Origin of Name
The name "Tarantula Brooch" is self explanatory, and
obviously refers to the unique design of the brooch made of yellow
gold studded with gemstones, in the form of a tarantula, that is stunningly natural.
The centerpiece of the brooch which is the abdomen and thorax of the
tarantula is occupied by a rare oval-shaped horse conch pearl and umba
sapphires respectively. The brooch which was designed by Steffan
Hemmerle of Hemmerle Jeweliere of Munich, Germany, attracted
international attention when it was exhibited around the world as part
of the traveling exhibition known as "Pearls : A Natural History,"
organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in
collaboration with the Field Museum of Chicago. Since October 2001, when
the exhibition was first held at AMNH, New York, the traveling
exhibition has been hosted in many museums around the United States and
also in countries like Canada, France, Japan, Australia and the United
Arab Emirates. In the designing of this unique brooch Steffan Hemmerle
has drawn inspiration from a historic theme, using plant and animal
motifs in jewelry designs, that had been prevalent since the time of
ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks, and reached its climax during the
Art Nouveau period at the turn of the 20th century between 1890 to 1905,
and continued to prevail well into the 20th century.
Tarantula Brooch
© Hemmerle Juweliere
Characteristics of
the brooch
The materials used by Steffan Hemmerle in the
creation of this extraordinary natural-looking Tarantula Brooch were
yellow gold, pearl, umba sapphires, white and brown diamonds and ruby.
The abdomen of the tarantula is occupied by a large, oval-shaped,
orange-red pearl from a horse conch known as Pleuroploca gigantean, with
a diameter of 27 mm along its long axis. The shape of the pearl matches
exactly with the natural shape of the abdomen of tarantulas.
Tarantula Brooch
© Hemmerle Juweliere
The cephalothorax is set with brown umba sapphires.
The cephalothorax (fused head and thorax)) or prosoma in a tarantula is
the area to which most of its appendages are attached. The four pairs of
legs, a pair of pedipalps and a pair of chelicerae with fangs, are
attached to the cephalothorax. The legs are jointed with seven segments.
The pedipalps are six-segmented appendages connected to the
cephalothorax near the mouth and protruding on either side of both
chelicerae, and used in food handling. The chelicerae are double
segmented and are located just below the eyes, and directly forward of
the mouth. The chelicerae contain the venom glands that vent through the
fangs. Steffan Hemmerle in designing his tarantula brooch has tried as
much as possible to conform to what is seen naturally in a tarantula, at
least in its main characteristics. The four pairs of jointed legs, the
jointed pedipalps, the chelicerae with the fangs are clearly depicted,
including the hairs and bristles on the appendages. The appendages are
made of yellow gold and studded with brown and white diamonds, and
attached to the gold frame of the cephalothorax. Overall the orange-red
abdomen, the brown cephalothorax and the golden yellow jointed legs and
other appendages, seem to conform to the natural color of a tarantula,
whose color varies from tan to reddish-brown to black, depending on the
species.
Mexican Red Knee Tarantula- Brachypelma Smithii
Tarantulas have eight simple eyes arranged in two
rows of four eyes, above the chelicerae on the forward part of the
prosoma. The front eye in each row is larger than the other three eyes.
The two large front eyes constitute the main pair of simple eyes.
However the vision of tarantulas is only restricted to the perception of
light, darkness, basic shapes and motion. Thus the hairs on the body of
the tarantula, called setae are the primary sensory organs that
maintains awareness of its surroundings. Thus the sense of touch is its
keenest sense, and the setae are the main sensitive organs, that can
sense vibrations, wind direction, chemical stimuli and possibly even
sound. In Steffan Hemmerle's jewel-studded creation of the tarantula,
the main pair of eyes are represented by small rubies, behind and above
the chelicerae on the forward part of the prosoma.
Mexican Red Knee Tarantula -Brachypelma Smithii
History of the brooch
History of the
usage of plant and animal motifs in jewelry designs
Pre-historic man
learnt to fashion jewelry even before he developed the spoken word or
the written language
In the cultural evolution of pre-historic man the use
of tools and clothing were among the first skills learnt by him, and it
appears that next thing he learnt was the fashioning and adornment of
jewelry. Archaeological evidence suggests that mankind used jewelry even
before he developed the spoken word or the written language. Little
wonder that the British archaeologist Archibald Campbell Carlyle said in
the late 19th century of primitive man, "the first spiritual want of a
barbarous man is decoration."
