#6997 demi-parure set of girandole earrings and brooch.
In our recent chat about Georgian jewelry, specifically Iberian jewelry was mentioned a few times.
What is Iberian jewelry and how is it different from the rest?
By Iberian, we mean Spain and Portugal, the two countries on the westernmost peninsula of Europe that began seafaring adventures and colonising the 'New World' and thereby exploiting its wealth (from the 1400's onwards).
While the Europeans claimed that they were seeking to extend Christianity to the heathens, the real ultimate goal was to find gold and other forms of mineral wealth. This they did in spades - no pun intended. In the process, they broke up the original indigenous cultures and killed off large portions of the native population.
We will not dwell on the ugly side, but rather on a beautiful one - the magnificent jewelry that they created and that has lasted through the centuries to bring pleasure to generations of people.
We must remember that during this era, it was the Spanish and Portuguese who were leaders in fashion. They had the gems to make gorgeous jewels.
There are two outstanding features of this kind of jewelry: a) it's relatively big size and b) the incorporation of brightly colored gems. Remember, during the Renaissance era, gems were extremely scarce and colored interest in jewelry was obtained by the use of colored enamels. Now, with the resources of the mines of Latin America at their disposal, these earliest European colonisers began making the very distinctive jewelry that we are discussing.
The gems used often give us a clue as to origins of the jewel. For example, emeralds were mined in Columbia which was a colony of Spain. Therefore, when we see emeralds from this period, it's safe to say that the origin of the jewelry was Spain. Topaz was mined in Brazil that belonged to Portugal. Topaz, amethysts and rock crystal is associated with that country.
Around the end of the 1400's the Portuguese rounded my hometown (Cape of Good Hope) and arrived in India. Lots more jewels, including pearls to be plundered and traded there. #5197 Iberian amethyst pendeloque earrings.
What are the pieces we most often recognise as being Iberian: large rings, earrings and brooches. Brooches were often part of something else that was broken up long ago to form more useful 'modern' jewelry. Necklaces and thick gold chains - remember the chase after the gold mines? Rosaries for the strictly Catholic Spaniards are still highly sought after and used today.
Style: Rings are often huge and round or navette shaped (a pointy oval).
#5595 Iberian ring.
There are two main styles of earrings, both illustrated above:
a) girandole earrings. These earrings are in multiple parts - A central cluster such as a bow or floral group suspends a trio of drops with the largest drop in the center flanked by slightly shorter drops - like enormous chandeliers (see the first picture of girandole earrings and brooch).
b) pendeloque earrings are elongated ovals. They might also consist of a number of articulated segments, but the overall shape is unified as a single, elongated drop.
These earrings are huge and heavy and had to be tied to the hair to relieve the burden on the ears. We often find large loops at the back of these earrings, used to thread ribbons that were then attached to the head.
#7460 another pair of emerald earrings.
Workmanship was amazing. Remember that during the 18th century, gem-cutting and setting techniques were extremely limited. Most stones were flat or rose cut at best. And yet, those clever masters of the art could put a few small stones together to give the appearance of one large stone. You need a loupe to find the joins.
Initially, all backs of gems were closed. This had the added advantage of cheating with color and making them more bright and vibrant. As time went on and techniques advanced, some gems were left with open backs, allowing light to enter from behind and adding interest that way.
Metal: most of the jewelry I've owned and sold was set in gold. Sometimes high carat; not always the purest or highest quality gold, but gold nevertheless. Of course, silver was also available.
Big, heavy jewelry is automatically associated with the Iberian Peninsula. What about the smaller, finer items?
Other jewelry was made that is similar eg Italian and French provincial. We normally attribute the huge pieces to the Iberian peninsula, but looking at the jewelry in the Lisbon National Museum of Ancient Art, it's all but impossible to distinguish between many of the early 18th century jewels and those made elsewhere in Europe.
#7416 were these girandole earrings made in Italy, France or Spain?
#7282 Baroque (17th century) pendant. We believe from Venice, but similar items were to be found in the Iberian Peninsula.
#7454 smaller Spanish earrings. From what date? Similar earrings were made for hundreds of years.
Who owned this jewelry?
What did a rich father do with his unmarried daughter? What did a wealthy woman do when she was tired of being a housewife and mother or possibly widowed? Ladies of means very often entered nunneries. When they retired as nuns, these aristocrats and wealthy bourgeoisie donated their jewelry to the monasetry, where it remained for years. The monasteries collected vast hordes of jewelry, which remained untouched. In other countries, the private owners would sell their jewels to fund other projects or to convert it to more 'modern' items. So, unlike the rest of Europe, jewelry in the Iberian Peninsula survived intact. Unexpectedly, during the 1830's, the king of Portugal decided to close the monasteries. And all of these horded treasures suddenly came onto the open market. Fortunately, much of it is in the above-mentioned museum in Lisbon, but it is also to be found on the open market.
Repairs, restoratons and alterations: Well over 200 years old, Iberian jewelry is often surprisingly in its original form with few repairs or alterations. This may be the result of the years it lay untouched in monastries - we will probably never know the personal history of an individual piece. However, large stomachers were invariably broken up into smaller, more wearable pieces. This was probably done during the 19th century, so no point in berating ourselves. Invariably, there were restorations of some small sort. I think this is perfectly understandable and legitimate. Signs of a small repair are just evidence of those who came before us and possibly to be celebrated.
Iberian jewelry is so big and bright that we often overlook a more quiet and personal form of jewel: the rosary. Some very special, large rosaries from the period with magnificent gold work should be sought by the religious jewelry lover.
Here is a fantastic example: 6983 fantastic Rosary Spain 18th century. (sold)
There is no lack of Reference material about Iberian Jewelry. One of the best books I found is from Lisbon's National Museum of Ancient Art. However, many other, more general books on jewelry, in particular Georgian jewelry, will have chapters devoted to the fabulous jewels from Spain and Portugal.
When we think of Georgian jewelry belonging to the 19th century, what first and foremost springs to mind is the distinctive color, design and style of Iberian jewelry. It's a great area to focus on for the Georgian purists and while quite rare, it is to be found and sometimes, quite affordable considering it's size and age. Iberian jewelry is highly collectible and a specialised niche for the antique jewelry collector.
#7033 Georgian Earrings chrysoberyl and amethyst set mainly in silver and metal. Workmanship no less fabulous.
*** later we will post blogs about specifically Portuguese jewelry.
*** We posted about Jewelry in Spain in the Nouveau era, known as Modernisme, which is utterly fascinating - see October 18 2024.
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