4KERS.

THE question may well be asked, Is a fan a piece of
jewellery ? The answer, judged by the ordinary fan,
or even by one of those beautiful painted and carved
works of art which the wealthy alone possess, is that it
is not. When, however, we realise that not infre
quently the precious metals have been employed in the
manufacture of fans, and that many of the rarer antiques
are enriched with precious stones and are wonderful
examples of the goldsmiths* and silversmiths > art, then
such fans may justly claim a place in a collection of
antique jewels, and come within the purview of this
enquiry,

It is well known that a sceptre is an emblem of
sovereignty, and is usually something most precious in
its construction — a gem of the metal-worker's art. Some
one has written about the fan and called it " the sceptre
of woman." It is indeed a queenly sceptre and has been
carried in the hands of many royal ladies, who by the
mere movement of their fans have signified their royal
pleasure.

TRADITIONAL SPLENDOTJKS.

Coming to us from the East the fan brings with it
traditions of Oriental splendour, and of the magnificent

FANS. 301

fans of gold ablaze with sparkling gems ; of feather
fans, some of the larger ones of peacock's feathers tipped
with jewels and gold. It had been claimed that the
folding fan, that is the hand fan, wafted to and fro by
the fair owner, was the invention of the Japanese in the
eighth century. Very remarkable have been historic
Eastern fans often regarded as emblems of sovereignty ;
jewelled fans and the earlier fans of natural palm leaves
were used in Egypt, Persia and many Eastern countries,
and their use passed on to the peoples farther West.

Some wonderful fans were made in Italy in the Middle
Ages, and here we find the touch with the metal-worker,
for many of the fans of feathers and silks and other rare
textures, had handles of the rarest metals, encrusted with
diamonds and other precious stones. Again, the fan
for personal use, apart from the larger fans used by slaves
and servants for cooling purposes, has claims among the
treasures of the goldsmiths* art, for such fans were fre
quently suspended from the waist by chains of gold
and silver.

The fashion of the fan came in England about the time
of Queen Elizabeth, who it is said left among her personal
jewels upwards of thirty examples of the fanmaker's art.
In her collection were many which had been given her
by her courtiers, one with a gold and jewelled handle
was presented by Sir Francis Drake.

Shakespeare mentions the fan, when in Romeo and Juliet,
the nurse calls to an attendant Peter for a fan.

Like the chivalry of old which led to the institution of
the Order of the Garter the use of the fan by ladies gave
rise to an Order of Chivalry, which, it may be pointed
out, was appropriately intended to be held by women.
It was the Order of the Fan, instituted by the Queen of
Sweden in 1744, at first only ladies were installed, but
later gentlemen of the Court were admitted to the Order.

302 AOTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

The home connoisseur is sure to possess some pretty
fans, although they may not be painted after the French
style and decorated with charming Verms Martin paintings
and varnishes, or inlaid with pearl and gaudy in their
ornament after the Eastern manner. There are many
fans, however, although by no means rare, which can
well be considered jewels of value. In a shop window
in London, quite recently, might have been seen many
old fans. Some were of rare filigree silver-gilt, others
had silver handles, and some were of carved ivory, but
with gold ornament and attached to gold chains ; one
was gold filigree of rare beauty, another was jewelled
and painted with a little scene which gave it the right
to be classed under the head of historical fans, for there
were scenes painted telling of the chief historical events
in the lives of sovereigns of many nations. Especially
were such fans made in France during the Empire period.
The change of Government when a Republic was declared
had a close bearing upon the art of France, and in a
lesser degree upon the art of this country, and a change
was evident in the styles adopted by British fanmakers.

BEITISH FAKMAKERS.

In England there is the Fanmakers' Company, one of
the most recently founded of the city guilds. The grant
of a charter to the fanmakers was not made until the
reign of Queen Anne, who reigned at a time when the
industry seems to have best flourished, and much needed
the salutary control of a Guild. This Company like all
other city guilds gradually lost control and even touch
of the trade it originally represented. The Worshipful
Company of Fanmakers, however, has done good service
in modern times in bringing to light many rare fans of
antiquarian interest which had been lost sight of. They

71

72

74 73

FlGS. 71 TO 75. POMANDEK BOXES.

For descriptions see pages 312 and 313.

FANS. 303

inaugurated an exhibition of old fans In 1878, when many
choice examples were on view ; then in 1890, and after
wards in 1897, similar exhibitions were held under their
auspices. The Company has in recent years encouraged
the craft and on several occasions has undertaken to
produce fans for special gifts appropriate to national
events of importance. One of these functions performed
by this Company was the presentation of a splendid fan
to Queen Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee ; another was
given to Queen Alexandra on the occasion of her Corona
tion. The treasures of the Fanmakers* Company, besides
many choice fans, include a rare silver snuff-box, and
a gold chain which is worn by the Master on state occasions.
There have been many presentations of fans at royal
weddings and other important celebrations, besides those
made by the Worshipful Company. One of these was
a fan made by Mr. W. J. Thomas, a court jeweller of
Oxford Street, for the Duchess of Hamilton, by whom
it was given to Princess Mary of Cambridge, the mother
of the Queen, on her marriage to the Duke of Teck.
This beautiful fan was of gold arabesque work, enriched
with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. The meshes were
of pearl inlaid with flowers wrought in pure gold.

Like all traders in olden time the fanmakers hung out
their signs, and one of these emporiums, the Golden Fan
in Leicester Square, was a noted resort in its day. Fan-
making is still a flourishing craft, and many fine examples
of jewelled fans are made every year.

CHAPTER XXX,
PINCHBECK AND OTHER SHAM JEWELLERY.

A STRIKING DISPLAY — PINCHBECK JEWELLERY — OLD GILT
— TINSEL JEWELS — THE FORGER AT WORK.

THERE are many tinsel ornaments which, judged from
the view point of the trinkets in which " paste/* or other
sham jewels, flash when exposed to bright lights reflecting
upon their shiny surf aces , are tawdry. Some, however,
are full of hidden beauty, for although only shams,
they are of exquisite workmanship and finish.

Much of the old paste is good, and the " stones " are
cut and polished with great care, so that their facets
reflect the light ; other imitations give off coloured rays
which sometimes deceive experts, who see in them striking
resemblance, if not identical effects, to those produced
by real gems.

At one time there was a rage for large stones, and when
colour effect such as might be given by emerald or ruby,
paste of the necessary colour or tint was introduced
when the cost of real stones desired was prohibitive, or
it was impossible to secure them in that size. Many of
these false " stones " were used in conjunction with
real stones, much of the old Mediaeval jewellery being
set with jewels and paste, side by side. It has been
pointed out that probably writers in olden time were so
accustomed to the sight of imitations, and the use of both
genuine and imitation together was so general, that no
difference was made in describing them. Ancient history

PINCHBECK JEWELLERY. 305

tells of the eye-glass of emerald used by Nero, which
experts suggest was of glass of emerald hue.

A STP,ISZNTG DISPLAY.

One of the most striking displays of paste gems on
view to the public is that in the Gem Room at the British
Museum where these treasures are so suitably arranged in
a window where the sunlight shines upon the backs of
the ancient paste, and the figures stand out clearly. It
is explained in the Museum catalogue that these pastes
are casts in glass of favourite and well known gems.
One of the best known makers of paste was of course
James Tassie. a series of whose gems are also shown in the
gallery ; his casts were taken from the most noted
examples in famous collections.

There is nothing tawdry about these gems, they are
what they purport to be, ingeniously contrived replicas
of ancient examples, made from artificial materials,
comparatively easy to work, and capable of producing
like effects to those produced by the ancients, who cut
the hard stones with such patient labour.

PINCHBECK JEWELLEEY.

The name of " Pinchbeck '* became associated with all
that was false or sham in jewellery, until, quite unfairly
to the inventor of the process by which a cheap metal
was produced, much opprobrium was attached to such
jewellery. Before the days of the process by which inferior
metal could be coated over with a deposit of silver or
gold a metal alloy of fairly good appearance must have
been a boon to those who could not afford to bay gold
jewellery. The metal was the invention of Christopher
Pinchbeck, who worked during the early years of the

306 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
eighteenth century, and appears to have been followed
in business by his son Edward who continued to make
jewellery from the " pinchbeck " metal after his father's
death in 1732* Pinchbeck metal, we are told by experts,
was an alloy of copper and zinc, in which were nine
parts of zinc to forty-eight parts of copper.

Among the many articles to which this metal was
peculiarly suitable were chains, brooches, earrings, buckles,
necklaces, watches, keys and fob-seals. Many of the
articles were well made and finished, and the same care
was shown in their manufacture as that accorded by
workers in the more precious metals. Such jewellery
has been preserved, and in many instances when care
fully cleaned still presents an attractive appearance —
like the modern c< substitutes/' for gold " pinchbeck "
could be worn without fear of detection when exposed
in candlelight or seen at a little distance.

Pinchbeck jewellery is not made much account by
dealers now, and there are many quite interesting odds
and ends to be secured in the " trays " of traders in
second-hand jewellery.

OLD GILT.

There is a famous proverb " All is not gold that glitters,"
that is alas, true enough of much of the old jewellery
made in the days when the public were caught by the
glitter of false jewels and flash gold. Buttons were
wrought for the waistcoats of the wealthy young bucks,
and as it hap ever been since, others less wealthy tried
to follow their example. To them it would come as a
boon when in 1818, the art of gilding brass buttons had
gained such proficiency that it is said that three-penny
worth of gold covered a dozen buttons, giving them all
the appearance of fine gold — for a time.

PINCHBECK JEWELLERY. 307

Before the modern process of electro-plating had been
invented there were many attempts to coat inferior
metals with gold and silver, some very successful. What
is now known as " old gilt *' was well covered with 18-
carat gold, and many charming trinkets and drawing-room
ornaments were made of this gold -like metal, and enriched
with false jewels. Those articles which have been cared
for are still in excellent preservation, and although when
bought in a curio shop they may be dirty-looking they
will wash with soap and water and come up almost as
new. There are jewel-caskets, scent-cases, trinket-trays,,
watch-stands, and card-trays. Many of the " pretty "
ornaments are made of pearl shells mounted in this gilded
metal, the stands and frames being jewelled ; sometimes
little porcelain figures and flowers were introduced with
good effect. The process by which all these things were
gilded was effected by boiling gold in quicksilver and
forming an amalgam by which the gold adhered to the
inferior metal ; the " jewels/' often very effective paste
rubies and emeralds — were in claw settings and have
lasted well.

TINSEL JEWELS.

The " cap and bells " of the fool of olden time recalls
the jingle of cheap jewellery and tawdry ornament worn
by play actors in those old world sports which gave rise
to nursery rhymes and fables of later days. The festivities
of May Bay and Spring rejoicings and bufoonery tell of
the wearing of rings and the tinkling of bells of silver and
gold. Robin Hood and Maid Marian figured in the Old
English frolics of the " Morris-dancers " or " Mooresque
danioe/* and with them was Friar Tuck and one mounted
on a hobby horse. These sportive youths and maidens
wore, according to nureery rhyme, " rings on their fingers

308 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
and bells on their toes/' These " bellys " (bells) according
to extracts from parish registers were paid for as part
of the cost of these entertainments got up for the merri
ment of the people on all festive occasions. Such games
were often made a source of profit to the church around
which they were played, until suppressed by Bishop
Bonner.

Modern actors and actresses often possess jewels of
great value, and wear on the stage many priceless gems,
some of them rare antiques ; others are selected because
of their suitability to the play in which they are to be
worn. It is well known, however, that the make-up of
the stage is deceptive, and under the glare of the flash
lights and the stage scenery actresses may wear with
excellent effect dresses and jewellery which would not
bear close inspection.

Business is still done in tinsel jewels, and crowns and
jewelled daggers, ropes of pearls and fiery gems of paste,
gilt and glass are worn — such oddments are scarcely real
enough to deceive the veriest amateur and should any
of this sham jewellery come into the Lands of the collector
or home connoisseur it will no doubt be quickly ejected.

THE FORGER AT WORK.

The manufacture of forged curios has gone on from
very early times. It is said that the flint " napper " is
no more, although in Sussex until quite recently flints
have been chipped as they were in prehistoric times.
Many stories have been told of " Flint Jack " of Salisbury
who forged arrow heads and sold them to unsuspecting
hunters after curios, some of whom perhaps had them
mounted in gold as amulets after the ancient fashion.
The gems of Ancient Greece have been forged throughout
the centuries, the copies generally falling far short of the

FIG. 76.— HEAD ORNAMENT OF WHITE JADE, SET WITH RUBIES, EMERALDS,
AND CRYSTALS IN GOLD.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum,

PINCHBECK JEWELLERY. 309

originals. There have been numerous " faked ** Egyptian
antiquities in bronze and metal. Pilgrims * badges have
been made and buried, and re-dug up, or have been
dipped in acids and given an antique appearance, like
the ancient patina. Many of the so-called fibulae of
Reman days dredged from the River Thames were made
not many years ago, and the finds from "" Saxon graves "
were found in the back gardens of the forgers who gave
them " earth " until suitably encrusted. To impart an
antique finish to forged gems and jewels is an acquired
art, and modern science does in a few months what Nature
would have taken centuries to perform.

To reiterate such forgeries done for a purpose is un
necessary. Indeed, the mere mention of forgery and
fakes tending to detract from the value of genuine antiques
is necessary only as a warning to the unwary, and as a
deterrent to the business of the illicit trader.

Beware of anything that varies from the rule of the
antique, or appears to combine the style of two periods
in one, for forgers often overreach themselves in their
attempt* to provide pleasing ll antiques " for unsuspecting
customers.

CHAPTER XXXI.
TOILET AJSTD PERFUMERY.

PERFUME BALLS AND SCENT CASES — PATCH BOXES — HAIR
ORNAMENTS — COMBS OF IVORY AND METAL.

To penetrate the mysteries of the toilet table is to bring
to light secrets once jealously guarded ; it may remind
some too, that the use of scents > cosmetics and lip and
eye salves has not altogether passed into oblivion. The
tasteful displays in the shop windows of present day
perfumers show that there are still many who delight
in the use of costly scents , and it is needless to say that
little sundries of the toilet table and hair-dressing requisites
are still made in the most expensive materials, and their
display reveals a wealth of beauty and decoration. Combs
and brushes, mirrors and jewel caskets, are among the
best achievements of the silversmith. Plashing jewels
and diamonds adorn the hair, and many expensive trinkets
are to be found in the dressing-case of the lady of fashion.
The instruments and toilet outfits of former years were
not so varied as they are now, but they included all the
then essential appliances ; and some of the little objects
preserved in museums and in private collections were
receptacles of many mysteries which have their counter
parts in the modern toilet outfits and sets. The manicure
set of steel or of ivory and silver and gold-plated instru
ments to-day represent the less imposing things with
which ladies formerly trimmed their nails and performed

TOILET AND PERFUMERY. 311

delicate toilet operations. There are some articles once
carried at the chatelaine which have lost their use in the
improved conditions of modern society and habits, and
like tongue-scrapers, ear-picks and the like they belong
to a former age.

PEBFUME BALLS AKD SCENT CASES.

There is a vast difference in hygienic conditions now and
when back seratchers were used in polite society ; and
the conditions of houses, streets and public buildings
are different now to those existing when it was necessary
to carry in the hand or to wear as a pendant a perfume
ball. The pomander had its real use in the days of the
Tudors, and even later. Cardinal Wolsey carried an
orange loaded with pcents to disguise the foul odours he
encountered, and he was not alone in recognising the
value of refreshing essences. There were several varieties
of these cases or boxes, but the pomander is the chief
curio of the essential perfume receptacles of the sixteenth
century.

These scent balls were so called from a corruption of
the full name — the " pomme d'ambre " which explains
how the " apple of amber " was used to scent or disinfect.
Such pomanders charged with disinfectants were of many
sizes, and in later times took very curious shapes ; the
smaller ones were worn round the neck as pendants, and
the larger balls were carried in the hand or suspended
from the girdle. Kings and nobles had need of them,
for many castles and palaces were then unsavory places ;
their use dates, probably, from much earlier days than
Mediaeval times, in historical accounts of which mention
is made of a " musk ball " of gold among the jewels of
Henry v., and at that time many nobles owned perforated
pomanders of silver.

312 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Some of the pomanders of the time of Henry vm. were
very elaborate in their interior arrangements, being
divided into segments after the manner of an orange, each
section being filled with perfumes , the case was generally
made in two halves, and hinged or joined by a pin fasten,
which was rather clumsy judged from the hinges on some
of the specimens in the Victoria and Albert Museum and
in other collections. Apparently the use of perfumes
revived in Europe in the Middle Ages, was no new thing,
for there are accounts of ancient perfume boxes and of
the free use of scented unguents by Greeks and Romans,
who also burned lamps under receptacles in which were
aromatic scents.

The curios of later days include Spanish and Dutch
ornamental scent cases and bottles, and other objects
the work of English and French goldsmiths in the
eighteenth century. Among the larger trinkets are
rose-water sprinklers and perfume stands ; pendants and
scent cases are, however, the most interesting and are
generally better finished and more attractive art curios.
Needless to say throughout the eighteenth century the
style followed in France, in England, and in other Euro
pean countries was that of contemporary decoration in
the country of manufacture.

In Victorian days when the real need for perfume balls
and scent cases had passed, the trinkets took different
forms, the favourite being the little vinaigrette of silver
and gold in which was an inner lid or perforated gold
plate beneath which was a sponge charged with aromatic
scent, which escaped through the perforations when the
outer lid was lifted.

