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Victorian Brooch - 19th Century Peitra Dura Brooch in Sterling Silver (sold)
This Pietra Dura brooch set in sterling silver mount dates from the 19th Century. The oval panel of black marble has a floral design depicting a white flower and buds with a red flower and green leaves on a black marble background. The framework in which the brooch is mounted is made of sterling silver and consists of a plain border directly around the pietra dura inlay which is further enhanced by a open scrolled design framing the whole thing. To the reverse there is a pin and modern roll over clasp which leads me to believe that the brooch has had a replacement pin and catch at some time during its life. This is fine as it makes it more secure when worn. There is a ring to the top of the frame which would have been used to attach a safety chain or could, with the correct fastener, make it possible to attach the brooch to a chain to make a necklace. In really good condition this pietra dura brooch is a little work of art in its own right. Antique jewellery like this piece is getting harder to find as savvy collectors snap it up! Measurements for the Pietra Dura and SIlver brooch are 3.5 cms by 2.5 cm approx.
JEWELLERY DETAILS
Designer or Brand: None
Country of Origin: Italy ( possibly then mounted in the UK)
Condition: Very Good
Date: 19th Century
Era: Antique
Type: Brooch
Material: Sterling silver with hardstone
Pietra Dura is the name of the technique used for multi coloured inlay work made from cut and assembled polished natural hardstones . The stones are fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle within a stone base. Many stones are used particularly marble, which is often the choice for the base . Precious and semi precious jewels are incorporated into some of the finest work. Large items such as table tops for furniture and wall panels were made but it is also a technique used in fine jewellery. The word comes from the Italian ‘pietre dure’ which translates as ‘hard rock’. Pietra Dura as a technique, has its roots in ancient Rome where they used a similar idea to decorate floors but true Pietra Dura developed with works appearing in Rome in the 16th Century and coming to maturity in its finest form in Florence. The English term "Florentine mosaic" is sometimes encountered to describe such work, probably developed by the tourist industry when people brought back small items of Pietra Dura from their ‘Grand tours’ in the 18th and early 19th Centuries. In jewellery the work is often floral in design but amazing portraits and decorative pictures show just how beautiful and skilled this technique is. By the early part of the 17th century, smaller objects produced in Italy were widely spread throughout Europe, and as far East to the court of the Mughals in India. Here they imitated and reinterpreted in a native style. In Mughal India, pietra dura was known as ’Parchin Kari’ literally 'inlay' or 'driven-in' work. Some of the finest examples of this can be seen at the Taj Mahal.Due to the Taj Mahal being one of the major tourist attractions, there is a flourishing industry of Pietra Dura artifacts in Agra ranging from tabletops, medallions, elephants and other animal forms, jewellery boxes and other decorative items. Today his art form is fully alive and thriving in Agra, India though the patterns in the designs are more Persian than Italianate.
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