Romantic and Historic Revival Jewelry
The age of sensibility, what if our language is jewelry.
From the end of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, kicked off by the French Revolution, Europe went through a period of turmoil. After the rise and fall of Napoleon (Napoléon Bonaparte, reigned 1804-1814 and 1815), there were two Bourbon restorations and revolutions in France. There was also news of unrest in other parts of the European continent. At the same time, across the English Channel, the first industrial revolution took place in Britain, which had a huge impact on the development of human society later.
Changes in the general environment also spawned a new trend of thought—Romanticism. Reflecting on the pursuit and belief in rationality since the Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism valued the importance of exploration and expression of individual sensibility in aesthetics, not limited to one single style but covering a wide range. The uneasy situation at the beginning of the century also gave people the desire to temporarily escape from reality through art to the beauty of the ancient, exotic and natural, which happened to be the frequent themes in romanticism art. Although the main object of discussion above is the field of pure art, the spirit of "romantic" in jewelry art of this period also mirrored it. The sentimental jewelry fashion, inherited from the last century, was further developed in the 19th century. The emotions it cared about could be family, friendship, love, belief. More broadly, it also included people's nostalgia for the past and yearning for nature.
In the early years of the 19th century, Neoclassicism1 was still popular. When Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor in 1804, the civilian-born " Emperor of the French people" hoped to re-establish the majesty of the imperial ruler with the help of glorious examples from history. He actively drew on Greek and Roman art to create his own empire style. His jewelry also imitated classic gold accessories. In addition to precious gems, cameos were also highly sought after.
Compared with the solemnity of the imperial style, another interesting social atmosphere had also taken shape in the 19th century. The public's enthusiasm for symbolic superstition was high, so the special meanings given to various treasures, such as birth stones, were widely publicized. Acrostic jewelry which spells love words by using the first letter of each gemstone was favored. There were various meaningful patterns, such as the god of love and arrows from mythological allusions, the clasped hands symbolizing firm friendships, heart, natural plants and fruits, animals such as birds, snakes and insects, etc. Sometimes, it was also paired with inscribed proverbs. Other relatively more personal expressions, such as storing a strand of hair of the person you miss in a pendant case and wearing it with you, and making your lover's eyes follow you, the lover's eye jewelry, were also quite representative. Mourning jewelry in memory of deceased loved ones, its origin can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In addition to mourning, it was also a reminder of "people will die" (Memento mori). It was mainly made of black materials and hair weaving. Miniature portraits were often found in jewelry that honored the living and mourned the dead.
Love box pendant Portrait of Sarah Wolff (Bureau Department), 1821, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, private collection.
Portrait of Luiza Pesjak II (detail), 1850, Michael Stroy, private collection.
Miniature portrait. Portrait of Amélie of Leuchtenberg Beauharnais (detail), 1830s, Palais de Cloche, Portugal.
After the retro trend in Greece and Rome at the beginning of the century, medieval Goethe, Byzantine jewelry and Renaissance jewelry were also welcomed one after another. The influence of ancient civilizations and exotic cultures continued to penetrate. From the early attention caused by Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, to the inspiration in the middle of the century due to archaeological achievements such as the Etruscan Civilization in BC Italy and the palace ruins of the Assyria Empire in Mesopotamia, archaeological jewelry was born as contemporary goldsmiths recovered lost ancient techniques. In the 19th century, the expansion of European powers in Asia and Africa and the more frequent cultural exchanges also injected energy into the innovation of jewelry.
Portrait of Bocca Baciata (detail), 1859, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA.
Throughout the 19th century, jewelry was influenced and inspired by a variety of styles, but a large proportion of them were still inspired by nature. There was romantic projection with flower language and symbolism, and sometimes people's concerns about botany and natural history. Realistic and recognizable botanical berry jewelry has been loved for a long time, and has become more and more sophisticated and gorgeous. Besides organic patterns, the use of organic materials also became more extensive and diverse, such as tortoiseshell, ivory, animal horn, animal bone, coral, snail, etc. Jewelry made from insect or hummingbird spicements reflected some nature lovers' quest for exoticism.
Napoléon III (reigned 1852-1870) in 1852, following the pattern of his grandfather, staged a coup d'état and proclaimed himself emperor. Therefore, in the second half of the 19th century,
imperial Jewelry returned without surprise, joining various styles of jewelry at that time. The new Queen Eugénie de Montijo (reigned 1853-1870) especially admired the taste of Marie Antoinette (reigned 1774-1792). As a result, the style and luxury of the Versailles court in the late 18th century reappeared and became the center of fashion again. In the midst of prosperity and unease hidden beneath the surface, the end of the century had come quietly.
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1 Neoclassicism emerged in the mid-18th century. On the one hand, it was a reaction to Baroque and Rococo art, which had developed to the extreme and became increasingly flashy. On the other hand, the excavation of the ancient city inspired enthusiasm for ancient and prosperous civilizations. At the same time, it also complemented the ideas of Enlightenment and Rationalism, which all contributed to the massive spread of this retro movement that originated in Rome in Europe.
#ETRUSCAN REVIVAL #ROMANTIC ERA