The examples given in this chapter are taken from
the collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, at South
Kensington. Figure 72 is a pomander of silver fitted
with a quirt and four compartments for perfumes. This

G< 77 .—THE "LUCK JEWEL" FROM A LAMAIST ALTAR.
FIG. 78. — LAMAIST ORNAMENT.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

TOILET AND PERFUMERY 313

beautiful piece, which is ot English make, of the seven
teenth century, consists of a square bodv set round with
rosettes forming covers to compartments. At the top
is a loop and ring forming the handle of the quirt, the
nozzle of which passes through an acorn -shaped finial,
filled with cotton wool and perforated. Figure 73 is a
silver pomander or scent case of circular form opening
at both sides, the covers ornamented with chased engrav
ings of a shepherd and shepherdess, the ground being
perforated. Inside there are six divisions for scents ; it
dates from about 1640. Another silver-gilt pomander
or scent case is shown in Figure 71, it is of late seventeenth
century make. Figures 74 and 75 are also rare pieces,
the former being similar to Figure 72.

PATCH BOXES.

Many remarkable enamelled patch boxes were made
at Battersea by Jensson in the eighteenth century ; they
were so called from the patches which were kept in such
receptacles, although they came in handy for many
purposes and held all kinds of little trinkets. They were
used side by side with similar boxes made at Lille and
in Holland.

The use of patch boxes became popular in France in the
days of Louis xv., and in England it was fashionable in
the days of Mr. Samuel Pepys, who wrote in his famous
Diary that his wife had received his permission to wear
black patches. But patches had then been used for many
years in Court circles. In the days of the Stuarts they
were very grotesque, and it seems strange that they
should ever have been thought to add to the beauty of
fair women, although it is true that the fashion has been
revived in modern times in the use of veils on which have
been woven similar emblems to those of the patches.

The patches actually worn in the sixteenth century

314 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

were of black taffeta cut to all manner of shapes such as
stars, crescents and odd-shaped forms, the most extrava
gant of which seems to have been the "' coach and horses/"
a design covering nearly the whole of one cheek.

There was much patching and painting in the days
preceding the Commonwealth, when the practice was put
down, to be revived again after the Restoration, when in
addition to wearing patches the ladies painted in high
tints. But patching and painting had probably much
earlier beginnings and were fancied by the fair ones. In
the Book of Days there is mention of an extract from the
pen of a writer who in 1828, describing the toilet of a
Roman lady said " It looks nearly like that of our modern
belles all loaded with jewels, bodkins, false hair, fillets,
ribbands, washes, and patch boxes." In the same volume
we are reminded that painting was of much earlier date
for u Jezebel painted her face and tired her hair and
looked out at a window/' The description of a Roman
maiden's outfit is not unlike that of a Grecian lady as
recorded by a former Earl of Aberdeen who when writing
about two curious marbles found at Amyclee in Laconia
said " they picture the toilet implements of a Grecian
lady and include combs, pins, bodkins, perfume boxes,
bottles, mirrors, paint boxes, tooth picks and rollers/'
In the eighteenth century women carried about with
them cosmetics and patches, and their admirers sought
to provide them with costly boxes on which they took
the opportunity to give vent to their feelings in sentimental
mottoes and love scenes painted and inscribed thereon.

HAIE ORNAMENTS.

Women tired their hair in olden time, and for the
purposes of their toilet used pins, so many of which
interesting relics have been found with oddments of the
household. Roman hair-pins are to be seen in great

TOILET AND PERFUMERY. 315

numbers in the Guildhall Museum and in other collections.
The Etruscans and the Romans wore beautiful wreaths
of gold, and many hair-pins with ornamental heads have
been found, some very fantastic in form.

The amphix, another very beautiful ornament, was a
gold chain or band with which to bind the hair on the
forehead, and was much favoured by the Romans, and
by the British maidens, and later by the Anglo-Saxons.
Another Saxon ornament was a fillet of gold, often set
with gems. Curiously enough many of the fashions in
hair-dressing and in costume were repeated in the trappings
of the charger who was provided with similar chains of
gold as head gear ; many examples of such trappings
have been found and are to be seen in the London
museums. The Anglo-Saxon jewellery found in the graves
have included quite a number of sundry head ornaments,
some of them being beautifully made jewelled flies set
with small cut precious stones, and furnished with pins
for holding the hair. These and other pins in bronze,
gold and iron have been found in ancient cemeteries.

In several notable collections there are fine examples
of all the varieties of hair-pins mentioned, and many
little jewelled ornaments which have probably formed
the heads of such pins or of horse-trappings.

COMBS OF IVORY AISTD METAL.

It would appear that the comb was from very early
days considered an essential article of toilet use and one
specially ornamented. The earlier examples are either
Roman or Grecian, the comb being introduced into this
country by the Romans, but apparently little used by
the common people, for we are told that up to the time
of the invasion of the Danes the people near the coast
had their hair unkempt, but the Danes following their
usual practice used combs and taught the natives with

316 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

whom they fraternised to comb their hair every day, and
history records to " wash themselves at least once a
week." Combs have been made of many materials,
although bone and ivory seem to have been the most
generally employed wherever those materials were avail
able. In the seventeenth century leaden combs were
very much used, owing to the then popular belief that
by so doing the colour of the hair was preserved and
darkened.

It is interesting to note that decorative combs are very
noticeable among the curios of Old Japan. Like other
art objects in Japan and China the carving and enrichment
of these articles of the toilet either pictured the mystic
faiths of the older religions or were fashioned like the
emblems so generally employed in Japanese decora tion*
To the wearers of combs and hair-pins the flowers by
which they were surrounded constituted their favourite
decoration, and the chrysanthemum so often used, typified
enjoyment and pleasure, and a comb or other toilet trinket
or jewel so ornamented when given to a fair recipient
would express the " best of wishes/'

In Japan hair-pins often took the form of the iris or
the plum. The iris was a preventative against evil and
was placed at the door of the house to ward off harm.
For similar reasons a branch of plum blossom decorates
every room in Japan, as it too, wards off evil spirits and
demons who it is thought would otherwise invade the
sanctity of the home and of those who dwell therein — -
surely then what could be a more appropriate emblem for
the artists of old to make use of when fashioning such
an object of daily use !

Figure 76 is a head ornament in the Victoria and Albert
Museum : it is of white jade, wifch rubies, emeralds and
crystals set in gold and a pendant pearl. Other hair
jewelled ornaments are referred to in Chapter xxxvin.

FIGS. 79 TO

84.— EARLY CKANK WATCH KEYS.

FIGS. 85 TO 89,-"PlNCHBECK" FOB

From Various Collections.

CHAPTER XXXII.
OLD WATCHES AND SEALS.

WATCHMAKERS OF OLD — ELABORATE ORNAMENTATION

WATCH KEYS SEALS.

THOSE who desire to study the evolution of the watch
and to trace the varied stages in its progress from a
clock to a watch are advised to examine the remarkable
collection of clocks and watches in the possession of the
Worshipful Company of Cloekmakers, exhibited in the
library of the Guildhall Museum. There may be seen
watches with serviceable works made in the seventeenth
century and yet capable of " going " to-day. The pioneers
of the trade of making pocket watches had curious ideas
about the suitability of ornament, and lavished much
care upon the engraving and ornamenting of cases, and
even of the so-called " watch-clocks " inside the cases.
Their ornamental decoration was often very extravagant
and only equalled in its odd style by the quaint shapes
of many of the earlier watches.

WATCHMAKERS OF Oiox

The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, in whose
hands lay the study of horology and its development on
modern mechanical lines, was founded by Charter in 1631,
granted to " the Master, Wardens, and Fellowship of
the Art or Mystery of Clockmaking in the City of
London/' Before their time " blacksmiths " had made

318 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

clocks, but when small time-pieces such as could be hung
from a girdle or otherwise carried about the person were
contrived, these metal-workers who wielded the hammer
and tongs were no longer able to cope with the trade,
The Clockmakers* Company have indeed secured a mar
vellous collection of antique watches, complete in almost
every type of old watch, key and seal. The dials of many
are beautifully ornamented with miniature paintings,
enamels and jewels. Many of the jewellers who are now
content to sell watches produced in quantity according
to stereotyped patterns, interchangeable in their parts,
were wont to make the watches they sold, and before
the days of machine-made parts were able to compete
with the larger firms. Country watchmakers were expert
craftsmen and put much originality into their work both
in cases and in the fitting and finish of the works. From
the trade cards and billheads of that day it is evident
that many watches were country-made, although the
" parts " were, doubtless, mostly procured from whole
sale manufacturers. The names of local makers are
often found in the old watches just as they are seen on
the larger " grandfather " and other clocks.

ELABORATE ORNAMENTATION.

The collectors of old jewellery find on the cases
of watches much elaborate ornamentation. A variety
of metals were employed ; some watches were of gold of
pure quality, others were alloyed with harder metals.
" Pinchbeck " cases were much in vogue for cheaper
watches, although silver was a favourite metal. Many
of the older watches were in cases (loose cases) for their
preservation, and these cases were of silver or base metal,
some perforated and others engraved in low relief.
Leather cases, some in shagreen, were very popular, a
common form of ornamentation being what was known

OLD WATCHES AND SEALS. 319

as pin-prick decoration, the tirsy points forming the out
line of the design being filled in with silver or gold.

Enamels were much «n favour in French ornament
prevailing in the time of Louis xiv. and his successors,
much of the work being painted classic scenes, in brilliant
colours. During the Dutch influence on art in this
country the same ideals were kept in view by the painter
and enameller of watch-backs and dials. These were
changed when other artistic influences prevailed — indeed
the ornament of the watches and watch cases has at all
times been in accord with the prevailing style in jewellery.
There were eccentricities of ornament just as there have
been odd fancies and fashions in size and shape.

Many of the earlier watches were of odd forms, oval,
oblong and square ; some very tiny, until it would appear
as if not only the works but the style of ornament must
have suffered. Some years ago a watchmaker in Zurich
had on view in his window a watch so small that a magni
fying glass was needed to read the dial plate ; this curious
watch was shaped like a rose, and it was beautifully
engraved and decorated. In one of the Continental
museums there is (or was) another small watch, measuring
only one-and-a-quarter inches in diameter ; the numerals
on the dial plate are in Arabic, the ornaments consist of
red enamels and diamonds. Now and then watches in
cruciform shape are met with in museums, but they
are chiefly early specimens.

Curious watches have been made for fanciful patrons,
one notable watch with four dials — hours, minutes,
seconds, and half -seconds — was made for the Emperor of
China in 1773. It was a musical watch too, and played
many tunes. Many of the old watches chimed and
repeated the hours and minutes. The watchmakers of
Amsterdam were very clever, several rare watches made
by them being now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

320 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

A collectors' side line is the beautiful little watch
papers printed in the eighteenth century and placed in
the backs of watch cases ; an attractive advertisement,
on which were engraved the portraits of famous actresses,
classic designs, and painted scenes.

The mode of wearing watches has altered as fashion
changed. They were worn as bracelets in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth — and in the twentieth century wristlet
watches are again popular. A common practice in the
sixteenth century seems to have been to wear them like
the pendants then much worn round the neck or on
the breast, attached to a ribbon. Men soon began to
carry watches in the pocket, and found the fob seal
attachment convenient. The custom brought with it
another use, for the chain and a small adaptation of the
chatelaine for seals, watch-keys and other oddments were
worn to the swivel ring or attached to the fob by small
chains. But of seals there is more to be said ; the first
trinket of importance in connection with the watch is,
naturally, the watch-key — then a necessary attachment.

WATCH Ki2YS.

Early watches were made after the manner of clocks,
and the form of the watch-key required for the daily
wind was then based upon the crank-key in use for the
grandfather clock.

Among the minor articles of jewellery and trifling collect
able curios, and the little objects in which the designer
found opportunity for introducing the different decora
tions then in vogue, none are so suitable for an inexpensive
collection as watch-keys. The accompanying illustrations
have been specially drawn from representative keys in
our National Museums and in notable collections. Many
of these keys were made on stereotyped lines, and with a

90 91

98

99

100

101

FIGS. 90 TO 94.— CHATELAINE KEYS.

FIGS 95, 96, 97.— FOB KEYS WITH STONES.^
FIGS. 98 TO 102.— RATCHET AND EMBLEM KEYS.
In the A.uthor'8 Collection,

OLD WATCHES AND SEALS. 321

few minor differences it is quite possible to meet with
some of these identical patterns in collections, and to
come across them among the oddments of the jewel box.
They vary from the crank-keys to " Pinchbeck '* and
gilt-jewelled keys of the middle of the nineteenth cen
tury ; some few are set with pearls and precious stones, and
some are enamelled There are gold and silver, steel
and copper, representing most of the styles met with in
the days before self-winding watches came into vogue —
some it will be noticed have two pipes, one for setting
the hands the other for winding.

The crank keys shown in Figures 79, 80, 81 and
82 are of several well known designs and types ; they
are of metal-gilt and steel. The next group, Figures 85
to 89, are mostly " Pinchbeck " fob-keys, two of them
are enamelled, one is set with small stones, another is
enamelled with a gold centre bearing the French arms.
Figure 90 represents a key attached to a pendant in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, It is a remarkable work
of art, on the panel enclosed within a frame of small
pearls, corresponding to a similar painting on the back
of the watch to which it belonged, the subject chosen
for the decoration was symbolical of " Painting/* and
the key was enamelled to correspond. Figure 91 is a gold
key taken from a bunch of old seals, the initials of the
names of the stones in it, ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst,
ruby, diamond, forming the word " REGARD/' Figure
92 has a small Wedgwood jasper cameo in the centre.
Figure 93 is studded all over with pearls and belonged
to a watch the back of which was decorated in a similar
manner. Figure 94 is another chatelaine key. Figures
95 and 97 are old "Pinchbeck" keys set with "blood
stone," and Figure 96 is set with an amethyst. The keys
shown in Figures 98 to 103 are emblematical designs,
some being ratchet keys.

322 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

SEALS*

The cutting of the gem of emblematic and useful
purpose, practised by the ancients, was continued after
the invention of watches, and the convenient wearing
of a fob to which seals could be attached encouraged the
art of the engraver of seals. It is true the signet ring
and the handled seal were most generally used for sealing
documents and for closing ordinary correspondence, until
the advent of the gummed envelope which followed the
introduction of the penny postage and the adhesive
stamp. But the seals cut and engraved began to be worn
as ornaments, and fob seals — so-called — were made of
semi-precious stones for decoration, their beauty was
found chiefly in the setting which became much larger
than necessary. vSuch seals were reduced in size when
in later years they were worn with " Albert " chains.
There is much to admire, however, in the old fob seals,
many of which were " Pinchbeck/' although some were
of good gold. They are still very plentiful, and with a
little money a large and varied collection can be quickly
got together, for jewellers and others who sell second
hand iewellery seem to experience no limitation to the
supply.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

AMULETS AND CHARMS.

DEFINITION OF SYMBOLS — EASTERH AMTJLETS — THE
CHRISTIAN SYMBOL, THE CROSS — A FEW MASCOTS.

IT is said that the wearing of jewels is traceable to super
stitious faith in their efficacy as preventatives against
evil — the extent of which was unknown. It is clear from
written evidence of early times, and from oral tradition
which lingers long and may still be found among the
deep-rooted beliefs of rural England, that many common
articles of jewellery were first worn as charms.

DEFINITION OF SYMBOLS.

The two terms — amulet and charm — are used in con
junction because they are closely allied, but they have
not quite the same meaning. The amulet which in most
cases represents the pieces of jewellery worn as a charm
is primarily the receptacle or the jewel which contains
the charm ; or in the more accepted sense the object
which can be handled, symbolic in its meaning or repre
sentation, and worn as a charm, in that it is held to
influence in some way or other for good or evil the power
which dominates and controls the mystery, witchcraft
or adverse motive by which the wearer may be assailed.
In a few instances the amulet is worn as a bringer of
prosperity. It is true different meanings are given to

324 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

the word amulet ; according to the definition in the Guide
to the Egyptian Rooms in the British Museum amulet is
derived from the Arabic, and strictly defined means
lt that which is worn/' and that is the generally accepted
meaning of the amulet, which may be complete in itself
or merely the casket containing the charm.

A charm is dual in its operation, in that it is supposed
to influence in some magic way ills and diseases ; it may
also effect marvellous results by incantation or spell.
Of course these magic influences are absurd and recall
days of ignorance and superstition ; some, however, have
a semblance of truth in that the charms may have an
influence, one, however, which science can explain and
which is attributed to chemical, mineral, electrical or
some other natural causes. Cabalistic writings and
mystic characters on scraps of parchment were often
enclosed in jewelled amulets and worn as charms. Some
times the so-called charm owed its origin to want of
knowledge of the object, thus many beautifully chipped
flint arrowheads of the Neolithic Age have been enclosed
in golden frames and worn as charms, because in days
gone by these little relics of primeval man — perhaps of
a race of pigmies — were thought to have been (C thunder
bolts " hurled to Earth ages ago by Jupiter and his
satellites,

EASTERN AMTJLETS.

The gods of Greece and Rome and the divinities of
Ancient Egypt were symbolised, and their protecting power
sought in the past. It is said that the prevalence of
bead necklaces, and of beads found in abundance in the
shifting sands near the Pyramids, is due to the idea that
by wearing them some evil spirit was propitiated.
Egyptian charms and amulets, many of which were worn

AMULETS AND CHARMS. 325

nounted in gold and suspended round the neck by chains,
nciuded the Eye of Horos, which symbolised Eternity,
jhe sacred hawk, the hand of the goddess Nut, and two
characters or emblems — the Ankh and the Nefer. From
Egyptian tombs comes the Ankh, the emblem of long
life, the symbol of the goddess Hathor on whose shrine
it is painted. Some say that the Ankh symbolises the
oldest wish, that of " long life." The Nefer was a very
popular emblem portraiting " good luck." and prosperity.
Perhaps the oldest Egyptian amulet is the " sistrum/'
a protection against evil. It is said that there is some
thing especially interesting about the older Egyptian
amulets and charms because they represent a long lost
religion, although, as it is stated in the Guide of the
British Museum collection of Egyptian antiques, we have
in the writings and records of that people now so fully
known some idea of the way in which these beliefs would
influence the wearers of amulets, and how they would
regard the curative power and value of the emblems.
In Old Egypt special value was attached to certain stones
which were chiefly used for amulets, but to make doubly
sure of the beneficial effects of these talismen they were
engraved, and the names of the gods are to be seen upon
them. In the British Museum catalogue the attributes
of some of these pieces are given, thus we learn that the
amulet of the papyrus sceptre gave youthful vigour,
the snake's head would prevent the wearer from being
bitten by snakes, and the " Tet " or buckle of Isis gave
strength to the wearer and prevented all kinds of evil.
The buckle of Isis, conveying goodwill, is supplemented
by the Ab or two-handled urn which is supposed to
represent the heart, the centre of life. There were many
fanciful beliefs, one of them being that the amulet of the
fly with a human head gave the wearer the power to
ascend up to heaven.

