Rare Antique Bangle With Lapis Lazuli Cameo & Enamel in Gold, Circa 1870

This bangle left us in awe. The gold bangle features a series of finely crafted enamel depictions from an exotic faraway land. Men carry a ruler in a palanquin, others sit under large parasols. Palm trees sprout and exotic flowers proliferate, all colourfully enameled, against a blue background of translucent enamel against an engraved ground. In the center, as a climax, the depiction returns to Europe: here we see a putto, cut from lapis lazuli, describing an ancient altar or gravestone: A helmet lies on top. Is it the tomb of a hero? The design combines a continuous, equally wide hoop with an oval decorative element. Acanthus leaves frame all parts and mediate between the two forms. Bracelets in this shape, often with a cameo as the highlight, were fashionable in the second half of the 19th century. The colour harmony of gold and the intense, dreamlike blue of lapis lazuli also fits in with this period, or more precisely: the 1860s and 1870s. And indeed, the relaxed, thoroughly curious way in which forms and cultural influences are combined here takes us back to precisely this period. The late 19th century was a time when knowledge of other cultures reached broad sections of the European population to an extent never seen before. The great world exhibitions in London in 1876 and Vienna in 1873 brought many people into contact with products from the Far East for the first time. China, Japan, Persia and Egypt were among those exhibiting in Vienna. The numerous surviving photographs in the exhibition show how the vases, furniture, pieces of jewellery, works of art and industrial artefacts on display formed a never-ending round dance that left visitors amazed and, presumably, overwhelmed. The Wien Museum, for example, presents a beautiful collection online, see here. The many different styles that can be observed in the jewellery of those years owe much to the experience of the world exhibitions. The results of these mixtures, the eclecticism of the time, were often criticized in later years as being overloaded, not historically correct or simply too fanciful. In the case of this bangle, however, the casual combination of East Asian motifs and memories of classical antiquity results in a rococo-like, light new creation. Something new and unique that does nothing less than delight and bring a smile to the face.

Estimación:€6,980

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