Cross Pendant with Emeralds , Probably Spain, late 18th – early 19th century

207

Cross Pendant with Emeralds

Silver, silver-gilt, gold, diamonds, emeralds

Probably Spain, late 18th – early 19th century

Weight 11.4 g.; Length 63.5 mm; width 36.5 mm

$10000.00

Silver cross pendant with diamond-encrusted fleur-de-lis terminals and radiating rays surrounding the center. The cross is set with twelve square and rectangular table-cut (Columbian?) emeralds in individual box settings. The reverse is engraved with acanthus foliage and gilded. At the top is a gold pendant loop bearing two yet-to-be identified hallmarks, from which hangs an additional gold loop with two diamonds set in silver (probably a later addition to wear on a chain). The pendant shows light wear consistent with age and remains in good, wearable condition.

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207

Description

Silver cross pendant with diamond-encrusted fleur-de-lis terminals and radiating rays surrounding the center. The cross is set with twelvesquare and rectangular table-cut (Columbian?) emeralds in individual box settings. The reverse is engraved with acanthus foliage and gilded. At the top is a gold pendant loop bearing two yet-to-be identified hallmarks, from which hangs an additional gold loop with two diamonds set in silver(probably a later addition to wear on a chain). The pendant shows light wear consistent with age and remains in good, wearable condition.

Literature:

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe, decorative cross pendants set with colorful gemstones were very much in vogue. They were worn not only as spiritual symbols and expressions of faith, but also increasingly as fashionable adornments, reflecting the interplay between devotion and style. See: Jinny Redington Dawes with Olivia Collings, Georgian Jewellery 1714–1830, Woodbridge, 2007, pp. 150–153; for dating of setting and style, pp. 70, 84–85.

The design of the present cross is reminiscent of Spanish and Italian examples from the seventeenth century (cf. Deborah Elvira, Love & Devotion: Jewels from the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries, Oropesa del Mar, Castellón, 2017, no. 6; Carolina Naya Franco, Joyas y Alhajas del Alto Aragón, Huesca, 2017, pp. 81–82; Carolina Naya Franco, El Joyero de la Virgen del Pilar, Saragossa, 2019, p. 163; Maria Concetta di Natale, Ori e Argenti di Sicilia, Milan, 1989, p. 74).

In the eighteenth century, many fashions and ornaments of the preceding century were revived and adapted. The settings and stylistic characteristics of the present cross indicate a date between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.