326 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Some have sought to trace the origin of the amulet ;
the early beginnings of a belief in these things is lost in
obscurity, it is clear that from the earliest times amulets
were wrapped up in mummies as guardians or protectors
of the dead ; it is thought that the potency of the original
faith in these symbols which was fully believed led to a
general use of similar emblems for the protection of the
living, who it might well be argued needed protection
in this life just as the dead in the spirit world.

No doubt the use of amulets by the Egyptians and
other ancient peoples led to their general use, and even
tually to the fashioning of jewellery for personal adorn
ment like the charms used for specific purposes. In
modern times many of the old symbols have been repeated,
although it is hard to say to what extent the wearing of
those particular emblems is attributable to belief in their
efficacy.

The swastika, which has been reproduced many times
recently as a favourite among emblematic jewellery, is
an emblem of good luck. There have been many legendary
stories of the origin of this emblem. It came into being
at least three thousand years ago ; it was known in Troy,
at an early date, and is frequently seen marked upon
ancient Grecian pottery. It was commonly worn in
China, and the symbol is seen on the breasts of the idols
of Buddha. In the eighth century of the Christian era
the symbol was in China ordered to be put in the centre
of all representations of the Sun. In Europe in the Dark
Ages the swastika turned up associated with the Norse
god Thor. And to-day it is worn. Why, few can tell
or surmise !

Goodwill and good luck seem to have been always
favourite expressions and have been symbolised many
times, one of the most curious emblems of good wishes
being the gourd so often used in China.

FIG. 103.— FIXE PECTORAL CROSS OP SILVER-GILT.

Russian. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum.

AMULETS AND CHARMS. 327

THE CHRISTIAN SYMBOL — THE CROSS.

There were many Pagan emblems worn as charms
during the early days of Christianity ; it is not surprising
therefore that emblems were adopted by the believers
in the '* new " religion. In course of time the Cross was
accepted as an object of veneration, and crosses symbolic
of the great tragedy which formed the connecting link
between the man Christ Jesus and the risen Lord — the
Saviour of the World — became the favourite substitute
for the older Pagan amulets. It superseded too, the
ancient talismans of the Jews. The Cross has ever been
the chosen emblem of Christian peoples, and many
articles of jewellery have been fashioned to be carried,
worn and revered, emblems of the Divine power as a
protection against evil.

Many beautiful crosses are to be seen in museum collec
tions. They include altar crosses, processional crosses,
and pendant crosses. These latter, jewelled and plain,
are worn to-day just as they were in the Middle Ages and
throughout subsequent periods, even when there was a
change in the religion of the land, for the Cross is equally
revered by Roman Catholic and by Protestant.

The Cross too, symbolises the highest honours of Civil
and Military distinction. The Crosses of St. George,
St. Patrick and St. Andrew form the flag of Union which
belongs to the whole of the British Empire. The Victoria
Cross, inscribed " For Valour/' the Military Cross and
many other distinctions have been awarded lately, and
in tens of thousands medals and crosses bearing the magic
emblem of Christianity are and will in the future be
proudly worn by Britishers and their Allies in the Great
War. There is no emblem so sacred and no emblem so
revered as the Cross, it is small wonder then that stories

328 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

founded on ancient traditions have been formulated of
the numerous miracles said to have been performed by
the symbolic use of the Cross ; chips from the sacred
tree have been revered as relics, and to touch such wood
was thought, not unreasonably, to bring reward. In
recent days the legends have been revived, and ee Touch
wood " has been fashioned. Many a modern maiden
carries such an emblem among her many trinkets, but
not all associate the virtue of " touching wood '* with its
true source.

Precious jewels have been worn with superstitious
faith in their curative properties, and sometimes in fear
of their injurious influence. The gems which shone in
the breastplate of Aaron recall the traditions of Egypt
and the way in which new teachings did not always
crush older beliefs, but rather made use of them. The
Jewish religion was made clear by symbols, and jewels
of gold and precious stones were used in fashioning the
ark, the golden candlesticks and other furniture of the
tabernacle The breastplate of Aaron was a wonderful
piece of the jeweller's art : it was to be •' the work of a
very cunning workman/' In Exodus xxvm. 17. it is
written u And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four
rows of stones . a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle
shall be the first row : and the second row an emerald, a
sapphire, and a diamond ; and the third row a jacinth,
an agate and an amethyst : and the fourth row a beryi,
and an onyx, and a jasper : they shall be enclosed in gold
in their settings " ; then follows particulars as to the
manner in which the breastplate was to be worn, and
finally come the directions to the engraver, who inscribed
it fc' HOLY TO THE LORD " . upon it was to be worn
other symbols, chief of which were the Urim and the
Thummim. That breastplate was indeed a priceless
jewel consecrated to the Lord. It has gone, and there

AMULETS AND CHARMS. 329

are no modern replicas, but its memory remains as one
of the earliest and probably the greatest amulet ever
worn.

A FEW MASCOTS.

In modern days there is a lingering faith in emblems
of good luck seen chiefly in the trinkets given by friends
one to another and in the so-called mascots carried on
motor cars and placed in prominent positions in the home,
like the Japanese display their household symbols. It
was no uncommon thing years ago to see the lucky horse
shoe nailed on the door or shown as a sign of welcome :
lucky horseshoes have been worn as brooches and pins
and accepted by rich and poor as of some value as charms.
Here again tradition comes m and connects the horseshoe
with the crescent, a relic of the days of the Crusaders
who learned the symbol in Eastern countries. Some
like precious stones as mascots, others the heart of amber
or the curiously shaped piece of Maori greenstone. The
bell was long thought to have some value as a mascot.
In the mountain districts of the Tyrol the peasantry
think that the tiny cattle bells are proof against the
fascination of the evil eye.

Crosses made of bits of shell, bullets which have missed
their mark, and many symbols fashioned on the battle
field are among the trinkets or mascots of the future.
Some cling to old world groups and like the tiny models
of Faith, Hope and Charity, as represented by their
emblems. Others like homely figures and rural emblems
and are content with the lucky pig or even a bean. Scotch
and Irish respectively prefer their national emblems and
wear as talismans the thistle and the shamrock. In North
Wales it was once customary to hang up the carved wood
love spoons as emblems of luck, and in days of old the

330 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AKD TRLNTCETS.

glass rolling-pin tied with ribband was slung over the
fireplace. At festive seasons good wishes are passed
round, and when the plum pudding is cut at Christmas
time there is the usual search for the emblems placed there
— one gets the thimble, another a piece of money and the
very lucky one a ring, emblematic of an early wedding
day when the finder hopes to receive the choicest of all
jewels — a plain Circlet of gold, the most sacred emblem
of all jewellery worn by civilised peoples.

CHAPTER

ROYAT. AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS.

CROWNS AND EMBLEMS OF SOVEREIGNTY - PERSONAL

JEWELS OF SOVEREIGNS - ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD — COR

PORATION JEWELS - THE CROSS, A CHRISTIAN SYMBOL -

IDOLS OF GOLD AND SILVER.

THERE are many jewels which have a national importance
in that they have belonged to rulers and have been used
in years gone by in great functions, and worn on state
occasions by royalties and by those in authority. In
olden time many of the powerful nobles exercised almost
royal state, and on some occasions wielded powers which
would be impossible for any subject now to exercise.
When towns and entire districts were cut off from the
capital and want of transit facilities prevented frequent
communications with the places where kings set up
their governments local magnates made great show of
their authority, and often wore emblems of office to
impress those who were subordinate to them; indeed
there was a real usefulness in emblems of authority in
the days when such " tinsel " was held in veneration and
respect.

The dignitaries of the church also employed emblems
of office and insignia of rank to drive home the proposi
tion of their particular creeds and the prestige of their
doctrines. For all these varied kingships, and civic and
ecclesiastical positions, suitable emblems and insignia
were selected. The real use of many of these things has
gone, and some of the meanings of the emblems chosen

332 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

are almost forgotten. The skeleton of the emblems used
with such pomp remains, however, in many instances,
and on rare occasions these symbols are brought out. but
their real need is no more. Kings and nobles still own
crowns and coronets, and there are sceptres and other
regalia, but kings no longer sit constantly on thrones
holding their sceptres in their hands, neither do church
dignitaries regularly wear their full vestments and their
mitres, nor do they make overmuch show of their crosses
and croziers. Such things are in attendance, however,
on great occasions, and the very nature of their symbolic
teaching makes them none the less real than in olden
time, only they are stripped of the superstitious beliefs
by which they were once surrounded, and regarded only
as emblems and insignia of office.

Museums are the resting places of much that was once
used with pomp and state, but man}r of the rarest treasures
are either preserved in the custody of the State — like
the Crown jewels — or retained in cathedral and abbey
as relics of former splendour and the reverential awe
with which they were once regarded.

The number of lost jewels must be considerable. It
is the historical jewels with their associations which are
chiefly regretted, because they can never be replaced.
They were the links in the chain of history which could
be admired, and the ancient rites associated with them
better understood. When the Civil War ended in favour
of the Parliament the Crown jewels went into the melting
pot. Those now remaining are mostly replicas of the
ancient insignia, made after the Restoration, some being
fresh creations in which the old and the new blend, not
always with any regard to correct style and ancient
historic design. It is regrettable that the ancient jewels
dating from the time of Edward the Confessor— which
had for so many centuries been preserved with care and

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 333

veneration in the Abbey of Westminster — were lost or
disposed of. There were rich vestments, a golden crown,
sceptre and spurs, all of them worn at the coronation
ceremonies of the sovereign, until the break in the royal
rule by the execution of Charles i. at Whitehall.

CROWNS AND EMBLEMS OF SOVEREIGNTY.

Crowns and circlets of gold have been associated with
royalty from the very earliest times. There are historical
records of crowns in most countries, and even barbaric
monarchs have deemed it necessary to wear them. Royal
crowns were worn by Jewish kings, they were worn by
the Greeks, for Alexander the Great and subsequent
rulers habitually wore them. The crowns of Egypt were
very plain. The Romans had many crowns, and they
favoured this means of honouring rulers and victors.

To Englishmen the crowns of royalty are symbolised
by those still in existence, and which may be seen in
the Jewel House of the Tower. It is sad that most of the
crowns of the Saxon monarchs and of the earlier kings
of England have perished. The Norman crowns were
of gold and were decorated with pearls, and later crowns
have had many jewels with which to make them flash.

The Chapel of the Pyx, in Westminster Abbey, was
long the resting place of the earlier Crown jewels, and
even when some of the more important jewels were
removed to the Towrer the ancient crown of Edward the
Confessor wras retained at Westminster. It is recorded
in history that Henry rn. had the Crown jewels safely
deposited in the Tower, and although many went at the
Civil War into the melting pot there is still a fair number
of jewels on view in the Jewel House, although most of
them are of later date, and mark the beginning of a new
order of things after the Restoration.

334 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Briefly enumerated the chief attractions in the Tower
include the so-called Crown of St. Edward which was
remade for Charles n., and a crown or circlet made for
the Queen of James n.

For many years the chief central figure in the Jewel
House was the Imperial Crown of Queen Victoria, since
her death the crown has been worn by Edward vn. and
His Majesty King George v. : there are lesser crowns for
royal consorts, and in all these royal crowns are many
flashing jewels, including the historic ruby which figured
in the crown of Edward m., and is still retained in the
Crown of England.

Among the other insignia of office shown in the Tower
are the royal sceptre surmounted with the cross, the
rod of equity on which is the dove, and several sceptres
belonging to former kings and queens. The orb is another
famous symbol of power, and among those shown at the
Tower are the orbs of William and Mary. The sword of
Justice is conspicuous, also the golden spurs, the corona
tion bracelets, the ampulla for the holy oil, and the
golden spoon which it is claimed is the original spoon
included in the very ancient crown jewels.

The merging of the crowns of England and Scotland
brought a double set of crown jewels, and there are still
manv cf the old Scottish jewels remaining in Edinburgh,
among them a crown worn by David n. in 1329.

There are many historic crowns worn on state occasions
at coronations by European sovereigns which are interest
ing if only for their ancient associations and for the
legends connected with them. The Iron Crown of Lom-
bardy is worn by the King of Italy at his crowning.
Tradition has it that the iron band inside the crown was
made from a nail used in the Crucifixion of Our Lord.
It was afterwards covered with a crown of jewels and gold
and is the original given by Pope Gregory to Queen

Fio. i<)4, — THE rRt^s nv CON?;;.
Ix THE POSSESSION OF THE ROY XL, TIIISH Ac A it i; MY.

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 335

Theodolinda under whose rule the Lombards changed
their faith from the Arian belief to that of the Catholic.
It was the crown with which the great Charlemagne was
crowned. Then it passed to the Austrians, by whom it
was restored to the King of Italy in 1866,

The crown of St. Stephen (the Hungarian crown) is
richly jewelled and enamelled, the decoration representing
the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and Saints Come,
Damien, George and Demetrius ; in the centre is the figure
of Christ. The crown was given to the Duke of Hungary
in the eleventh century by the Emperor of the Eastern
Empire.

The crown of Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, is
another jewelled crown of rare beauty. It is enriched
with Byzantine enamels representing our Saviour, and
Kings David and Solomon and several of the Prophets,
round it the inscription reads " I.H.S. NAZARENUS
REX JUDJEORUM."

Crowns are not always enriched with jewels, neither
are they always of gold or of precious relics of ecclesias
tical or classic value. The one worn when Prince Charles
of Rumania was made King of the united provinces of
Moldavia and Wallachia was made from the guns taken
at Plevna, where the Rumanian army and the Russians
were victorious.

The royal jewels in this country — other than our
National insignia — include some interesting and valuable
treasures which have once been parts of the regalia of
peoples now included in this great Empire. Among such
curious relics of old kingdoms are the crown jewels of
the Bangs of Burmah, in the Indian Museum, at South
Kensington. They are covered with rubies and emeralds,
the setting being in barbaric taste ; there are crowns and
sceptres and, very conspicuous in the group, an historic
chariot once used on state occasions by King Thebaw ;

336 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

it is studded with mosaics and thickly plated with gold,
and it is said that when used the chariot was drawn by
dusky maidens dressed in white.

PERSONAL JEWELS OF SOVEREIGNS.

Most of the early records of jewellery belonging to
kings and queens mention crown jewels and emblems
of state, but few are explicit in the personal jewellery
worn by monarchs in private life, or of those things which
might be regarded as their private property. In later
days we know that the private jewel chests of sovereigns
have contained many priceless gems ; and in the past too,
there must have been much stores from which the gifts
once lavished so freely on personal friends were drawn,
as well as the jewels in constant use.

History tells of gifts to sovereigns, a custom which
grew to great extremes in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
One of the earliest records of jewellery, and almost vain
display by sovereigns is given in old accounts of Queen
Isabella, consort of Edward n. Her expenditure is
recorded hi the Cottonian manuscripts in the British
Museum, some extracts from which were presented to
the Society of Antiquaries by Mr. E. A. Bond, many years
ago. From that report are culled the following interest
ing data. The Queen's extravagance appears from the
expenditure of about £1400 in personal jewellery, a
large sum in those days. Her English jewellers were
John de Louthe and William de Berkinge, of London ;
she bought a chaplet of gold in which were rubies, sap
phires, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls, and many orna
ments of gold and precious stones. The Queen had also
a girdle of silk studded with silver. One interesting
entry relates to unmounted stones which shows the
comparative small value of money and its buying power

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. :)37
then. Among the stones bought Mr. Bond says were
"4 300 rubies at 20pence a hundred, 1SOO pearls at 2pence
each/3

King John lost his jewels in the Wash, and many
other kings and queens have suffered losses and perhaps
robberies of their personal property. Charles the Eold
of Burgundy lost much treasure in 1476, but some few
years ago several things were recovered, among them a
ring discovered at Neuchatel which was believed to have
been part of the jewrels he lost.

The Tudor Sovereigns were famous for the display
of personal jewels given by royal members of the house
hold and courtiers. Henry vm, had a fairly large jewel
box ; in it were twenty bracelets of gold, many of them
jewelled with diamonds and precious stones.

It was, however, Queen Elizabeth who enriched herself
with jewels acquired out of her private purse and by the
generosity of her courtiers, who took that way of obtaining
royal favour. Many stories have been told of the gifts
of jewelled treasures requisitioned by the Virgin Queen.
The jewelled pendants of the Renaissance and the larger
ornamental pieces in the form of ships were popular then.
Such " boats " were given in numbers, many being models
of historic importance. One was a model of the Golden
Hind, the ship of Sir Francis Drake, a wonderful jewel
with masts and rigging and much jewelled decoration.

