About the Author:
Ginny Reddington Dawes, formerly a singer with a rock and roll band, is an accomplished songwriter and the composer of many well–known advertising jingles.
Corinne Alster Davidov is a painter whose works have been widely exhibited, here and abroad. Both authors are avid collectors of Victorian jewelry, and private dealers tuned into up–and–coming trends in collectibles. This is their second collaboration; their first was The Bakelite Jewelry Book, from Abbeville Press.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
Excerpt from: Victorian Jewelry
Chapter 1: Fashion History
The Victorian period began in 1837 with the coronation of England's Queen Victoria. Only eighteen years old at the time, she already had a tremendous presence. Her charisma was to grow with every year of her reign, which ended with her death in 1901.
Victoria was undoubtedly the greatest influence of her time, and what she loved, her country loved. What Victoria loved was Albert, sentiment, and jewelry, in that order!
With her betrothal, the whole of England fell in love, and the atmosphere and the early Victorian period (1837 1860) was as romantic as it ever was to be. Styles and dress and jewelry reflected this romanticism: diaphanous lightweight gowns, delicate gold and gemstone parures (matched sets), strands of seed pearls, and small lockets. Because of Victoria’s love of nature, and of the Scottish landscape in particular, naturalistic themes abounded, with delicate floral spray brooches, hair combs of tortoiseshell in the shape of branches, and bracelets made of silver and stones from Scottish mountain streams. Victoria was a religious monarch, and many pieces of jewelry made during her reign has religious significance: crosses for faith, anchors for hope, hearts for charity, and serpents for eternity. Sentimental symbolism was at its peak, and jewelry made from a loved one’s hair became more popular than ever.
The early Victorian period produced a passion for the Middle Ages. There were medieval costume balls and jousting tournaments, in France as well in England, in which the participants actually wore antique armor. Jewelry of the period reflected this enthusiasm for medievalism, and Gothic Revival finery proliferated.
The early Victorian period also coincided with the height of the Industrial Revolution, and more goods were being made accessible to more people than ever before. The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London opened in 1851 and, for the first time in history, the world viewed a multinational display of expertly crafted goods. (It must be pointed out that although many people associate Victorian jewelry with England, much of it was produced on the Continent, particularly in France.) Jewelry made from unusual nonprecious metals, such as cut steel and aluminum, came to the fore and convinced European nobility that all that glittered was not, and did not need to be, gold.
The mid , or high, Victorian period (1860 1885) had a distinctly different flavor from the sentimental romantic period. Victoria’s down to earth, solid sensible value inspired a similar way of thinking. Dresses became larger and more dignified (the crinoline, or hooped petticoat, was in vogue during the 1860s), and jewelry followed suit. The design influences were architectural and archaeological. Neoclassical motifs such as shells and rosettes were used with increasing frequency. Necklaces and earrings sported fringe and Etruscan beading or granulation. Very few new designs were created, makers seemingly content to borrow from the Greek and Etruscan classics, influenced by Italian master goldsmiths such as Castellani and Guiliano.
This was also the heartbreaking period of Prince Albert's untimely death and Victoria's inconsolable mourning. The nation grieved along with her, and mourning clothes and jewelry came into style. Only jet was worn at court following Albert's death, which stimulated the Whitby jet market and engendered the manufacture of the many jet substitutes: bog oak, gutta percha, French jet,” and tortoiseshell.
In the 1870s, the new Aesthetic Movement gained favor. Inspired by the art and philosophy of the Pre Raphaelites, it promoted jewelry and fashions that had a sparse new simplicity. Naturalistic designs abounded, but now a decidedly Oriental flavor. The popularity of japonaiserie, as it was called, was considerable, and thousands of brooches, lockets, and bracelets with asymmetrical designs flooded the market.
The mid Victorian period ended with a relaxation of the mourning code and the rise of the silver jewelry industry. Heavy lockets and chains and wide, hinged bangle bracelets were favored for daytime wear, as was the silver love brooch, and inexpensive mass produced item that appealed to the working classes. The end of this period saw the beginnings of sport or novelty jewelry that women wore with their riding habits or golf costumes.
The late Victorian period (1885 1901) saw women moving out of the home and into the world. Traditional notions were rejected and young women embraced the modern age wholeheartedly. They became more active, more aggressive, and more socially and politically aware. They repudiated high Victorian taste, and, as a result, fashions changed dramatically to lighter, simpler, more tailored garments. And as for accessories no more hearts and flowers. Simple, minimal jewelry in materials such as a niello and gunmetal were the order of the day, precursors of the new Edwardian era just around the corner.
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