NECKLACE, Gold and Ivory

Necklace with four ivory panels intricately carved in high relief. Each has a different pattern but there is a common motif of flowers (roses, chrysanthemums) and leaves. These panels are joined to each other and to two gold filigree panels at each side, by two links of chain between, and the filigree work repeats the floral motif. The gold panel on the right has a border of gold on the reverse, inside which a flower in thick gold wire has been fashioned. This appears to have been part of a catch, similar to that on a bracelet. Two 13 cm lengths of fine chain attached at each side complete the circle of the necklace and they clasp with a ring-type clip. Scratched onto the border of gold is "W4462 (or Z ?) 1". The necklace is of Eastern origin. Researcher, Dorothy Erickson, suggests that the necklace has been formed from two separate necklaces, one of carved ivory, the other, gold. The work may have been done in the 1880's, influenced by the Aesthetic Movement. The craftsman was not an expert: two links, not three, join the panels so that they do not lay flat readily, and the lower bracelet links have been removed roughly, particularly from the gold panels.

Department: 

Collection

History Collection

Collection Item Data