Gifts from one member of the royal family to another,
and princely gifts of jewels from courtier to sovereign
have been made in recent years, but in the time of Queen
Elizabeth the custom of giving presents appears to have
been carried to excess. New Year's gifts were then
much in favour, and on every special occasion such
gifts were given. The Queen loved jewellery and took
kindly to the growing custom. Every year seems to
have brought more costly gifts. There were caskets of

338 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
gold, often filled with bracelets and necklaces. It was
thus that Queen Elizabeth's jewel box grew. From the
highest to the lowest contributions came, even the dust
man sent his gift. The most curious thing about the
affair is that none were refused and all were encouraged,
and that the Queen returned other gifts to those who
offered their donations to their royal mistress, and in
many instances the gifts she made in return were of
even greater value than those she received.

Queen Elizabeth had jewelled portraits, among them
many of herself and of her immediate predecessors.
Some years ago some of these royal jewels were sold by
auction in London, one was a pendant locket, on one
Bide was a bust of the Queen jewelled, modelled in relief,
enamelled a translucent blue, and dated 1580, in it was
a miniature supposed to have been the work of Nicholas
Hillard. In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a
small prayer book the cover of which is richly jewelled ;
it was made in 1574, and was carried by Queen Elizabeth.

The royal relics of Charles i. are numerous, and those
worn during the last days of the unfortunate king, and
given by him on the day of his execution are historic.
The jewel given to Bishop Juxon has often been mentioned.
A tooth-pick used by the King was a lesser memento
handed on the scaffold to Colonel Tomlinson, who was in
charge of King Charles during his imprisonment in the
Tower. There is a delightful relic in the Sloan Museum
in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which it is said was found with
the royal baggage after the battle of Naseby — a charming
enamelled jewel.

Some have tried to trace the evolution of wearing
apparel and of jewellery from coins, and in later years
from pictures of royalty, and even on the postage stamps
of more recent days. From ancient coins the head-dress
and the crown can be seen in its changes from the curious

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 339
Saxon crowns and the Norman head-dress to the more
stately Imperial crown worn on State occasions to-day.
The battle axe and the mace which were once of real use
have become the emblematic sceptre. Stamp collectors
are familiar with the early portraits of Queen Victoria
and of the long earrings of that day, the wearing of which
can be confirmed by the old jewellery still to be seen
in antique shops.

From old clothing there is much to learn. It was once
customary to expose for many years costumes of the dead,
just as it had been in earlier times to place their armour
and their helmets on or over their tombs, and in still
earlier days to bury spears and jewels in the coffins.
Visitors to Windsor have gazed in awe at the splendid
carvings and the richness of ornament in St. George's
Chapel, some, doubtless, have admired a monumental
pair of wrought iron gates shown between two embattled
towers. These once enclosed the tomb of Edward iv.,
on which, and suspended from these gates, were his coat
of mail and surcoat of crimson velvet which was em
broidered with rubies, pearls and gold. It remained
there until after the defeat of the royalist party, and
the subsequent execution of Charles I.

The collection of arms and armour at Windsor Castle
is rich in jewelled pieces. Many of the pistols are covered
with gold and encrusted with gems. One of the most
remarkable treasures in the Armoury is a peacock whose
tail is set with all manner of precious stones ; this triumph
of the Eastern jeweller's art was taken from Tippoo
Sahib at the storming of Seringapatam. There is also
the tiger's head of gold, with teeth of costal, and a
beaten gold tongue — another Eastern relic. In the
Vandyck room at Windsor Castle there is a famous painting
of Henrietta Maria, the Queen Consort of Charles i., by
Vandyck, represented as wearing a gown of white satin

340 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

with a belt or chain of jewels thrown over her shoulder.

There are many stories of the wealth of Eastern kings
and princes. The peacock throne of the Shah of Persia
is one of the wonders of the East. This luxurious couch
is covered with precious stones, and on the floor of the
throne is a carpet wrought so thickly with pearls that
the texture is scarcely visible.

A king of Siam wished to present his bride with a
thimble and Parisian jewellers were commissioned to make
it. It is of gold, shaped like a lotus flower on the petals
of which are the initials of the king. There is also the
date of his marriage engraved thereon.

Lastly, among royal gems many strange things have
been worn. Carmen Sylva, the talented Queen of
Roumania, when a child was a wild rose in her native
forests, and she then regarded glowworms as her choicest
gems, these " jewels " it is said used frequently to sparkle
in her hair when she crossed th.e lawn after dark.

ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD.

The jewels and insignia of the Orders of Chivalry and
HOD our which have been worn by famous men in the
past, and which are still worn on state occasions by
holders of these honours, are relics of a bygone age,
when some actual badge or description was deemed
necessary to mark the rank of the owner. Yet when
any new Order is instituted, fresh badges and decorations
are found, in that these honours are indeed worthy of some
material and outward sign, to show that those who
claim to have won and wear them are truly entitled
to their possession. Among the heirlooms of many
families are such badges, although several of the more
important badges are surrendered when the owner is no
longer entitled to their possession, or at the death of the

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 341

owner, for few such honours are hereditary. Of these
a brief description of the most famous must suffice : —

ORDER OF THE GARTER. — There are civil and military
honours , and some which can be worn and bestowed for
general service rendered to the Crown and to the State.
The most Noble of all the Orders of Knighthood is the
Garter, which was founded at Windsor by Edward m.
in 1350. The insignia consists of the Garter of dark
blue, with border buckle and pendant of gold, on which
in golden letters, is the legend " HONI SOIT QVI MAL
Y PENSE " ; it is worn on the left leg. The collar is of
gold, enamelled, each of the twelve sections being orna
mented with a Tudor rose ; from this collar hangs the
George or badge, in the centre is a representation of St.
George slaying the Dragon, surrounded by a garter
ornament on which is the motto. The star was added
by Charles I., and is a very handsome decoration of
sparkling jewels. There is also the lesser George, an
oval ornament worn on the right side with the blue ribbon
over the left shoulder. Many of the jewelled ornaments
of this Order are very richly jewelled, and have been
presented to their owners at great cost.

The ORDER OF THE BATH is a very ancient Order,
revived in later years ; there are different classes and
provision for Knights Grand Cross, Knights Commanders,
and for Companions ; in this Order many members are
military and naval. The badge is a cross, enamelled
white, worn with the collar of the Order. There are
minor badges for the different classes, on all is the motto
" TRIA, JVNCTA, IN UNO "— " Three united in one/'
The ORDER OF ST. MICHAEL AND ST. GEORGE, the ORDER
OF THE STAR OF ISFDIA, and more recently instituted Orders,
have all their several badges. The military crosses and
medals which have been so widely distributed, and so
nobly won in large numbers during the War, include the

342 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

much coveted VICTORIA CROSS inscribed 'TOR VALOUR"
and the MILITARY CROSS. These and many other Orders
of Merit in this country and in foreign States have their
badges and jewelled emblems, many literally covered
with brilliant gems. Many of the different badges of
knighthood and the rewards of duty and devotion to
Crown and Country, all coveted treasures, are carefully
retained by those who have won them, and by those
into whose hands they pass as heirlooms.

CORPORATION JEWELS.

The City of London and most of the more important
cities and towns have their Corporation plate, and in
some instances jewels. These latter are chiefly insignia
ot office richly decorated. These consist principally
of mayoral chains and the badges attached ; they are
sometimes very costly and are ornamented with
jewels. Their designs are, of course, mostly emblematic,
and the arms of the city or town, and sometimes the
crests and monograms of the holder of office or donor,
are inscribed thereon or incorporated in the pattern.
Collars of office have been given, and in many instances
the chains have been " converted/' like the mayoral chain
at Kingston-on-Thames5 which it is said was once a
herald's collar to which has been added the seal or pendant
of the borough ; the links of this chain have also been
utilised as a record of the holders of the civic dignity,
for each mayor uses a link on which to inscribe his name,
thus adding to the " roll of honour/'

The mace is not strictly a jewel, although many of the
older maces are very ornate and sometimes jewelled.
These, like the other symbols of authority, have been
derived from weapons of defence and perhaps from clubs
and maces with which to make way for the great folk

r^'
w

FIG. 105. __ FlNL SILVER-GILT HUiMKH WITH BlH3»^ HKAI» OliNAMENT.
pIG> lor».~Bi;«'U('H OF UlIV^ WITH TXTKIILArKI* <^liSAMI.NT.
4^4 INCHF-* HIAMKTKR.

In the AVrf/owd/ Mttttnnit i>f A

EOYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 343

as they marched through the crowd on some gala day.
There are maces for the towns and oar-maces for some
of the ports. These symbols of authority are now
treasured as they should be as links with former times,
and the jewels they contain valued at far beyond their
intrinsic worth.

THE CROSS — A CHRISTIAN EMBLEM.

The cross has been worn as a jewel more than any other
emblem. Its use is widespread and extends far beyond
that of church purposes or as an emblem for employment
in the church or by ecclesiastics. The cross takes different
forms, that known as the cross calvary is the commonest
of all and is taken from the generally accepted form of
the cross used at the Crucifixion : the Maltese cross
with its extended arms at their extremes is also a very
common form, another variety having ornamental ends.
The circular enclosure of the arms as seen on the Celtic
cross, as in lona, is another iorm often used in jewellery.

The pectoral cross is the highly ornamental form worn
by ecclesiastics suspended round the neck, resting on
the breast, and in this form many of the more costly
jewels are made. A fine example is shown in Figure 103.

Many remarkable relics of olden time, and worn by
saints and others who have been venerated, which have
now become curiosities of value and interest take the
form of crosses. One of the most noted of these old relics
is the cross found in the tomb of St. Cuthbert, who died
at Fame Island in A.D. 687. In the coffin were several
other relics, but most prominent of all was the cross on
his breast. It is still preserved at Durham, and is in
excellent preservation, bearing testimony to the quality
of the work of the goldsmiths of the seventh century. A
deep red stone (said by some to be of glass) is in the front,

344 ANTIQUE JEWELLEBY AND TBESTKETS.
under it a cavity for a relic. There are other stones in
the angles of the cross, the general ornamentation
being better described as " mosaics with enamels/'

Worship of the purest type has often been found at the
shrines of some of the early saints who did much to
place the religion of this country on a sure foundation,

It is not surprising that in a superstitious age miracu
lous powers were attributed to the remains of these men.
Even the common things they possessed have been
venerated, and the objects, in themselves of small worth,
which they used, have become relics of considerable value
to be enshrined in costly caskets. One of the most
famous relics of this type is the shrine of Saint Patrick's
bell which is illustrated in Figure 1 (Frontispiece). This
remarkable shrine is fourteen hundred years old and
still in excellent preservation. It is described in the cata
logue of the Celtic Antiquities of the Christian Period,
preserved in the National Museum in Dublin as follows : —
" The framework of the shrine is formed of bronze plates,
to which the decorated portions are secured by rivets.
The upper portion of the shrine is of silver, and deserves
special attention as an example of decorative treatment.
At the top is a setting of enamel with a cloisonne centre.
The back of the handle portion of the shrine is treated
with great freedom ; the lower portion is divided into
a semicircle, hi each half of which is a conventionalised
figure of a bird somewhat like a peacock, surrounded
with interlaced lines. The upper portion is decorated
with scroll-work in silver. The front of the shrine is
composed of thirty-one compartments. A crystal set
in a frame-work of silver, of later work than the rest of
the shrine, occupies the centre. Below this, on the left,
is an oval crystal with a late setting. Seventeen com
partments retain their original decorations of gold filigree
and interlaced work. Bound the four cabuchon settings

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 345
of red stones, originally eight, tbey may be doubted as
having formed part of the original design. On each side
above and below the circle which surrounds the handles
are ornaments representing serpents interlaced, their
eyes formed of glass. The handles are composed of a knob
and ring for suspension. The interlacements within the
rings are heavily plated with gold. The back of the
shrine is overlaid with a silver plate cut through in a
cruciform pattern/'' The translation of the inscription
on this remarkable relic shrine is, according to the Museum
Guide, as follows ; — " Pray for Domnall Ua LachJainn,
by whom this bell (shrine) was made, and for Domnall,
successor of Patrick, by whom it was made, and for
Cathalan Ua Maeichallanrm, the keeper of the bell, and
for Cudulig Ua Inmainen with his sons who fashioned
it."

In the Dublin Museum there are other Irish shrines of
great interest, including the shrine of St. Moedoc and the
shrine of St, Lachtin's arm. There are many beautiful
crosses too, of quaint and rare workmanship, one of these
illustrated in Figure 103 is the cross of Cong (front view).
It was made in A.D. 1123 for Turlogh O'Conor, King of
Connaught and Ireland, and is justly held to be one of
the most important treasures in the collection of the
Royal Irish Academy Museum. It is recorded that the
cross was made to contain a portion of the true cross
presented by the Pope in that year. Originally made
for the church at Tuam it was transferred to the Augus
tine Abbey of Cong. It is indeed a wonderful piece of
work measuring 2 feet 6 inches in height, its breadth
being 1 foot 6| inches . it is described in the Museum
catalogue as being " of oak, encased with copper plates,
enriched with ornaments or gilt bronze . the sides are of
silver, the whole being held together by nails ornamented
with little heads of animals." There is much interlaced

346 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,

work in the decoration of the panels and the entire cross
is a very attractive piece of ancient silversmiths' and
jeweiierV work. The relic was acquired from the last
abbot of the Augustinian Order in Connaught, and pre
sented to the Royal Irish Academy in 1839.

Many cathedrals and churches in Great Britain possess
rare relics of ecclesiastical plate and some of them jewels,
but the subject is much too large to be dealt with here —
a further and more comprehensive account of church orna
ment and plate is contemplated in another volume of the
" HOME CONNOISSEUR " Series.

IDOLS OF GOLD AND SILVER.

It is a moot point whether idols can be termed either
jewellery or trinkets, but in that many of the first named
group are made of precious metals and often richly
jewelled, and many of the smaller idols are now regarded
as trinkets by their present owners, some reference must
be made to them, and they cannot well be overlooked in
this chapter.

The collection of idols is a curious hobby, and the
mere gathering together of a miscellaneous group of figures
is without interest unless their names and the peculiar
fetish attached to them is understood. The study of
ancient religions is a cult well adapted to the reflective
mind which delights in discovering in the mystic symbols
of ancient religions, and in the idols of silver and gold,
some trace of a common origin. Even the savage races
of to-day, happily few in number, have their crude con
ception of a god, and the worship of an " unknown god "
by millions still is made clearer by the tangible symbol
or object we term an " idol/'

It seems a pity that so many of the old temples of
India, China and elsewhere have in the past been looted.

ROYAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL JEWELS. 34?
Better still that their idols should have been destroyed
than that they should be passed on as mere museum
specimens or curios. Of these common objects in silver
and gold, large and small, many have come into the
hands of collectors. Let them remain as they are, and
together with charms and amulets become relios ot
forgotten faiths and mere emblems of religions; shadows
of the past, of a reality !

Of these curious objects there are many varieties. Now
and then collections or isolated idols come into
the market. A very interesting group of Lamaistic
figures or deities changed hands in one of the London
auction rooms recently. Among them was a seated
figure of Amitayas wearing a jewelled collar, a figure with
the eye of wisdom on her forehead and an eye in the
palm of each hand, wearing jewelled anklets and necklace ;
also a bronze figure of Kuvera with head-dress and neck
lace jewelled.

Idols of all ages are met with. Some come from the
tombs of Egypt, and these objects include not only figures
but images of the sacred hawk in gold, perhaps two
thousand years old, and little amulets which once were
models of deities worshipped.

Strange discoveries of rare antiques are found in unlikely
places. When Mashonaland was being opened up to
trade travellers were surprised to meet with many pieces
of old jewellery of barbaric types, and with them European
jewels well made, evidently Venetian pieces of the six
teenth century, some representing the figure of St. Mark.
It is indeed curious how some of the relics found in out-
of-the-way places have been carried to their present
hiding places.

CHAPTER XXXV.

SCOTCH JEWELLERY.

STRONG CHARACTERISTICS OLD MUSEUM RELICS BADGES

OR CHARMS RECENT SCOTCH ORNAMENTS.

THE ancient Celtic jewellery found in Ireland and in a
lesser quantity in Scotland has been mentioned in the
chapter in which the jewellery of that early period is
dealt with. The conditions under which customs were
observed, and the isolation of the Highland clans from
their Southern neighbours, fostered the retention of old
habits and the long continued use of brooches and other
jewels on the patterns that had been in use from ancient
times. It is desirable therefore to review Scotch jewels
separately from those of other parts of Great Britain
used during contemporary periods.

STRONG CHARACTERISTICS.

A collection of Scotch jewellery, such as may be seen
in the Edinburgh Museum strikes the visitor at once with
its strongly marked local and national character. There
is the same idea prevailing throughout a longperiod, based,
perhaps, upon the peculiar retention and continuity of
dress used in the Highlands.

The ancient costume of the Britons was the foundation
upon which was fashioned the Highland costume of later
years. The climate of the Scottish Highlands had
probably fostered the continuance of the old form of

SCOTCH JEWELLERY. 349

dress ; and plaids of home-spun wool, rendered in later
years more picturesque and grandiloquent by the varied
tartans of the clans held together and enriched by jewellery
based upon antique ideals.

The jewellery is based upon early examples in which
Scandinavian influence is seen in the designs The
inscriptions on the earlier pieces followed in their treat
ment the runes which in the Northern part of Britain
attained well defined forms, and such cryptographic
writings were engraved on jewellery and inscribed on
records and monuments in quite recent times — some of
the old stone monuments covered with runic inscriptions
remain, and their resemblance to the runes on ancient
jewellery is easily traced. In more recent years the
ornamentation of jewellery sfcill followed runic lines, but
it is evident that in many instances the engravers had
lost touch with the cryptic writings, and the designs
based on runic characters were meaningless.

OLI> MUSEUM RELICS.

