THE HISTORY: Baroque pearl jewels flourished c.1550–1700, when irregular (“baroque”) pearls were prized as ready-made sculptures. Goldsmiths in Venice, Augsburg, Paris, and at the Habsburg and Medici courts set these fantastically shaped pearls in enameled gold, transforming them into mermaids and sea monsters, birds, saints, and other “habillé” figures dressed with enamel, rubies, and diamonds. Worn as pendants, bodice jewels, hat badges, and aigrettes, they broadcast maritime wealth, courtly whimsy, and the Kunstkammer love of marvels. Although they fell out of fashion in the 18th century, ateliers in the 19th-century revived the fanciful forms during the Renaissance Revival.
No. 1 Baroque Pearl Jewelry Watercolor Archival Print: Lion
An archival giclée print of an original watercolor painting of a Baroque pearl lion pendant. The original pendant, German or South Netherlandish, ca. 1600, is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Its body is formed from a natural Baroque pearl, mounted in chased and gilded gold with expressive modeling of the mane and limbs. In Renaissance symbolism, the lion represented courage, majesty, and divine protection, while the luminous pearl embodied purity and perfection. 8" × 8".
No. 1 Baroque Pearl Jewelry Watercolor Archival Print: Lion
Sale price$55.00
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No. 1 Baroque Pearl Jewelry Watercolor Archival Print: Lion
Sale price$55.00