Jewelry fashioned
in the Paleolithic age
The oldest known man-made jewelry discovered in a
cave in Blombos, South Africa, consisted of perforated mollusk shells
that would have been strung as beads of a piece of jewelry such as a
necklace, and have been found by dating to be 75,000 to 100,000 years
old, equivalent to the middle Paleolithic age (300,000 to 30,000 B.C.).
Another discovery made at Enkapune Ya Muto, in Kenya, consisting of
perforated ostrich shells, have been found to be 45,000 years old. The
jewelry pieces made by early Cro-Magnon man who migrated from Central
Africa to Asia and Europe, over 40,000 years ago, and replaced
Neanderthal man, were crude necklaces and bracelets made of bone, teeth,
stone, shells and mother-of-pearl, strung together on a piece of twine
or a strip of animal sinew. Such crudely fashioned necklaces and
bracelets were discovered by the French Archaeologist, Edouard Piette in
the 19th century, at a Paleolithic cave site, in the Pyrenees mountains
of France, known as Mas d'Azil, found to be 8,500 to 20,000 years old.
Gold artifacts made of native or "free gold"
discovered from the Maltravieso caves in Carceres, Spain and the El
Miron caves in Cantabrian, Spain, are believed to be the earliest known
metals used by humans, and date back to the "golden age" of the late
Paleolithic period, around 40,000 to 10,000 B.C.
Jewelry of the
Neolithic age
The first signs of the use of copper, silver and tin
in creating tools and perhaps jewelry occurred around 10, 000
years ago. Copper awls found at a pre-pottery Neolithic site on the
Anatolia plateau of Eastern Turkey, have been found to date back to
around 7,000 B.C. Most of the Neolithic jewelry were made of the same
material as the Paleolithic jewelry, such as stone, bone, sea shell,
mother-of-pearl etc, but rarely metal ornaments belonging to this period
have been discovered, such as the beautiful dangling earrings made of
cut leaves of gold and silver bracelets that wind up the wrist like
slinkies, discovered around Thessaly and Macedonia. The first
alloying of metals to make bronze took place round 3500 B.C. marking
the beginning of the Bronze age.
Gold and turquoise necklace from Peru- 2000 B.C.
Use of animal
motifs in Egyptian jewelry
Jewelry crafting became an established industry in
ancient Egypt about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago (1000 to 3000 B.C.) They worked with gold and
silver and discovered the techniques and processes of ornamenting metal
that are still employed today. They produced engraved and inlaid
jewelry, inlaid with semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli,
turquoise, amethyst, carnelian and jasper. The types of jewelry produced
included diadems, collars, necklaces, bracelets and rings. Common
jewelry motifs used were animal motifs such as the scarab (beetle),
falcon, serpent, the eye and plant motifs like the lotus, derived from
religious symbols. In ancient Egypt, jewelry became the symbol of both
religious and secular power, and the jewelry workshops were attached to
the temples and palaces. The jewelry of the royalty and the wealthy,
were used to adorn the mummified bodies after their death, and were
placed inside their coffins as grave goods. Vast quantities of jewelry
of different designs have been unearthed from the tombs of the Pharaohs,
and those recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen of the 18th dynasty,
who reigned between 1333-1323 B.C. are now displayed in the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo. Queen Ahhotep of the 18th or 19th dynasty also had a
collection of jewels dating from the 16th century B.C. considered as one
of the richest treasures in the world.
Scarab Beetle amulet- Ancient Egyptian
The animal motifs used in ancient Egyptian
jewelry had symbolic meanings of a spiritual nature, such as the scarab
or beetle design common in the jewelry of the tombs, that was associated
with life and rebirth. Other symbols like the "eye" represented the eye
of Horus, the hawk-god, the cobra, an emblem of divine and royal
sovereignty, the "tet" an emblem of endurance, and the human-headed
hawk, an emblem of the soul. One of the most powerful symbols in
Pharaonic Egypt was the "ankh" a symbol of life often carried by Gods
and Pharaohs.