In the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland
there are many rare pieces of old Scotch jewellery, many
dating from prehistoric times. There, may be seen the
different forms that have been adopted, and the varieties
of ornament peculiar to Scotland. The bronze examples
with Celtic ornamentation include some exceptionally
fine pieces, one armlet from Bunrannoch, in Perthshire
is very large and the spiral ornament is well executed.
There are several armlets with flat expanding ends from
Aberdeenshire. The silver brooches, of which there are
many, have chiefly interlaced ornament, some being
gold -plated, one having an engraved face in relief upon
it. Some of the brooches are very large indeed, for
instance there are pennanular brooches with interlaced

350 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
ornament measuring as much as four inches across and
some ornamented with gold filigree work are further
enriched by amber settings. Similar brooches in silver
are also enriched with amber. Silver chains are not
uncommon. When digging the Caledonian Canal, near
Inverness, a chain of double rings of silver weighing no
less than 95 ounces was found, and was with other finds
claimed as Treasure Trove.

In the days when the Vikings came and went no doubt
much jewellery and arms were lost. In their graves too,
many discoveries have been made. Among the relics
of this period in the Edinburgh Museum are oval-shaped
brooches similar to those often found in Norway, there
is also the hoard of silver ornaments found in the sand
hills nea.1 Rin, among them pennanular brooches as
large as eight inches across, arm-rings of twisted wire
and other brooches of peculiar shapes. Brooches are
very conspicuous among the Edinburgh Museum exhibits :
very interesting are those which came from the round
towers or " brooches," A fine brooch now in the British
Museum was found in Scotland in Loch Bay, it is of
silver and is a massive cloak or shawl fastening ; according
to repute this noted piece was made from silver from the
Isle of Mull, its inscribed back stating that it was made
by a '* tinker in the fifteenth century/'

The accompanying illustrations from examples in the
Edinburgh Museum are reproduced from the catalogue
of the Museum by permission, they are truly fine pieces
of the most interesting periods. Figure 105 is a brooch
of silver with bird's head ornament, a find from Rogart.
Figure 106 is a brooch of brass 4f inches in diameter,
decorated on the obverse with interlaced work, foliage,
and two nondescript ornaments. Figures 107 to 110
are examples of quite a different class, they are Luck-
enbooth brooches with Scotch emblems, Figure 107 is a

FIGS. 107 TO 110. — LrcKEXiiooTH BROOCHES.

FIG. ill. — LATE CELTIC ARM LET.

In thf National Museum nf Anttqnitic.N, Edinburgh.

SCOTCH JEWELLERY. 331

larc;e brooch of silver ornamented with engraved patterns
and set with stones. Figure 108 is another Lucken booth
brooch of silver; Figure 110 is a harp-shaped brooch
found in Perthshire. In Figure 111 is shown a fine armlet
of the late Celtic type found near Plunton Castle,
Kirkcudbrightshire in 1859. Among other remarkable
brooches found in Scotland and now in the National
Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, is a silver-gilt brooch
with amber setting and panels of interlaced work and
with runic inscriptions on the back, it was found at
Hunterston, in Ayrshire.

BADGES OR CHARMS.

The collection of badges is one of special local interest.
It is a hobby that may be practised in Scotland where
there are many relics of olden time when a badge or
symbol was a common mark of distinction. Every clan
had its own tartan and there were many peculiar markings
and emblems in jewellery by which their owners could
be identified. There are some interesting military badges
in the Edinburgh Museum, especially those associated
with the old volunteer regiments.

Much might be said about the use of charms and amulets
in Scotland. Amber beads were at one time much worn
in the belief that they were remedial in cases of bad
eyesight. Charms to cure toothache seem to have been
very generally held to be beneficial, and some of these
curious parchments written in fine script were carried
about in little silver boxes or mounted in frames and
worn like pendants or in lockets. The term locket, it
may be noticed in passing, generally understood to
mean a closed receptacle for hair, a portrait, or some
relic, was primarily applied to the *' locket ' or spring
fasten by which a necklet was fastened — of such old

352 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
fastens there are many varieties, some very quaint in
style and workmanship.

RECENT SCOTCH ORNAMENT.

The Scotch jewellery of more recent days embraces
replicas of silver jewellery set with stones of local repute,
many of them being peculiar to the clans by whom they
were favoured. The cairngorm quartz — a variety of
yellow and brown shades — takes its name from Cairn
gorm, one of the summits of the Grampians. Similar
stoues come from Arran, and occur again in Ireland in
the Mourne Mountains.

There are many beautiful varieties of Cairngorm much
used in Scotch jewellery, some varieties originate through
the introduction of iron oxides in the quartz. These
beautiful rock crystals are set in the handles of dirks,
in the jewelled ornaments peculiar to Scottish clansmen,
and especially in the brooches of large size worn by men
and women as clasps for their plaids and cloaks, and in
the jewels and emblems of their bonnets. The dress of
the Highlander is but a natural development of the
lim croich costume of early date. The Scottish High
landers wore the kilt, and from their belts hung their
dirks and their jft-times jewelled snuff-mull. M^ny of
the seventeenth century clasps are still worn, and in the
small brooches and other Scotch jewellery are trappable
replicas in miniature of the large brooches 01 ancient
Celtic types,

CHAPTER XXXVI,
MINIATUBES.

MANY FAMOUS COLLECTIONS — ANCIENT MINTATTTRES —
MORE MODERN MINIATURES.

THE painter oi miniatures follows an art quite distinct
from that of the jeweller, and his handiwork is closely
akin to that of the portrait painter in oils, although in
that fine work there is not the freedom and scope of the
bolder work. The art of the miniature painter must be
examined under a lens to understand the full beauty
of the small and delicate touches which are necessary
to produce those marvellous effects which some of the
earlier miniature painters were able to impart to their
work. The art of the miniature painter and enameller
of jewellery requires long patient training of eye and
hand, and comparatively few have attained any great
proficiency in the art.

Pictures interest the collector of jewellery only in so
far as the portraits or miniature scenes have been framed
in gold or silver, or have been enriched with jewels and
enamels, thus bringing the finished product in touch
with the art of the craftsman wrho works in the rarer
metals and beautifies his work with jewels. It is for this
reason that some of the miniatures which have been
secured by the collector of jewellery are daubs not worthy

354 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
of a place In an art gallery , many, indeed, when examined
by a critic are pronounced modern fakes, or the work
of some apprentice, only a learner IB times gone by. Their
value, however, was appraised by the owner for the time
being, who valued them because of their historic or
family associations rather than from their artistic merit,
and had lavished upon them frames out of all proportion
to their real worth.

MANY FAMOUS COLLECTIONS.

There are many famous collections of miniatures, and
some beautiful examples can be seen in the Wallace
Collection, at Hertford House, in the Victoria and Albert
Museum, at South Kensington, and in the London Museum,
at Lancaster House, and of course there are many private
collections and semi-public galleries of paintings where
miniatures can be seen. The miniature collector would
scorn any interest in the frame and look upon that as
merety secondary ; so perhaps the collector of old jewellery
if not an enthusiastic artist would buy a miniature for
its frame, caring little for its value as a painting, or for
the portrait of someone, probably unknown.

ANCIENT MINIATUEES.

As a guide to the age of ancient miniatures in their
original frames it may be pointed out that the art of
miniature painting is very much older than that of the
artist who first framed a picture. Some of the ancient
illuminated missals contain exquisite paintings, their
vivid colours making them very attractive.

The older illuminations are rich in such miniatures,
and many of the vellums are painted with Celtic ornament,
interspersed with beautiful miniatures in brilliant colours ;

FIGS. 112 AND ii;J. — Two NFTKLACE* OF SILVER-GILT, JEWELLKD.

FROM Tl'OLS.

In th? VifftH'iii TH«/ Albert Mu^firtn*

MINIATURES. 355

some of these books in richly jewelled covers are fit settings
for the miniature gems they contain.

The Book of Rells, in Trinity College, Dublin, and rare
illuminated books in the British Museum, are full of
choice " bits." The collection at Hertford House, already
referred to, is rich in miniatures, and some of these shown
as framed pictures have been taken from old vellum
books, for in such volumes are often seen little illumina
tions and even initial letters surrounding tin}' pictures
and portraits, although many of them fanciful designs.
Such illuminations are themselves often jewelled, in that
many are wrought in gold and silver. Enamelled minia
tures are sometimes framed and coloured in a similar
way. Ivory paintings are often very fitly framed in jewels
and gold.

Portrait painters in the days of the Tudors and the
Stuarts effected some wonderful works of art, and the
carved frames of wood were often gilded and jewelled.
Some very beautiful miniatures in their old frames are to
be seen at Windsor Castle and at Buckingham Palace.

There have been many special exhibitions of framed
miniatures held at South Kensington and at other places,
one of the most recent was that of the famous collection
of miniatures loaned by the Duke of Buccleugh, shown
in the Victoria and Albert Museum, a remarkable collec
tion formed by the fifth Duke of Buccleugh. Some of
the examples in that collection were originally in the
possession of the Duke of Montagu, among them being
miniatures which at an earlier date had belonged to
Charles i., and some were once owned by Horace Walpole.
Very few of these were in jewelled frames, one very
curious picture, however, of a lady unknown, looked
very striking in its jewelled frame of rare beauty, the
portrait was said to have been the work of Mohoias
Dixon, who worked from 1667 to 1708.

356 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

MOKE MODERN MINIATURES.

Modern miniatures have been framed in gold, and not
a few old ones have been made up into brooches, worn
in lockets, and mounted as pendants. Many of the
backs of such jewels have been made beautiful by inlays
and coloured enamels and by settings in paste and real
stones.

In the eighteenth century " Pinchbeck *3 metal was
much used for the frames of miniatures ; another popular
style of ornament being the French taste, much of which
was flimsy and not very durable for miniatures which were
often exposed. Miniatures have been worn in many ways,
although brooches, bracelets and pendants have been
the most popular. The rococo style became very extrava
gant, until the setting of framed miniatures was much
too large for the subject, and the beauty of the miniature
portrait was often overshadowed by the frame — that,
however, was to the metal worker a time of opportunity,
and he was not slow to take advantage of it.

The fashion of wearing paintings, and afterwards
coloured photos, in the time of Queen Victoria, in lockets,
afforded the jeweller an opportunity for making another
kind of frame, and the work expended on lockets was
considerable. Some of the more costly lockets were of
gold and often jewelled.

Small miniatures >n simple gold frames are now in
fashion and manv very pretty pictures in their simple
frames oi gold, are to be seen in every day

CHAPTER XXXVIL

MASONIC JEWELS.

mEEMASONBY — SIGNS AND SYMBOLS — A FINE
COLLECTION.

AN account of jewellery would not be complete without
some reference to the jewels which form part of the
symbolic ornaments of freemasonry. The collection of
such jewels is of course limited, and those who have
formed collections have generally, if not always, been
members of the craft, and often active workers in its
affairs. It would be presumptions to put forward an
explanation of the masonic order, or to try to trace the
origin of the symbols found upon all kinds of masonic
apparel, jewellery, cups, bowls and masonic china so
decorated. Such objects have been made for the delecta
tion of masons, and many of the artists of olden time
worked with loving hands to provide their patrons with
objects on which were the correct emblems, signifying
something very real to them and to those who had been
admitted into the mysteries of the craft,

FBEEMASONBY.

The rolls of charges of the older lodges tell of the beliefs
and the motives which actuated members, and also remind
us of the very real brotherhood which existed in quite
early times among masons. Early in the eighteenth
century the lodges in London, then few in number, united

358 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

under one Grand Master, and met together at several of
the old taverns where such meetings were then almost
invariably held. The Goose and Gridiron, in St. Paul's
Churchyard, was one of the best known meeting places.
The Apple Tree Tavern, in Covent Garden, was another
place where masons assembled. A Grand Lodge was
formed in Ireland, and another in Scotland, and thus
from these a new order of masonic lodges was founded.
The old necessity for the institution of a trade guild
was gone, but a new idea of brotherhood — a secret society
of a new order based on the old — was brought about, and
flourished.

SIGNS AND SYMBOLS.

The signs and symbols adopted long ago were based
upon religious teaching, and upon the affinity of the
guild in its first initiation to the craft of which the Great
Builder of the Universe is the typical head. The masonic
jewel found among the effects of some member of the
Order will of course have upon it one or more of these
symbols, and its shape may indicate its purpose and
mean much to those who understand its original signifi
cance. The masonic symbols are no secret, their meaning
has often been given, although their true purpose may
be explained differently by students of the mysteries
they represent. Throughout the whole system there is
the one great idea of constructive building, and of the
close connection between the building work of man and
the great creative power of the Creator, and that idea
is symbolised by some of the signs.

In the jewels of the Archmason is the Sun, which
symbolises the Creator, the interlaced triangles so often
introduced mean fire and water, the two great elements
in the creation of this world ; these are encircled by a ring

i

MASONIC JEWELS. 359

which indicates completeness — an eternity without end.
Wisdom, strength and beauty are symbolised by the
three columns of different types, with their varied capitols
the three great historic ornaments of Doric, Ionic, and
Corinthian. The craftsman's tools which are used as
symbols are the gavel and chisel, which are said to show
efficiency ; the two-foot rule, divided into twenty-four
parts, indicates the complete day, each hour of which
is given its appointed use, and finds occupation for many.
The square indicates morality, the compass the heavenly,
and the level indicates uprightness of purpose. The
mosaic pavement on which many of these emblems are
made to rest shows the varied and comprehensive character
of creation.

Masonic jewels and objects emblematic of masonry
are seldom seen together in any quantity, for they are
mostly in isolated pieces among the treasured possessions
of their original owner or of the descendants of someone
who had a right to use them ; some, however, have
acquired quite important collections.

A FIKE COLLECTION.

The finest and most complete collection of masonic
jewels is appropriately at Freemasons' Hall m London,
where, under the superintendence of the curator and
librarian, Dr. W. Hammond, F.S.A., they are cared for
and properly housed and displayed. In the cases of the
Library of the Hall there are many objects which have
been worn by noted masons, and a number ot presentation
swords and pieces of plate. The masonic emblems adorn
much beautiful glass, and quite a number of valuable
pieces of pottery and porcelain, all in some way or other
representing the masonic order, in the different periods
in which these pieces were made — mostly during the last

360 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY A1STD TRINKETS.

half of the eighteenth century — are on view. There are
jewelled orders and many beautiful examples of the
goldsmiths' and silversmiths' crafts, and not a few richly
ornamented with emblems in diamonds. There are some
charming miniatures of noted masons suitably framed
hi gold and enriched by the addition of jewels Golden
ornament is there in profusion, and much that is delightful
in small personal jewels. To those specially interested
in masonic jewellery the descriptive catalogue of the
treasures in Freemasons' Hall, entitled Masonic Emblems
and Jewels, so ably written by Dr. Hammond, is recom
mended, its perusal will assist those searching after the
minor secrete of mabonic symbolism.

CHAPTER XXXVTH.

ORIENTAL JEWELLERY.

INDIAN JEWELLERY CHINESE ART JAPANESE

METALWORK.

IT has been shown in preceding chapters that many of
the inspirations which have influenced changes in the
art of the jeweller, and which have led to the creation
of new jewels for ornament and wear, have come from
the East. In their passage from East to West some of
the designs have lost their real meanings and have under
gone modifications, so that when compared with jewels
made in Eastern countries, at a somewhat earlier period,
they have lost their original forms and have been stripped
of the Oriental characteristics which made them beautiful.

INDIAN JEWELLERY.

Not very long ago the working jeweller of India travelled
from place to place, operating gold supplied by his patrons,
and setting and resetting ancient jewels in their possession.
In such work there is seen an inherited instinct which
supplied the motive, the harmonious blending of colour,
and the marvellous skill in fashioning the precious metal,
giving it that curious similarity and yet varied treatment
observable in all Eastern and barbaric jewellery. Just
as in the manufacture of peasant jewellery in Europe
there is a scheme or motive in Eastern jewellery, difficult
to explain yet apparent in all the works created by natives
of any country.

362 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

The jewellery of Indian artists has been brought over
to this country on many occasions. During the Indian
Mutiny there was much looting, and many valuable relics
were lost, and family hoards scattered. Indian and other
Eastern jewellery has been much copied, and many objects
now offered for sale are of course but modern replicas,
or new jewellery fashioned on stereotyped lines laid down
many years ago, the outcome, in many instances, of
ancient religious inspirations.

CHINESE ART.

The Empire of China has been subjected to many raids
and disturbances during which many of the palaces and
temples of that ancient land have been robbed of some
of their choicest relics. No doubt there are still many
rare pieces of old metal work safeguarded with care in
palace and temple. It is, however, front those almost
inexhaustible supplies of genuine antiques which are to
be found in national collections, in this country and in
many European and American galleries, and the frequency
of sales of such curios, that we can judge of the patient
industry of those ancient craftsmen who laboured so
laboriously upon those rare objects of porcelain, ivory,
metal and jewels.

The collector is amazed at the diversity of object and
at the same attention to minute detail in large and small
curios. The skill of the Chinese is seen in their clever
carvings, and in the mounting of jewels so as to give the
best effect to the stones by combination of metal and
gem. The same skill is exhibited in the cutting of beads
in deep relief, in pictures of ivory, and in the setting of
precious stones, and inlaying of pearls and enamels. To
instance the familiar bead — the basis of the necklace and
other ornaments — take a string of old Chinese beads ;

ORIENTAL JEWELLERY. 363

to describe them as a " rosary 3> is perhaps a misnomer ;
there are, however, such strings obviously associated with
worship, and the different " beads 3t are arranged on a
well understood plan, signifying certain " stages." Thus
in a string of Chinese beads of one hundred and thirty -two
there are usually seven larger ones, and a distinctive bead
with tassel. One such string of beads beautifully coloured
is divided at intervals by large agate beads (seven in
number) and by another of violet-coloured glass in the
centre of the chain from which a tassel hung.

The bracelet of carved beads illustrated in Figure 132
must be seen to understand the carving of each one, the
details in picture form suggesting a story or myth in
which fabulous animals, birds, and priests are curiously
intermixed.

