Early 19th century Aurillac holy spirit pendant

This holy spirit pendant is a rare French regional jewelry from Auvergne. It is made with 18k solid gold, set with beryls, pastes and red color foiled citrines (The special red and yellow is also known as oil and vinegar color), further decorated with green dotted white enamel. The gold is always very thin on the old Holy Spirit pendants and the enamel is normally found damaged. This is a very rare example with all enamel in perfect condition.
The downward dove represents holy spirit, while the three water drop shaped pendants symbolize the tears of Christ. The holy spirit is a jewel expressing the faith that the future husband offers to his bride; or also from mother to daughter. It will follow the life of the owner and evolve with her life : It is said that extra plaques for the crosses and pendants were offered to women to mark the birth of each child. We can see on this holy spirit has two extended plaques which indicates its owner has two kids. A star is also added later to the pendant, which might represents the faith. Star pendant is rarely seen in Aurillac holy spirit jewelry which makes this one even more desirable. Please use our tag #holyspirit to see more pieces in our collection.