Eye of Horus (Wedjat) Pendant ,with a falcon on the
left and serpent on the right.
Jewelry from
Mesopotamia
Around 4,000 - 5,000 years ago (2000-3000 B.C.)
jewelry manufacturing had become a significant craft in Sumeria,
Babylonia and Assyria in Mesopotomia, as revealed by archaeological
evidence from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, where hundreds of burial tombs,
dating from 2900 to 2300 B.C. were discovered. The tombs contained
enormous quantities of artifacts in gold, silver and semi-precious
stones such as lapis lazuli, agate, carnelian and jasper, that included
crowns decorated with gold figurines, choker necklaces, multi-strand
necklaces, earrings, ankle bracelets, animal amulet figures and
jewel-headed pins. Jewelry produced was worn by both men and women, and
was also used for adorning statutes and idols. Metal working techniques
included cloisonné, engraving, fine granulation and filigree. Favored
shapes and designs of the period included plant motifs such as leaves,
spirals, bunches of grapes etc, and animal figures for amulets. A
well
known examples of Mesopotamian jewelry, displayed at the British Museum
in London, is a royal diadem from Ur, designed with thin gold beech
leaves.
Use of insect
motifs in Minoan and Mycenaean jewelry
Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age
civilization that prospered in the Island of Crete between 2700 to 1400 B.C. (3,400 to 4,700 years ago).
The Minoan civilization was followed by the Mycenaean civilization that
flourished in Peloponnesian peninsula in Southern Greece during the last
phase of the Bronze Age between 1600 B.C. and 1100 B.C. (3,600 to
3,300 years ago). Both the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations were
heavily influenced by the older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
We do not know what the Minoans and Mycenaeans called themselves, but
archaeologists have named the former after their legendary king
Minos and the latter after the archaeological site of Mycenae. Agamemnon
was one of the Mycenaean kings, who was the key figure in the Trojan
War, as retold in Homer's poem Iliad. While the Minoans were great ship
builders and masters of the sea, engaging in trading activities in the
eastern Mediterranean, the Mycenaeans advanced their civilization
through conquest. Both civilizations were advanced culturally, with
their own spoken and written languages, advanced artwork including
fresco painting, sculpturing and jewel crafting with materials such as
ivory, gold and silver. Types of jewelry executed were necklaces,
bracelets and earrings. Metal working techniques included granulation,
filigree, stamping and enameling. Motifs were naturalistic
representations of animals like cuttlefish and starfish and insects such
as butterflies and bees.
Mycenaean gold earring- 1600 B.C
Jewelry from
ancient Anatolia, Persia and Phoenicia
Fine gold and silver jewelry was also turned out in
ancient Anatolia, Persia and Phoenicia (1550 to 300 BC). Metal working
techniques included granulation, filigree, cloisonné, enameling. They
also produced inlaid jewelry inlaid with gemstones. However, Phoenician
jewelry was heavily influenced by Egyptian jewelry traditions and
Anatolian and Persian jewelry by Mesopotamian jewelry traditions,
brought about by trade and other contacts.
Jewelry from the
Classical period of Greece
The Classical period of Greece extending from the 6th
century to the 4th century BC, was a period of high cultural
advancement, that laid the foundation for the modern state and politics,
scientific thought, artistic thought, literature and philosophy. During
this period in the art of jewel craft granulation went out of use,
enamel reappeared and filigree was widely employed. Other processes used
were repousse, chasing, engraving, intaglio and soldering. Jewelry
styles of the period were delicate and refined. Eg. Plaited gold
necklaces were decorated with flowers and tassels, and hoop earrings
with filigree disks and rosettes. During the Hellenistic period (323 to
31 BC), some of the common motifs used in jewelry were pendant vases,
cupids and doves. Colored semi-precious stones such as garnets were
incorporated in jewelry such as bracelets, earrings etc.
Ancient Greek jewelry- 300 B.C.
Ancient Greek jewelry- Pendant with naked woman made
of electrum, Rhodes- 620 B.C.