The Chinese are wonderfully clever chemists and know
how to mix the commoner metals with silver and gold, and
impart to them properties unknown in the metals used
by art jewellers in the West. A collection of old Chinese
" cash " is interesting, for among the coins even yet in
circulation may be found very ancient pieces, and from
these the Chinese metal-worker with intuitive skill will
select coins which from their dates and colour, and possibly
from their appearance will, he knows, work up into
jewellery, and by applying decorations in gold and added
jewels produce rare combinations of colour.

According to legend some of the coins, so-called " cash/'
dating back to the Kang-Hi period, contain a proportion
of gold. Tradition says that when they were made the
reigning Emperor conceived a contempt for the Buddhist
priests, and on one occasion ordered a set of Lohan images,
representing the eighteen attendants of Buddha to be
melted down and made into " cash," The metal of
which they were made contained a large amount of gold,
hence their value for jewellery, which added to their

364 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

" sacred " interest makes them much sought after, and
their use an added attraction — indeed more than ordinary
merit is attributed to such jewellery, as to wear such
pieces will, it is believed, bring special advantages to the
owner, because of the one time sacred use of the metal.

The very remarkable examples of old Chinese art shown
in Figures 112 to 120 are now in the Victoria and Albert
Museum at South Kensington. Their descriptions, briefly,
are as follows ; —

Figures 112 and 113 are handsome necklets of gold
which have been taken from idols in years gone by. This
rich loot is typical of the votive offerings made at such
shrines by former worshippers. The gold and silver
foundation is jewelled with turquoises and other gems.
They are Tibitan, and like Figures 114, 115 and 116 of
similar design are typical of the art of Tibet.

Figures 117 and 118 are groups of rare pieces of Chinese
jewellery. They are mostty hair ornaments ; one curious
piece is a beautiful chatelaine with numerous pendants —
seven silver-gilt implements for the toilet. There is also
a silver filigree open-work head-dress for a bride, with
applied ornament in the form of a temple with dragons,
and ho-ho decorations.

Figure 119 is a Chinese silver-gilt neck ornament with
an oval-shaped pendant, repousse, pierced and decorated
with translucent enamel. Figures 120 and 121 form a
pair of hairpins of silver-gilt, the heads in the form of
dragons decorated with kingfishers' feathers, from which
depend strings of pearls. All these rare pieces were
originally shown at the Amsterdam Exhibition in 1883.

The jewellery of ancient China is very interesting
indeed, so also is that of Old Japan.

ORIENTAL JEWELLERY. 365

JAPANESE METALWOBK.

Japanese jewellery of ancient date was the handicraft
of many skilled workers in precious metals, some ot the
most beautiful effects, however, being produced by the
free use of gold and alloys inlaid in what would otherwise
have been quite common metal work. Japanese iron
work has from very early times been richly ornamented
with gold and the insertion of precious stones.

The arms and armour of the Samurii were frequently
damascened with gold, until the design or picture pattern
upon them almost effaced the foundation of iron or other
metal. This damascened work must not be confused
with inlays and enamels like the cloisonne work, for it
enriched the iron by the introduction of fine lines of gold
without in any way attempting to cover it.

The sword hilt was chosen as the object which although
small could be rendered beautiful and wrould be appre
ciated by its owner. Strictly defined, Japanese gold
damascene consists in designs in gold beaten into the
iron foundation, which by cross-hatching and other pro
cesses had been prepared to receive it.

Modern Japanese damascened ornament is, of course,
a commercial adaptation of the old process, and most of
the modern works of art, although very beautiful can be
distinguished, when closely examined, by the absence of
that minute hand chiselling and other details which
must have taken long periods to achieve. The modern
jewellery from Japan made on this principle consists of
bracelets, fob-chains, hair-slides, necklaces, bangles and
the like, some of the finest work being the very handsome
caskets and jewelled boxes damascened in gold and
silver. Such caskets, although modern, are not unfitting
receptacles for ancient jewellery of Eastern manufacture.

366 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

Many of the caskets perpetuate the mystic symbols
and the legends of Old Japan which are so closely asso
ciated with the older curios which were so wonderfully
worked. For instance several of these boxes, a commer
cial development of the older handicraft, are quite
interesting by their designs so beautifully executed.
One handsome casket shows a view of Itsukushima on
the doors, on the back being the two elders of Takasago.
Another casket with butterflies on the sides is ornamented
with Sennin Shiyei on the horned carp in relief on the lid.
Others have legendary characters on the sides, and dragons
and temple guardians as supports. Some of these caskets
are models of ancient temples richly damascened in such
designs as Benten holding a biwa and standing on a dragon.

Many private collections of Oriental curios have been
dispersed during the last few years. One of the most
important was that of the late Mr. Walter Behrens, of
Manchester. In that collection were many small objects,
some rightly coming under the head of trinkets, and not
a few of them representative of the Japanese trinkets
likely to be met with in lesser quantities in the house of
the " home connoisseur/' Just as such a private collec
tion ought to be, that of Mr. Behrens had been carefully
selected, and each piece was of special interest and
indicated some of the best work, although the object of
the piece might have been of the most trivial import.
Very special were the inros or medicine boxes, of different
metals, which were at one time carried at the girdle.

Another important collection dispersed some years
ago was that of the late Mr. Edward Gilbertson, whose
privately printed catalogue of Japanese curios is now
very scarce. The inros in that collection were of great
merit, the cherry-tree decoration figuring frequently.
Some of the boxes were in gold lacquer ornament, bearing
such decorations as an eagle pouncing upon a stork,

ORIENTAL JEWELLERY. 367

Chinese boys making a snow-bail, other boys sporting
with a young elephant. One inlaid box in fakamakiye
and pearl took the form ot the sage Toba on a donkey,
inside the box was a piece of saikaku, which is a kind ot
horn, small pieces of which were scraped ofi and eaten
as a remedy or preventative against fever. One of the
most remarkable specimens in the collection was a silver
inro with an outer case also of silver, the decoration
being of cloisonne enamels, on the inside a cock and a
peony. Some of these curious little objects were of
composite metals, jade, ivory, enamel and lacquer being
also freely introduced in their decoration.

The netsuke, another charming little curio, is much
sought after, many of the older specimens being very
beautifully carved. One very fine little piece in the
Behren's collection which sold at that sale for £225 was
formed of two wrestlers in the famous Kawazu throw ;
it was signed Hokio Sessai.

Knives have been ornamented and worn at the girdle
in many countries in olden times, many of those made
in China and Japan have handles of jade and fittings
of silt, some of the best pieces having jewelled handles.
Jewelled daggers are common in Eastern countries and
many of the old collections of curios contain examples
of knives worn and carried by ancient warriors.

In conclusion it may be pointed out that the signature
of the artist is of much importance, for the best metal
workers nearly always signed their work. The symbols
upon the curios are also of great value, and to their
original owners would be of still greater importance,
for they told of the older myths of Japan which were
probably well understood by the nobles and fighting
men who possessed these objects of interest and now
curio value.

€HAPTER XXXIX.

FLUOR-SPAR, MARBLES AND MOSAICS.

TRINKETS OF IXUOR-SPAR MOSAIC JEWE:LLERY.

THERE are some trinkets which are made of materials
which in the commoner varieties are used in quantities
for much larger works. Thus, there are many marbles
which when carefully selected have been found very-
suitable for making up into small ornamental trinkets,
and in a still more miniature form into jewellery. The
three great divisions of these things which have a kindred
purpose in the commoner forms are fluor-spar, marble,
and the completed form of mosaics in which marble and
many other materials have been introduced. Such
trinkets were very much sought after some years ago,
and are still valued for their beautiful workmanship and
oftentimes painstaking manufacture.

TRINKETS OF FL.TJOR-SPAE.

Fluor-spar is a mineral the chief constituent of which
is calcium fluoride. The beauty of this material is the
wonderful way in which it crystalises, producing such
delightful forms and colours. It is found in Derbyshire
and other parts of England, the best variety is from the
celebrated " Blue John " mine, from whence come the
charming tints of blue and rich iridescent hues of the
mineral which when cut and polished looks so much
like real gems and the more costly precious stones. There

FLUOR-SPAR, MARBLES AND MOSAICS. 369
re many tints, the common forms being blue, green, red,
ellow and some portions which are clear and shine
like diamonds/ The mines in Derbyshire were worked
y the Romans, and some of the old workings have
3vealed traces of the mining of fluor-spar and of the beau-
iful things the cunning Roman workmen made.

The charming pieces worked up into little trinkets and

mall pieces of jewellery found among the oddments of

>ld houses are of course of much more recent times, for

t was late in the eighteenth century that the mines

^ere rediscovered and the beauty of the fluor-spar appre-

jiated. As in so many discoveries this one was an accident,

ihe result of a workman more curious than his fellows

picking up bits of the beautiful spar and showing them

bo a practical worker in stone who saw the possibilities

Df using the material to advantage. At first it was used

as a variant in the inlaying of Derbyshire marbles in

mosaic patterns, but later pretty little toilet table and

drawing room ornaments were made, and small pieces

were used in miniature inlaying. The stone was at first

plentiful and some very large pieces were obtained,

notably a fine specimen which was secured by the then

Duke of Devonshire, and deposited in his hall at

Chats worth.

In Victorian days the sale of these little objects was
carried on extensively, and many rare little pieces have
been preserved. Quite a variety of things were made,
among them small crosses, tiny bowls, pin trays, and
little ornaments inlaid with the different shades of fluor
spar in the form of flowers and insects, some of the small
vases being copies of the antique. It has been pointed
out by experts that some of the Blue John inlays while
being very effective are not so reliable as the older Floren
tine inlays in that they are cut very thin and are apt to
work loose and get out of position, indeed some of the

370 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

crosses and trinkets made about half-a-century ago are
now out of condition, and collectors for that reason can
pick them up quite cheaply, and if fairly handy with
small tools and their fingers can by repairing them obtain
very nice nicknacks at small cost. It is noteworthy
that the real rarity and value of fluor-spar trinkets is
not yet assessed at its full value and therefore there are
some bargains still to be found in this direction.

MOSAIC JEWELLEBY.

It is scarcely necessary to say more about marbles,
because few are of much value from the point of view of
a collector or connoisseur of jewellery other than those
made up into mosaics.

The small mosaics sold as brooches and as small clasps,
and in some instances earrings, are very cleverly made,
and the stiff and formal style which followed the Roman
antique architecture is not without its special charm.
The Romans were clever with these, as well as in the pro
duction of the larger works of art such as those marvellous
tesserae pavements and architectural inlays with which
walls and windows were decorated. The mosaic forma
tion of jewelled ornaments as seen in the enamels of
Byzantine and later art which derived their inspiration
irom the antique are well known and fully appreciated ;
in the ancient jewellery as presented by some of the
jewels recovered from finds in this and other countries
they are seen at their best — mosaics in decorative orna
ment have been revived in recent years and now very
effectively ornament some of our great cathedrals and
public buildings ; much of the work would form the basis
of design for the further adaptation to jewellery, if the
fashion to wear it should ever be effectively introduced
by some enthusiast with influence.

FLUOR-SPAR, MARBLES AND MOSAICS. 371
Although it may not be unusual to wear such jewellery
now, there are many beautiful brooches lying in the old
jewel box, and to wear them on suitable occasions would
not be out of place. They are bought mostly for curios,
and in a collection of these mosaic ornaments there is
very much to admire. Mr. Good, who has so much quaint
old jewellery, has been good enough to loan several typical
mosaic brooches for illustration. These are shown in
Figures 122, 123, 124, 125 and 126. There are the
reproductions of old buildings in Rome, and the usual
floral sprays ; the fountain and birds is perhaps the
most characteristic device, and one which has been much
copied. Mosaic earrings would scarcely be in line with
modern taste, they were, however, once worn with other
jewellery to "match and such pieces as those illustrated
in Figures 127 and 126 are veiy attractive gems of inlay.

CHAPTER XL-

AMBER JEWELLERY.

ANCIENT LEGENDS MYSTERIOUS PROPERTIES USEFUL

AND ORNAMENTAL OBJECTS.

FO^SEL amber was known two thousand years ago, and
many beautiful beads and other bits of jewellery made
of this interesting material have been secured from
Saxon graves and other ancient tombs. For many years
the origin of this material or substance was a matter of
dispute. It is, however, now known to be a fossil resin
or gum drawn in past ages from coniferous trees which
grew near the shores of ancient lakes or on ground now
under the sea. Transparent and varying in texture, some
times it is very hard and brittle, at others it has a softer
feel about it, and is much more enduring. Found in many
places — in some small extent on these shores — it is most
prolific on the shores of the Baltic, where it is washed
up by strong winds and high tides. It is mined too, a
<hort distance from the coast line and found at a depth
of about one hundred feet, perhaps the level of the ancient
marsh where it grew. In its fossilised form it has been
buried in the sands and clays and in the bottom of the
sea, its discovery telling us of great primeval forests of
coniferous trees. From its very nature and origin it
burns, and is consumed in the open at a temperature of
iess than 500 Fahr.

Fi<{. 119, — SnvER-iliLT NECK OUXAMEXT.

Fios. 120, 121. — PAIR SILVER HAIRPINS. CHINKSK.

In the Victoria und Albert Mitticinn,

AMBER JEWELLERY. 373

ANCIENT LEGENDS.

Amber varies in colour from pale straw to deep orange.
It possesses some electrical qualities for it sparkles wLen
rubbed. These qualities were known to the Greeks by
whom it was named electron, and from this comes the
modern name of electricity given to the better understood
and more potent force, so useful to-day. The origin of
amber was a mystery to the ancients, and the merchants
who traded in it kept it a secret, as indeed they did
the places from whence they obtained many of their
rare supplies in which they traded and brought to the
ancients from afar. One old legend is worth repeating.
It is that electron was first obtained from the Gardens of
the Hesperides, in which it was said was a lake called
Electron, the amber as it exuded from the trees which
overhung the banks of the lake f ailing into the water from
whence this much admired substance was thought to have
been taken.

Sophocles said that amber was the tears shed for
Meleager by the birds called meleagrides which lived in
an Eastern country. With these and other equally
fanciful beliefs generally accepted it is understood how
it was that the Greeks deemed amber to be one of the
most acceptable offerings to the gods, on whose altars they
deposited many treasures made of this substance.

The natives who collected amber for the use of the
luxurious Romans lived in East Prussia ; indeed much
of the world's supply comes to-day from the Prussian
shores of the Baltic and off the Danish coast. In these
districts there have been numerous finds of Greek and
Roman remains, due it is thought to the probable search
for the much prized amber, the place of its origin being
kept very secret by the merchants who collected it from
the natives.

374 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

There are varieties of amber in colour and in tex
ture, thus the Sicilian amber is much darker in colour
than that secured on the Baltic shores, which is mostly
yellowish. All the varieties are, however, to be met with
containing small insects embedded in the substance.
That is of course due to the numerous insects buzzing
about in the humid atmosphere of those prehistoric
forests when the resinous juice fell drop by drop, the
sticky substance catching the insects which were destined
in fossil form to remain for many centuries preserved in
the transparent gum for the admiration of future races.

MYSTERIOUS PROPERTIES.

Amber, as has been stated, has been worked up into
all kinds of ornamental objects from almost prehistoric
times. The peculiarity of the material in superstitious
days gave rise to legendary myths about its charms and
properties. Its owners were said to be immune from the
evil intent of witches and fairies. The Scotch peasants
had great faith m olden time in the powers attributed
to amber, which they called " iammer/' To prevent the
powers of witchcraft amber beads, so it was said, should
be strung on red tape or thread, and to wear such a chain
or necklace would break any magic spell. A string of
these beads was generally given by a mother to her
daughter on the eve of marriage, for they were said in
their turn to carry a spell which the husband could not
resist, adding to the maiden's charms.

Lammer-wine, a concoction in which amber was dis
solved was deemed an elixer of life, and carried with it
immortality — so the poor people thought. In this
connection it is useful to know that water does not injure
amber which can, however, be readily dissolved in sul
phuric acid.

ri V1HP tu-,,^,

AMBER JEWELLERY. 375

The more learned (?) in olden time treated the use of
amber medicinally as of great value, Jn an old encyclo
paedia it is stated that amber beads are worn by girls as
a preventive against all kinds of throat diseases. Indeed
amber found its place among the remedies sanctioned by
the Pharmacopeia Londinensis published in 1678. The
ailments therein referred to as being cured by certain
preparations of amber were very numerous. It was to
cure apoplexy, epilepsy, and violent catarrh. It was
deemed beneficial in cases of plague and heart disease,
and not only was it used as medicine but it was employed
as an essence or scent. To wear a piece of amber was
thought to be a preventive measure against all infectious
diseases, and it is said that the higher ecclesiastics in
the Middle Ages were rarely without it. Being accredited
with such magic powers it is not remarkable that crosses,
hearts and other symbolic forms in which to fashion the
useful amber were adopted.

USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL OBJECTS.

Many of the old amber trinkets remain, but some are
chipped and defaced and spoiled of their beauty, for some
pieces are very soft. There were many types of orna
mental articles made of amber in olden time although
the oddments in which Baltic amber is now made are
very much more numerous. Necklaces of beads of
varied form seem always to have been favourites, and there
are some charming earrings carved and beautifully worked.
In museums may be seen small busts of amber and little
toys bearing evidences of use. Cups of so-called amber
are mostly of glass or resinous gum. These quaint
trinkets are worth securing, although they are not costly
gems like pearls or precious stones, yet this fossil gum

376 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TR NKETS.

has a beauty all its own and the amber jewellery of olden
time is by no means to be despised.

Amber mouth pieces for pipes are the ideal mouthpieces
and holders of smokers ; few in this country or in America,
however, indulge in the luxury of amber fitments to the
same extent as the Turks. Constantinople is one of the
chief marts for carved amber stems. The Armenians
are said to be the best judges of the qualities of amber,
and their women folk have many wonderful articles of
jewellery made from this substance. The delicate pen
dants and droppers are marvels of skilful production, often
chased and carved with remarkable effect.

