Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Silver (46)

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Victorian tastes and habits dominated, with subdued colors, mourning jewelry, and general strictness. The Arts & Crafts Movement reacted to this and gathered strength from a number of world events. Jewelry designers and crafters found inspiration in the Far East and the Victorian interest in mechanization gave them new techniques...

An antique pin with a modern vibe. This charming Arts & Crafts is made of sterling silver that has been enameled in artfully shaded blue to chartreuse to look like the wings of a stylized moth. A mother-of-pearl oval centers the body, and there is a small faceted green 'stone' (possibly glass) at the head. The pin is 1 ½ by 3/4 inches in size, not including the small spherical dropper which is enameled in a rich blue. The pin is circa 1900.

The Charles Horner company of Halifax was renowned for beautiful silver and enamel Arts & Crafts jewelry. This moth pin is sterling silver with blue and turquoise enamel and is 1 3/4" wide. It is fully hallmarked, for Chester, England, 1908, and carries the Charles Horner maker's mark.

This Victorian pin is a gorgeous Egyptian Revival design executed in plique a jour (translucent) enamel framed in gilded silver. The design is a noble vulture holding feathers with lotus blossoms in his (or her) talons. The vulture’s wings are detailed in both opaque and translucent enamels; the tops of the wings are opaque enamel in yellowish green, and the feathers are detailed in yellow-green plique a jour shading to burnt orange...

This sterling silver buckle features translucent (plique a jour) enamel in a floral motif. These sash buckles with plique are quite unusual. The enamel is red, green, and two shades of blue. It is signed with a “JK” above another “JK” in a box. There are marks for London, 1886, and a duty mark. Measuring 3-1/8” x 2-1/4", it weighs 32.7g or 1.16 oz. It is in very good condition...

This heavily engraved silver pin is from the estate of Helen Aman, who escaped from Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution to settle in California. It was one of the jewels she brought with her from her childhood. It consists of a bell (with a clapper – but it doesn’t actually make any noise) dangling from an angled bar. Marked 84 for 875 silver, it also has a partial city mark, which we believe is for Moscow (which would make sense, given her history)...

This fascinating brooch features poppies with lovely curved flowing lines, mounted on an oval of mother-of-pearl. Poppies symbolize sleep (Dorothy in the field of poppies, on her way to Oz), rest, and eternal life. The flower is silver plate, and is somewhat worn on the high places (those bits actually serve to highlight the design). The mother of pearl is convex. It measures 1-3/4” x 1-3/8”. The pin assembly is mounted on a yellow metal plaque, and is of the old style...

This fascinating reliquary locket depicts a saint, probably St. Peter, holding a key (to the church? Or perhaps to heaven?), with a dove in the background. On the other side is a photograph of an ecclesiastical-looking person. It contains a touched relic (a bit of ribbon which has been touched to a saint’s bone or something worn by a saint); a tiny metal medal with Mary on one side, saying "Mary conceived without sin” and more Christian imagery on the other; and a wisp of cotton...

Fit for a museum, this rare and wonderful Egyptian Revival pin has a portrait painted on porcelain. It is mounted in 800 silver and surrounded by 16 coral beads on wire. There have been some repairs [not visible from the front] as is so common in jewelry repaired in the 19th century. 1 1/4" diameter. Circa 1875.

This elegant pin/pendant consists of an oval of onyx in a sterling frame. The bale tests as 14kt, the pin stem tests as 10k yellow gold In the center are inlaid gold stars, and along the periphery are inlaid flowers, most likely platinum. The frame is decorated with a silver twist, and a floral motif. It measures 1-15/16 x 1-5/8 inches, and weighs 25.9g. Circa 1880. There is some loss to a couple of the flowers, but it’s still a striking piece.