Jewelry from the
Roman Empire
Jewelry produced during the Roman empire (27 BC to 476 AD),
show a combination of jewelry traditions of many previous civilizations
such as the Etruscans, a civilization of ancient Italy and Corsica and
the Greeks, who were subdued by the Romans. The use of colored gemstones
in jewelry was further elaborated by the Romans who also incorporated
pearls in their settings. Enameling became very common, and the
technique of cameo cutting was perfected. A type of brooch resembling a
safety pin known as the fibula became very popular. Rings and ornaments
made of amber were also in great demand. Necklaces and bracelets made of
gold coins set in elaborate mountings were also produced.
Amethyst intaglio of Roman Emperor Caracalla-212 A.D.
Photo above, GNU
Jewelry from the
Byzantine Empire
In 300 AD, Emperor Constantine established
Constantinople in Byzantium as the capital of the Roman Empire. After
the end of the western Roman empire in 476 AD, Constantinople and
Byzantium still survived until 1204 as the Byzantine Empire. During this
period jewelry designing was highly advanced and was a synthesis of the
craftsmanship of ancient Greece and Rome, the symbolism of Christianity
and the stylistic trends of the east. The mosaics at the Ravenna in
Italy depict the climax in jewelry designing during this period, in
which Empress Theodora is shown wearing gold robes set with precious
stones like rubies, emeralds and pearls, emeralds encircling her neck
and shoulders. Emperor Justinian beside her wears a diadem on his head
and a mantle hung with lavish pendants. A common Byzantine earring
executed in gold repouss had a crescent shape with a central cross
flanked by peacocks. The cross was the favorite breast pendant, and
rings also bore Christian symbols. Apart from gold and silver, gilded
bronze was also used in jewelry manufacture. Cloisonné enameling
reached a high degree of refinement during this period.
Gold Byzantine wedding ring-7th Century A.D
Bronze eagle shaped fibula, cloisonné enamel. 6th A.D.
Photo above, GNU
Jewelry of the
Medieval period
Information about stylistic trends in the Medieval
period become scarce as the practice of burying the dead with jewelry
had long been abandoned and the owners of jewelry including the royalty
tended to reset and recast their old jewelry to reflect styles in vogue.
However some sculptures created during this period gave some indication
of the personal ornamentation of the time, which showed Byzantine
influences. Middle Eastern and Arab influences were also brought to bear
in the Medieval West, especially after the crusades from 1095 to 1291.
Dress materials being woven with golden thread and being studded with
gems and pearls were ideas borrowed from the Arab Middle East.
The Gothic architecture which originated in the late
Medieval period in the 13th century, whose characteristic features
included the pointed arch, were features borrowed from Islamic
architecture, after the conquest of Islamic Sicily in 1090, and ideas
borrowed from the Middle East and Islamic Spain after the crusades. The
Gothic Style was also reflected in the jewelry designs of the period.
A new type of enameling using translucent enamel on
metal, chased, and modeled in shallow relief, producing transparent
pictures, known as basse-taille enameling became popular. Colored stones
did not match this type of enameling, and were replaced by pearls that
were set into the metalwork. Other type of jewelry of this period were
mainly set with cabochon stones, whose surface was rounded and polished
in a convex shape.
Brooches were a common form of jewelry during this
period, and were penannular such as the Tara Brooch of Irish origin in
the National Museum of Dublin. The principal motifs used were stylized
animals and intricate interlacing. Another penannular brooch is the 12th
century Eagle Brooch in the Mainz Museum. Chased or enameled pendants of
crucifixes and other religious emblems were common during this period.
Jewelry of the
Renaissance period
During the period of the Renaissance that lasted for
almost 300 years from the 14th to 17th centuries jewelry designing
underwent several radical changes. Increased exploration and
colonization lead to increased availability of wide variety of gemstones
as well as precious metals for jewelry manufacture. There was also an
increased exposure to the art of other cultures. The use of gemstones in
jewelry settings peaked during this period. Color was an important
characteristic of Renaissance jewelry. Delicately worked gold enriched
with many colored enamels, were set with bright colored gems, such as
sapphires, rubies and emeralds. In the designing of jewelry religious
subjects were gradually replaced by classical and naturalistic themes.
The sculptural pendant combining irregular baroque pearls, colored
gemstones and enameling were typical of this period. Examples of such
pendants are the "Sea Dragon Pendant" believed to have originated in
Germany in 1575, and the "Canning Jewel" another spectacular work of art
of the Renaissance period which combines a baroque pearl, rubies,
diamonds and enamel forming a merman, that is preserved in the Victoria Albert Museum.