The illustration in Figrur^ 129 represents a fine amber
brooch^ and earrings to match it are sLovvn in Figure 130.

CHAPTER XLL
JET AND CORAL.

FINDS OF ANCIENT JET ORNAMENTS - CORAL TT^TTET T-

JET and coral are two of the materials from which jewellery
has been made, and although these substances which
take such a beautiful polish are dull compared with the
brilliance of diamonds and many precious stones, they
have many hidden beauties and possess some features
which make them doubly attractive to many collectors
of old jewellery and those who chose either jet or coral
for wear. Lumps of coal, sometimes spoken of as " black
diamonds,'^ are regarded as much too common to be used
as ornaments, much less for jewellery. Jet, however,
having much the same origin as coal has from the earliest
times been treasured for the lustrous polish which can be
imparted to it, and also for the comparative ease with
which it can be cut and shaped.

In England the true jet, a mineral and a variety of
lignite or wood coal, impregnated with bitumen, has
been found and worked in the neighbourhood of Whitby,
in Yorkshire, for many centuries, and from the remains
which have been discovered it was much used in pre
historic times. There, it is found in the lias deposits,
often in association with interesting fossil remains. The
jet mined from among the bituminous shales is ready
for the lapidary to operate. Some years ago much jet
was found on the shore, but it is now rarely found in that
condition. The material is tough and hard, and under

378 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

the microscope reveals its wood-like nature. It can be
cut or turned in a lathe ; some of the finished objects are
left partly dull, thus showing other sections in relief.

The British industry was at one time far more flourishing
than it is now, for most of the seams are worked out and
the supply is supplemented by jet from Spain, the latter
variety is, however, not so hard or so lasting as the Whitby
jet, now difficult to obtain. Jet also occurs in Aude in
France and in Turkey, in which latter country it has
always been much worn.

FINBS OF ANCIENT JET ORNAMENTS.

The antiquity of jet is proved from the remains of old
jewellery which have been found in prehistoric graves
and in large quantities in later interments. It was appre
ciated by the Romans who had many ornaments made
of the materials. Pliny mentions the mineral, which
he says came from Syria, giving it the name of gagates.
Finds are reported from many continental countries.
Some very early examples came from a tonib in Cologne.

The Roman bracelets were very heavy and Roman
matrons had many large armlets as well as smaller brace
lets, all of which were well carved. Roman mechanics were
clever with the lathe, and many of the jet ornaments
were first turned and then carved. In Great Britain
there have been many finds. Mr. Wright in his interesting
work entitled The Celt, the Roman and the Saxon, refers
to the discoveries of beads made from Kimmeridge coal,
in the Isle of Pur beck. He says " the round pieces found
in such abundance in these localities are generally from
a quarter to two inches and a half thick, and from an
inch and a quarter to two inches and a half in diameter,
with bevelled and moulded edges, and having on one side

JET AND CORAL. 379

two, three or four round holes, and on the other side a
small pivot hole." He considers these pieces to have been
thrown away as scraps from the workers' lathe, "the
turner having probably been engaged in producing rings
and other ornaments."

Jet has been found in large quantities in the county
of Durham in various stages of working, some of the
finished pieces being very beautiful armlets of lignite.
Many finds are reported from Yorkshire, some of these
are buttons, beads and other small ornaments which have
been worn as jewellery. There are many conical buttons
and long flat pieces pierced for threading. Many of these
beads were of similar pattern to the jet beads made by
the Romans, who threaded them in much the same way.
There was much difference in the quality of workman
ship in olden time as now, but some of the older specimens
show an advanced style in cutting and in finish. In a
find of bronze jewellery in Melfort, in Argyleshire, some
interesting pieces were found. One of the most important
was a necklace of small oval and flat pieces of jet strung
together in a very attractive manner, wider in the centre,
tapering towards the ends, in the centre a dropper. This
is now in the British Museum. In connection with the
find in which there were objects of bronze and jet, it is
stated in the Museum catalogue that there is evidence
that bronze and jet were used together during the later
part of the Bronze Age.

The Bronze Age burials in Scotland have yielded many
fine pieces, in their formations the flat pieces made up
into necklaces predominate, some, however, are oval
and a few oblong, all of the forms being often decorated
with triangles, chevrons, and lozenges. The example
given in Figure 61 is a very exceptional necklace of jet
beads in the Edinburgh Museum, found at Balcalk, Tealing,
in Forfarshire,

380 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

It may be convenient here to allude briefly to the quaint
and oftentimes pleasing bog oak jewellery for which some
parts of Ireland is famous. Many of the brooches are
cut into attractive shapes, and further embellished with
so-called " Irish diamonds " — crystals.

Figure 134 illustrates a fine necklace of cut jet beads.
It is not old when compared relatively with the one
shown in Figure 61 but it was worn by a lady, who
was in deep mourning about seventy years ago, along
with a heavy chain of jet and earrings to match — it is a
good example of the period.

CORAL JEWELLERY.

Coral jewellery was very fashionable some years ago
and suitably mounted in gold looks very handsome.
Many of the old brooches were carved and represent sprays
of flowers, insects and birds, others are quite plain and
are just mounted branches as taken from the sea.

Coral is of course a carbonate of lime secreted in the
tissues of the tiny animals working in countless myriads,
raising coral islands and reefs. There are several varieties
used commercially, that best suited to jewellery is the
solid red which can be shaped and polished, other forms
like the red tubes and white coral are used. Most experts
give preference to the lovely shades of pink coral, some
of the more radiant tints being chosen for rings and
pendant droppers. Carved brooches are sometimes very
decorative, and the colour imparts a special delight to
those who select coral jewellery appropriate to the cos
tumes they are wearing,

* True coral needs no painter's brush :
Nor need be daubed with red.0 —

G. W. THORNBURY

JET AND COKAL. 381

The very fine examples of coral shown here are genuine
antiques from the collection of Mr. Edward Good, by
whose courtesy they are illustrated. Figure 138 is a
carved brooch consisting of flowers, a curious bird and
a large bes, all mounted in gold, the coral a charming red.
Figure 139 is a brooch of another style of ornament the
pieces of pink coral being well polished and finished with
a pendant dropper. Figure 137 is a piece of solid red
coral cut like a fox, a handsome piece.

The wearing of coral beads by children is a custom
the origin of which is traceable to a very old legendary
belief in the efficacy of coral to prevent danger. In the
Middle Ages these chains were regarded with much
superstitious faith. For similar reasons coral bells, and
other baubles in which coral plays a part, were at one
time inseparable from the nursery.

CHAPTER XLIL

PERSONAL RELICS.

SOME THINGS OF NOTE — MOBE RELICS, AND PARTING GIFTS.

THIS chapter of personal relics must be more suggestive
than descriptive, for the jewels which are included in the
personal relics of men and women, great and small, have
been mentioned in the periods when such objects were
made and worn, and in the accounts of the different jewels
which must naturally be those regarded as personal
trinkets.

The value attached to many jewels is quite fanciful,
it is often enhanced in the eyes of the owner by the romance
of the circumstances under which such things were given
or acquired. As time goes on the associations which
cluster around the ownership — past and present — add to
the value, until jewellery which has been worn by men
and women of note attains a monetary value out of ah1
proportion to its real worth.

SOME THINGS OF NOTE.

Fortunately for future generations most of the curios
belonging to great historic personages are in the safe
keeping of national museums ; and every year as such
things are sold by private owners, or the effects of wealthy
collectors are dispersed by their executors, public spirited
men buy such relics and present them to the nation's

0

Fir 1S2 —BRACELET OF CARVED BEADS.— CHINESE.

Flo! 133!-VICTORIAN BROOCH WITH MlMATVKE PA

FIG 134.— JET BEAD NECKLET.

FlG* 135.— DAGUERROTYPE PORTRAIT, FRAMED.

FlG> ia6. — BERLIN IKON BRACELET.

In the ±uthor'n CuUectitnt.

PERSONAL RELICS. 383

care or give them to local museums ; thus the rarities
and historical oddments from private collections are
gradually absorbed for national enjoyment.

Most of the leading museums have relics of men who
have done something for their town or country. What
could be more interesting than the finger ring of gold
in the Guildhall Museum found during the reconstruction
of the approaches to London Bridge in 1842 • it is in
scribed " T. G.," and is a personal relic of Sir Thomas
Gresham, who built the first Exchange, in the reign of
Elizabeth. That indeed is a memento of one who helped
to make history and extend the commerce of his native
city.

Personal relics of great heroes are common, for the
jewellery and trinkets given to them were many. Some
of the treasures in local museums are only indirectly
connected with their donors, as for instance a sword
given to the City of Norwich by Nelson, who was a Norfolk
man. It was one he had taken from a Spanish commander
Rear-Admiral Don Xavier Francesco Wintherpen.

The personal relics of royal personages are numerous,
and many of them could not have been worn by their
owners. Snuff-boxes were owned in numbers of royal
snuff-takers a century ago. One of these owned by
Napoleon Bonaparte was presented to Dr. Arnott " on
the death-bed of the great man at St. Helena/' The
inscription on the box engraved to the order of the
recipient of the gift tells of the reason of its gift, and
recalls the banishment of Napoleon, who in his day
" disturbed the peixce of Europe/'

MOEE RELICS AND PASTING GIFTS.

Some time ago there was an interesting display of
historic, dramatic and artistic relics associated with

384 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
Shakespeare. One of the curios on view was a brooch
of silver which was engraved with the name of the poet.
This relic was found at Stratford-on-Avon in 1828, and
from its appearance there is every indication that it is
a genuine piece of seventeenth century jewellery.

Jewels have often played an important part in the
world's history, and their possession has often enabled
their owners to achieve marvellous wonders, and in many
instances the gift of jewels has supported national causes.
The gold of the Stuarts provided funds for the royalist
cause. The women of Prussia a century ago gave jewels
of gold in exchange for jewellery of iron. Jewels have
been requisitioned in more recent times for the support
of the war chesfc. Quite recently a princess of the English
Royal House of Windsor sent a famous string of pearls
once worn by Queen Victoria to be sold in aid of the funds
of the British Red Cross.

** Isabella of Spain gave her jewels to provide funds for
the discovery of America, and to-day the people of the
" New World " are giving of their wealth in support of a
just cause in which their Allies in the Western hemisphere
are fighting to win the peace of the world.

In this chapter are shown a few illustrations of personal
relics, such as are to be found in many old jewel boxes
— oddments with personal histories. In Figure 134 there
is a jet necklet alluded to on page 380. The carved beads
forming a bracelet is a souvenir of the wearer, who had
probably secured these beautiful carvings and had them
strung together as a bracelet, each bead is a marvellous
piece of work, an excellent example of miniature carving
allegorical and pictorial (see Figure 132). The Berlin iron
bracelet in Figure 136 is a memento of that war in which
the women of Prussia lost their jewels, although its last
wearer was an Englishwoman.

The Victorian brooch with a miniature painting, shown

PERSONAL RELICS. 385

in Figure 133, is a personal relic of a child now a man much
beyond the prime of life, and the boy shown in the minia
ture illustrated in Figure 135 is one of an earlier type
such as might have been seen in the days when George
the Fourth was King.

Many personal relics must have perished, others have
been lost and many still existent have lost their identity,
for their original owners are now unknown. Perhaps
the value in odd curios such as these has depreciated in
the eyes of some, in that there are so many modern replicas.
Owners of family relics, however, cling to them tenaciously,
and fullv believe the legends which have not lost in the
telling ; thus it is that personal relics grow more
interesting, for not only have they increased in age, but
in many instances the family lore about them uhich has
collected as time went on makes them doubly treasured.

CHAPTER XLIIL
TPvINKETS— ODDS AND EISTDS.

SNUFF-BOXES — BUCKLES JEWELLED BOOK-COVERS

GYPCIERES OR PURSES — IVORY JEWELLERY ODDMENTS.

THERE are man}-' curios closely allied to jewellery which
ma}7 rightly be classed as the odds and ends of the jewel
box, many of them are trinkets of great interest and some
intrinsic value. Most of them are easily classified,
others, however, are in themselves of small value, although
they add greatly to the worth and interest of the object
to which they are attached, or to the completeness of a
collection.

SNUFF-BOXES.

Many old snuff-boxes are gems of the goldsmith's art,
and not a few are enriched with precious stones. In the
days when the gift of a snuff-box was considered the
greatest honour a friend could bestow many vied in
the acquirement and possession of rare pieces. Snuff
boxes were then chosen as suitable articles for public
presentations, and were given to heroes for acts of gallantry
and to those who had rendered public service to their
country. There are few things in which there are greater
variety of ornament than in these little boxes for the pro*
duction of which all kinds of materials have been used.
Not only were the lids of snuff-boxes encrusted with
diamonds, and emblazoned with arms and crests in
colours, but the finest works of the miniature painter

TRINKETS— ODDS AND ENDS. 387

are seen on the lids. Cameos and Wedgwood jasper gems
were used for ornamentation, and the setting on snuff
box lids was often most delicately wrought.

In the second half of the seventeenth century small
boxes were made, but a little later, when the custom had
grown, the snuff-box became the object upon which
artists concentrated in order to provide something pleasing
to their patrons. The practice of taking snuff quickly
extended, and with it the rapidly growing demand for
fancy boxes, some conveniently small for the waistcoat
pocket, others unnecessarily large. Then followed the
use of ornament and the costly boxes for presentation
purposes. Miniatures were frequently painted upon the
lids, the interiors too, being often decorated. Such orna
ment was further enriched by the addition of jewels, many
beautiful examples in gold, and literally framed in dia
monds or old paste being seen in some of the collections
which have been gathered together in the Victoria and
Albert Museum, and other public galleries in London,
and in the private collections of snuff-boxes — indeed the
collection of these little objects has, with many, been a
favourite hobby.

BUCKLES.

In the eighteenth century the buckle industry flourished
in Birmingham and other places. Metal was chiefly
used, but there were many forms of ornament. Some
buckles were made of copper and others of steel. Several
compound alloys too, were used, and many patent pro
cesses were tried. One of the most successful of these
forms of producing buckles cheaply was by the ** tutania "
plan, named after the inventor William Tutin, who
devised a process of silvering metals with leaf silver,
then painting ornamental devices in blue upon it, and
afterwards varnishing and stoving the article. The

388 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS,
name of this maker appears in the Birmingham Directories
of the closing years of the eighteenth century as " William
Tutin, original Tutania metal manufactory for buckles,
buttons, etc/' An instance of the division of labour in
the production of buckles in this district at that time
is given in the Victoria History of Warwickshire, where
it is mentioned in reference to buckles that " the forging
was principally executed at Darlaston, the ' chapes *
being exclusively made at Bilston, the filing, chasing
and putting together being done at Birmingham." In
modern times such work would have been done in one
factory. Some noted buckle makers are mentioned in
that account of the industry, which deals with local pro
duction, especial mention being made of one Spurrier,
a buckle maker who is said to have been able to roll
silver so thin that it was almost transparent, and yet
such silver-plating lasted well and many old buckles are
still coated with silver, although they were made by that
or similar processes a century ago.

The buckle was not new when Birmingham was making
progress with its economic production, for it had been
in use in this country for many years. Samuel Pepyg, in
his Diary, under date 22 January 1659, wrote, " This
day I began to put buckles on my shoes/' Like many
other industries great impetus was given to the trade
when their use was popular at Court. Fashion had much
to do with the success of the industry, for we are told
that towards the close of the eighteenth century the trade
had declined owing to waning favour, for it is recorded that
the then Prince of Wales (afterwards George iv.) and the
Duke of York had ordered their associates and servants
to desist from using buckles. Some years later when,
in 1820, the Prince Regent came to the throne as George
iv., the buckle makers besought him to render them
assistance. Apparently they were successful in winning

TRINKETS— ODDS AND ENDS. 389

royal favour, for the King set the fashion once more, and
buckles of every kind were in demand.

Among old jewellery are many fine buckles in silver
and paste ornamentation, and many of them are hand
somely chased and even jewelled. The gallants of both
the French and English Courts contributed to the pros
perity of the industry which found employment for
goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewellers, and makers of cut
steel buckles and those overlaid with silver, in Birmingham
and district.

JEWELLED BOOK-COVERS.

Among the modern replicas of ancient jewelled work
are some excellent book-covers — some done in miniature.
In the British Museum such covers of ancient dates may
be seen in great numbers, many of them ablaze with
rubies and emeralds — and old paste. The art of the book
binder was in Mediaeval days practised by the monks, some
of whom had, doubtless, penned and illustrated the
vellum books other craftsmen covered. Coverings of
wood and of leather would in the first instance be used to
-protect and preserve the script and the illuminated
missals ; then as time went on the metal worker saw
an opportunity to display his handiwork and to enrich
rare tomes ; and he wrought and chased silver and gold
and fashioned repousse covers on which were heraldic
devices, ecclesiastical symbols, figures of saints and
representations of the Crucifixion, and other historical
events deemed suitable to the subject matter of the
work. It will be remembered that St. Dunstan — a clever
worker in metals — was chosen the patron saint of the
Goldsmiths. Many monks and divines followed his
example and covered books with jewels and enriched
what would otherwise have been common objects.

390 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

GYPCIEBES AND PURSES.

