Georgian cut steel pendant

Georgian cut steel pendant: Georgian cut steel and metal pendant from the late 18th / early 19th century. An enamelled metal miniatur with a pastoral scene decorates this pendant. The surround is in cut steel topped with a delicate knot covering the medallion : cut steel nails are faceted and riveted at the base.

The enamel miniature depicts a woman leaning on a tree, alongside a lying lamb, looking towards a bird carrying a missive. These scenes were particularly fashionable in 1860s England, when Prince Albert died leaving Queen Victoria in deep grief. The back of the plate is in mother of pearl. Probably an English work from the end of the 18th – beginning of the 19th century.

In the 18th century, the most famous cut steel jewelry workshop was located in Woodstock, near Oxford in England. The fashion for cut steel jewelry continued until the end of the 19th century in England and until the beginning of the 20th century in France. This jewelry presents an advantage : it can replace stones and metal. This material, when it’s faceted, has the same sparkle as pyrite, which itself serves to imitate diamond’s sparkle.

Originally accessible to a middle-class clientele, cut steel jewelry became the prerogative of the nobility as soon as it was decorated with porcelain or with blister for example, thus becoming more and more sought after and expensive.

Height : 5.6 cm with the bail
Width : 2,2 cm
Miniature height : 26 mm

Weight: 7g