Jewels and the woman: The romance, magic and art of feminine adornmentOstier, Marianne
History
Jewels and the woman: The romance, magic and art of feminine adornment
Ostier, Marianne
Jewelry
When Cellini went to France, he gave impetus to the art work there.
In Spain, the goldsmiths fashioned reliquaries; they wrought pendants
on which they hung the emeralds new-garnered from Peru; they favored
bow-shaped brooches of many jewels, the ruby vying with the emerald. The
great international bankers, the Fuggers, dealt also in jewels and gems.
Hans Holbein the painter, while in England, made many designs for jewels.
The painter Albrecht Dürer, son of a goldsmith, fashioned a pendant for
Henry VIII, with the initials E R (Enricus Rex) and three large drops.
At the same time, the sons of wealthy merchants, the young bloods of
the cities, with spangled chain and jeweled dagger hilt, aped the sons
of nobles. Restrictive regulations did little to curb their display. As
wealth was not yet evenly distributed, not everyone could afford the
genuine precious stones, and the trade in paste flourished. Milan was the
center of this manufacture. In addition to the ordinary glass used for
imitation gems, _strass_ glass was developed. Invented by Josef Strasser,
this mixes lead or flint with the usual vitreous substance and obtains
a greater lustre. Either type of glass often had placed beneath it,
cunningly hidden in the setting, a tiny bit of quicksilver or tinfoil, to
make the glass reflect more light and thus seem to sparkle with its own
fire.
The Renaissance no more than earlier times had skill to know the genuine
from the imitation. Cellini chuckles over the fact that Henry VIII of
England, bargaining with a shrewd dealer of Milan for a fine set of
jewels, received what he felt was one of his best buys—in paste.
_The Reformation_
The ease of working in these various modes overreached itself. The
designs again grew more and more elaborate. Enseignes, medallions, love
tokens, memorials of saints, grew heavier than the hats, than the heads,
they were intended to adorn. Rings and bracelets were fashioned to be
worn outside of gloves; gloves were fashioned with slits to display
bracelets and rings within. Extravagance of ornament, though a minor
cause, contributed to the revulsion against the many abuses of the
day that led to the two reformations. The Church itself embarked on a
housecleaning campaign, which included simplicity of dress and paucity of
adornment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account