The purse is no new contrivance and it has been made
both for purposes of safely storing and carrying money,
and also for the more ornamental use to which such a
receptacle can be put. In very many case- the older
purses have perished, but the frames have often remained.
The gypciere, as the purse of the Middle Ages was called,
is fully represented by finds made in London, and now
on view in the Guildhall Museum. Most of the frames
shown there are of bronze or brass, some, as was the
custom of those times, were inscribed with pious mottoes.
One very interesting example described in the Museum
catalogue as of fourteenth century make, was found in
the neighbourhood of Brook's Wharf, and is inscribed
"CREATOREM CELI ET TERRE ET IN IESVM."
These purses were almost invariably suspended from the
girdle. During the last few years there has been a demand
for old gypcieres and many have been done up and others
made on the old lines. In the earlier part of the nine
teenth century silk purses and those made of steel beads
were much used, and the steel rings which closed them were
often cut and chased. These old fittings turn up in
odd lots of trinkets.

Many of the purses made half a century ago were very
handsome, their backs being of tortoiseshell and pearl
and inlaid with silver and gold; some of the in OK-* ornate
being jewelled and mounted with charming fittings for
suspension.

IVORY JEWELLERY.

Ivory has been chosen by the carver for Its close tex
ture, and its hard and lasting properties which render it
so very suitable for minute and delicate carvings. In

TRINKETS— ODDS AND ENDS. 391

Eastern countries clever deep recessed carvings have been
executed, some of the curios from India, Ceylon, China
and Japan being marvels of skill. This material now
getting so scarce was at one time plentiful in India and
in Africa, and in those places the natives have for centuries
worked upon it, and traded in the raw material with
countries where ivory is not now obtainable either in
natural or fossil state.

Substitutes have been found, but none have given the
carver the same results as genuine ivory tusks. In Vic
torian days ivory jewellery was worn, especially brooches
and earrings, although the brooches were the most
popular ; the examples shown in Figures 140, 141 and 142
are typical of the carvings then chiefly in demand. Figure

140 represents the Madonna and Child, beautifully cut
in bold relief, the plaque is mounted as a brooch. Figure

141 shows a pair of earrings the chief ornament of which
consists of classic beads on which there is much fine work,
The brooch illustrated in Figure 142 represents wheat
ears and other emblems which would doubtless please
a lady of the early Victorian period, especially one
interested in the work of the agriculturist.

ODDMENTS.

There are many oddments which cannot be classed
under any separate heading, and yet these too, come
under the notice of the home connoisseur who welcomes
any novelty secured either in some out of the way shop,
or among a parcel of sundries bought or acquired by
gift. The collection of oddments is a fascinating hobby
although it may not appeal to the specialist.

Some years ago a collection of curios which had been
gathered together by the proprietor of a London hotel
was dispersed. It represented the miscellaneous collection

392 ANTIQUE JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.

of one who was a true collector, although not a specialist.
His object had been to secure for his museum anything
really curious, odd and old. There was not much in
that collection that could be termed jewellery, but there
were trinkets typical of the oddments found in many house
holds. His was one of many such collections in which
perchance there lurks historical trinkets of considerable
value — if their owners were able to trace their connection
with those who originally possessed them ; in such
attempts there is, alas, too often a missing link, and so
what might have been a rare curio passes into oblivion*
its history lost in the dim past.

INDEX

AFRICAN Gold, 47

African Mines, 167

Agate, 173, 210

Age of Copper, 73

Age of Bronze, 71.

Alfred the Great's Jewel, 11. 68,

129-130, 220
AHoys, 2.'
Amber, 372
Amber Beads, 132
Amber Jeweliery, 372-376
Amateur Art, 48
Amethyst, 173
Ancient Myths, 72, 73
Ancient Tools, 31
Anglo-Saxon Jewellery, 11, 29,

123-134

Aquamarine, 174
Archaic Gems, 90
Architectural Influence on Art,

13
Armlets. 6 265, 268, 269, 274,

323-326

Arrowheads (Mounted in Gold), 72
Art Influence, 12-13
Art and Science in Trade, 9
Artificial Gems, 199
Assay Oflices, 19, 57
Assyrian Jewellery, 85, 86
' Attributes of the Gods " in

Gems, 189-192
Australian Gold, 17

B

BADGES, 142, 143, 289, 290, 297,

351, 352
Bangles, 3, 6, 30

Barrows, Finds in 76
Basic Metals, 10
Beads, 240-251
Carved, 384
Clay, 241
Glass, 242, 243
Gold, 245
Jet, 242

Manufacture. 242
Paste, 241
Phcenecian, 248
Prehistoric. 241
Propitiation. 7
Roman, 248
Rosaries, 244
Stone, 241, 249
Wood, 245
Bells, 133, 134
Beryl, 174
Biblical References, 167, 187, ?65,

276, 286, 287, 295, 328
Birmingham, A Seat of Industry,

36

Hall-Mark, 20
Jewellery, 18

" Black Prince* Ruby, 1 84
Bodkins, 144, 284
Bog-Oak Jewel ery. 163
Boull£ Cabinets, 150
Book Covers, Jewelled, 389
Boulton, Matthew, Maker of

Buckles, 37. 38
Bracelets, 87, 265-274
Bronze Age. 267
Celtic, 268
Egyptian, 267
Gold, 15, 125
Middle Ages, 271
Persian, 266
British Gold, 16

Tin, 23

Bronze Brooches, 113
Jewellery, 9
Ornaments, 115
Rings, 226

394

INDEX

Bronze Age Monuments, 71

Ornaments, 102

Workers, 43, 70
Brooches, 252-264

Barbaric, 257

Byzantine, 258

Celtic, 105, 255

Barly, 253

Eastern, 257

La Tene Period, 259

Pennanular, 105 255

Roman, 113, 115, 120, 121
253, 255

Silver, 109

" Spectacle/' 256

Tara, 107

West Saxons, 261
" Brummagem " Jewellery, 35
Buckles, 22, 36, 155, 160, 274, 387,

388, 389
Bullion, 14
Buried Wealth, 3
Burmese Jewels, 183
Buttons, 160
Byzantine Art, 122

CAIRNGORMS, 197
Cameos, 204-215
Carbuncle, 174
Carnelian, 174
Celtic Brooches 100, 105

Gold, 99-110, i62, 248

Jewellery, 16, 32, 67, 102,
107-110

Silver, 107

Celts, Arts 01 the, 99, 100
Chains, 5, 286, 287, 288
Chaldean Jewellery. 166, 167
Chapel of the Pyx, 134
Charms, 169, 324, 325, 326, 351,

352

Chatelaines, 282-286
Cheap Jewellery. 43
Chester Hail-Mark, 20
Chinese Enamels, 218

Jewellery, 362-364
Christian Symbols 129
Chrysoprase, 174, 175
Clefkenwell Jewellery, 35, 147
Coins in Jewellery, 18
Combs, 315, 316
Copper, 23. 28

Coral Jewellery, 380, 381

Necklaces. 31
Cornish '* Diamonds ' 203
Cornish Mines, 23
Corporation Jewels, 342 043
I Court Jewellers, 147
Cromwellian Influence, 12
Cross, The, A Christian EniLlem,

131, 194, 327, 328, 343
Crosses of Gold, 283
Crown ewels, 134, 332
Crowns, i42, 333-335
Crusaders, 209
Crystals, 155

Magic, 7

" Culiinan " J-iamond, 176
Cyprus Jewellery, 97, 98

DAWN of Civilisation, 1

Diamond Cutting, 176, 197

Diamonds 175-177

Dirks, 22

Dublin Hail-Marks, 20

Ductile Metals, 6

Duke of Wellington's Jewels, 162

Dutch Influence, 13

E

EAR-PICKS, 285

Early Craftsmen, 41

Early Wearers of Jewellery, 2

Earrings, 276-280

Eastern Art, 169, 170

Enamels, 223

Jewellery, 15

Origin, 29

Splendour, 10

Ecclesiastical Jewels, 331-347
Edinburgh Hall-Mark, 20
Egyptian Jewellery, 10, 11, 15,

34, 67, 85, 79-85, 166, 294
Embroidered Gold, 295
Emeralds. 177
Enamelled Jewellery, 125

Ornament 156

INDEX

395

Enamels. 216-223

Battersea, 222

Champleve, 220

Eastern, 223

Limoges, 220

Engraved Devices, 188-189
Engraving Jewellery, 63-69
Etruscan Jewellery, 35, 38, 94 95,

96, 226. 231, 278
Evolution of Industry, 8, 9
Exeter, Hall-Mark, 21

FAMOUS Jewels, 170-172
Fans, 300-303
Fibulae, 44, 106. 252-264
Filigree, 21, 28
Fillets of Gold, 120
Flaxman, the Designer, 209
Fluor-Spar 167, 368, 369, 370
Fob Seals, 306, 321
Forgeries, 189, 308, 309
French Art, 150

GAMBLE, Ellis, 61
Garnets, 166, 178
Gem-Cutting. 165, 166, 186-189,

197-198, 204
Gem-Setting, 44
* Gem Room " British Museum,

200

Gems, 100, 101. 165-185 193-194
Giardmetti Kings, 229
GircUers, Company, 56
Girdles, Jeweled, 12
Glasgow, Hall-Marks, 20
Glass Beads, 5
Gold, A Form o, V<Tealth, 14
Gold Deposits, 3

Abysinnia, 16

Australia, 15

Bishari, 15

California, 14, 15, 17

Gold Coast, 16

Klondyke, 15. 17

Txansvaal, 17

Ural Mountains, 16

Gold Mining, 14

Standards, 19

Tests of Purity, 29
Goldfields, 17
Gold Lunettes, 109

Necklaces, 146

Nuggets, 14 17

Torques, 109, 248
Goldsmiths' Company, 18, 19, 55,
56.

Charter 55
Gothic Art, 33
Granulated Gold, 97, 98
Greek Emblems, 193

Intaglios, 32, 198, 204

Jewellery, 28, 88-96

Rings, 226

Gresham, Sir Thomas, 59
Guilds 53

Cork, 57

Dublin, 57

Irish, 57

London, 54, 56

Scotch, 57

Tapestry Makers, 297
Guinea Gold, 18
Gypcieres, 390

H

HAIR Jewellery, 159

Ornaments, 314

Pins, 115, 116, 133
Hall-Marking, 13, 19
Hall-Marks :—

Birmingham, 20

Chester, 20

Date Letters, 19

Dublin, 20
Duty Marks, 19
Edinburgh, 20

Exeter, 21

Glasgow, 20

Sheffield, 20

York, 21

Hammered Jewellery, 49
Heraldic Engraving, 65 f:9
Hogarth, the Engraver, 61
" Hope " Diamond, 176
Horse Trappings, 129
Hunterston Brooch, 103

396

INDEX

IDOX& 346, 347

Indian Jewellery, 28, 30, 361, 362

Inset tones, 6

Intaglios, 186, 187, 198

Irish Guilds 57

Jewellery, 58. 107-110
Iron Brace ets, 384

Ornaments, 102

Rings, 227
iridescent Metal, 4
Italian Jewellery, 145, 156
Ivory Jewellery, 390, 391

Stores of, 6

JADE, 178

Japanese Jewellery, 365-367
Jet Jewellery, 39 231, 377-380
Jewel of Alfred the Great, 68
Jewelled Book Covers, 200

Canes, 151

Costumes, 292-299

Crowns, 129
. ewetler, A, 26
Jewellery, Barbaric, 9

in Graves, 74, 75
Jewels in the Sale Room, 163, 164
Jewish Engravers, 66

Relics, 66, 23

K

KOH-I-NOR, The, 171

LAPIDARY, The, 180
Lapis Lazuli 180
Laten, 145
Legends of Jewels, 7

Light, Influence of, .68
Lille Enamels, 222
Limoges Enamels, 220
Lombard Street Traders, 58-59
London Guilds, 54-56
Louis XV. Jewellery, 150-151
Lunettes of Gold, 109
Lydian Jewellery, 16

M

MACHINE-MADE Jewellery, 45

Malachite, 180

Manilla Jewellery, 31

Manufacture of Jewellery, 9

Mascots, 329

Masonic Jewels, 36, 357

Materials, 27

Mediaeval Jewellery, 12, 42 102,

210, 229

Memorial Rings, 155
Men of Mark, 58, 59, 60
Metals, 10, 14

Copper, 100

Gold, 20

Silver, 21

Tin, 100

Miniatures, 153, 354, 356, 384
Mints, 18

Mirrors of Bronze, 23
Modern Jewellery, 8
Mosaic Jewellery, 11, 370
Moss Agate Jewellery, 155
Museum Exhibits of Jewellery: —

Ashmolean, Oxford, 130, 220

Athens, 91

Blackmore, Salisbury, 76

British Museum, 24, 84, 85, 89,
91, 97, 100, 131, 200 205,
209, 214, 222, 225, 236, 248,
254

Cairo, 84, 200

Dublin, 108, 109, 259, 270, 344,
345

Edinbtu^h, 228, 270, 349

Guildhall, 23, 24, 114-116, 143-
146, 228, 270, 277, 383, 390

Hull. 106, 117, 118, 256, 262,
270

Louvre, ol

Maidstone, 106

Newcastle-on-Tyne, 132

Reading, 106

Saffron Walden 130

INDEX

397

Museum Exhibits of Jewellery : —
Scan Museum, 214
Victoria and Albert, 93, 122,
145, 156, 1% 221, 229 238.
260, 263, 278. 288, 293 312.
354

Mycenae Crown, 91
Myddleton, Richard, 59

N

NATIVE Art, 29
Necklaces 287

Bead, 77, 245

Cameo, 251

Coin, 248

Coral, 31

Diamond, 250

Etruscan, 247

Garnet, 249

Gold, 49

Mediaeval, 249

Pearl, 25

Quartz, 249
Norman Rings, 228
Noted Goldsmiths: —

Bowes, Sir Martin, 59

Gresham, Sir Thomas, 59

Myddleton, Sir Hugh, 59

Vyner, Sir Robert, 59
Nuggets of Gold, 14

Oi,r> Gilt, 306-307

Old Signs, 62

Old Traders' Cards, 38, 39

Onyx 180

Opal, 8, 181

Order of St. Lawrence, 56

Orders of Knighthood Jewels of,

162, 340-342
Origin of Metals, 14
Oriental Jewels, 15, 46, 361-364
Ormolu Trinkets, 152
Oxidised Silver 22

PAGAN Gems, 193
Pastes 199-203
Patch Boxes, 313
Pearl Fisheries, 182
Pearls, 29, 181, 203
Pectoral, The, 142
Pendants, 142, 145, 288, 289
Pennanular Brooches, 106
Perfume Balls, 311
Persian Jewellery, 87
Personal Ornament, 8
Phoenician Jewellery, 23, 73, 96

97, 93
Pigmies, 72
Pilgrims' Badges, 290
Pinchbeck Jewellery, 206, 304,

305

Pinners Guild, 56
Plated Buckles, 36
Polished Stones, 5
Polishing Jewellery, 52
Portland Vase 101
Portrait Gems, 204
Precious Stones, 7 173-185
Prehistoric Jewellery, 5, 70-78
Purses, 390

Q

Aah-ketep's Jewels. 86

R

f Diamond, 171
Religious Rites, Use of Jewels, 7
Renaissance of Art, 13
Repairing Jewellery, 48-51
Retail Jewellers, 60-62
Ring Brooches, 115
Ring Money, 105, 226

398

INDEX

Rings, 224-239

Anglo-Saxon, 228

Ancient, 6, 28

Betrothal, 232

Birthday, 227

Bronze, 226

Egyptian, 234, 237, 238

Gemmel, 233

Giardinetti, 229

Hall-Marked, 21

Historic, 234

Italian, 230

Jet, 231

Jewish, 233, 236 23£

Memorial, 236

Middle Ages, 228

Norman, 228

Pontifical, 234

Posy, 229, 232

Relic, 234

Roman, 227, 230

Russian, 225

Signet, 230, 236

Scotch, 228

Spanish, 235

Stone, 231

Wedding, 232, 19
Roman Jewellery, 44, 111-122,

93, 118-119, 113, 228, 204
Royal Jewellery 55, 531, 347
Rubies, 166, 183
Runic Design, 33
Russian Jewellery, 35, 148

ST. Cuthberf's Relic, 132

St. Dunstan, Patron o5 Gold
smiths, 55

St. Patrick's Bell, 110, 133

Sapphire, 184

Savages, Jewellery of, 9

Saxon Jewellery, 67, 123, 126

Scarabs, 84

Scent Cases, 311

Scotch Guilds, 57

Jewellery, 20, 57, 22, 34, 197,
348-352

Seals, 230, 322

Seats of Industry, 35

Sheffield Hall-Mark, 20

Shoe Buckles, 36

Shell Cameos 205, 214

Shells, Chains of, 5
Shields of Gold, 78
Shrine of St. Patrick's 2 ell 110,

344

St Thomas d Becket, 142
Signet Rings, 230
Silver, 21, ?2

Snuff Boxes, 153, 372, 386-387
Spanish Jewellery, 35, 156, 273
Spiral Ornament, 102
Stone Rings, 231
Stones, Symbolic, 7
Stuarts Jewels of the, 12
Superstitious Use of Jewels, 6, 7,

168, 169, 170
Sword Handles, 172
Swastika, The, 129
Symbols in Gems, 3, 190-192. 224

TARA Brooch, 107
Tassie Gems, 200
Tin, 22

Tinsel Jewels, 307-308
Toilet Trinkets, 310
Tongue-Scrapers, 285
Tools, 51
Tooth Picks 285
Trial of the Pyx, 55
Topaz, 185

Torques of Gold, 105. 109,
Turquoises, 185 208
4 Tutania " Metal, 37, 387
Tweezers, 285

u

UNCUT Stones, 5, 166-168

116

VERNIS Martin Ornament, 1*51
V ctoriar Jewellery, 151-154
Vigner Sir Robert 59

INDEX

399

W

WATCH Keys, 320-324
Watches, 317-319
Water -nibbed Stones, 5
Wedding Rings, 19
Wedgwood Cameos, 154, 155, 209,

212, 213, 274
Welsn Gold 107
Whitby Jet, 39

YORK Hail-Mark, 20

ZOOMORPHIC JJesjgn, 1C4

1 06 404