Brooches or pendants incorporating a miniature portrait also became
popular. Eg. the Phoenix Jewel Pendant incorporating a silhouette bust
of Queen Elizabeth I designed around 1570 to 1580. During the middle
ages women wore their hair over their ears, that did not allow the
wearing of earrings. But, by the 16th century women began to wear
earrings. Even men sometimes wore earrings during this period. At the
time King Charles I was taken for beheading on January 30, 1649,
he wore a single large drop-shaped pearl measuring 5/8 th of an inch
mounted on a gold top, as an ear pendant, which he is reported to have
removed and gifted to a faithful follower before he was beheaded.
Baroque jewelry
The Baroque period is a style in art, decoration and
architecture that developed around 1590 just before the onset of the
17th century, and was prevalent throughout Europe during the entire 17th
century and continued into the early 18th century, until the emergence
of the Rococo style in 1730. The style originated in Italy, but soon
spread to other countries in Europe such as Germany, Austria, the Low
Countries of Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Iberian Peninsula
(Spain and Portugal). In France, under Louis XIV, a severely classical
version of the Baroque became popular. The Baroque style was a further
development of the previous Renaissance styles, and was characterized by
lively, curved and exuberant forms, by rich ornament based on classical
sources, being symmetrical as distinguished from the asymmetry of the
Rococo style that followed.
During the Baroque period pearls, gemstones and
diamonds played a larger role in jewelry designing, than the polychrome
effects of enameling. In the 1630s to 1680s naturalistic floral styles
predominated, as a result of the Botanical mania, then current in
Europe, that led to the awareness and appreciation of natural flora.
The discovery of the Golconda diamond mines in the mid-16th century,
near Hyderabad, India, ensured a steady supply of high quality diamonds,
which together with the introduction of new diamond cutting methods,
such as the rose-cut from India, enabled their frequent incorporation in
jewelry produced during this period.
Georgian jewelry
Georgian jewelry refers to jewelry made during the
reign of four successive kings of Great Britain, George I, George II,
George III, and George IV, whose period of rule extended from August I,
1714, when George I ascended the throne of Great Britain, as the first
monarch of the House of Hanover, until the death of King George IV on
June 26, 1830. Styles of jewelry produced during this period included
Rococo, Gothic Revival and Neo-Classical.
Metals used included gold with high carat content, an
alloy of copper and zinc used as a gold substitute, known as Pinchbeck
after its inventor, "Berlin Iron" used during the period of the
Napoleonic wars instead of gold as a display of patriotism. Enameling in
black, white and blue colors, and the use of foil-backed gemstones in
setting was common.
Sardonyx cameo-1791
Photo above, GNU
In the early 18th century the preferred gemstones for
setting in Georgian jewelry were diamonds. This was the period when
Brazilian diamonds in large quantities were reaching Europe. The
Brazilian supplies were not enough to meet the unprecedented demand for
white diamonds, and jewelry craftsmen employed cheap substitutes such as
rock crystal, marcasite, cut steel and glass paste copies of real
diamonds. The high quality and sophistication of these diamond
substitutes earned the approval of even the royalty who did not hesitate
to wear them in their courts. Besides the traditional table and rose
cuts, new cuts such as cushion and brilliant cuts were introduced during
this period. In the 2nd half of the 18th century, the use of colored
stones in settings also became popular, and gemstones such as rubies,
emeralds, sapphires, chrysoberyl, topaz, amethyst, garnets and organic
gems like pearls, ivory and coral were used.
The introduction of carved classical theme jewelry
popularized the use of materials like obsidian, onyx, carnelian and
shells. In the mid-18th century (1748) the discovery and excavation of the city
of Pompeii, destroyed by volcanic eruptions of the Mount Vesuvius in 79
A.D. initiated a style that came to be known as Neo-Classical after
artifacts discovered on the site. At the beginning of the 19th century
(1804), when Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself as the Holy Roman
Emperor, his crown was decorated with antique Roman cameos, that sparked
off a craze for cameos.
The type of jewelry that were popular in the Georgian
times were tiaras, aigrettes, jeweled bands worn on the hair, chokers,
stomachers, brooches, hair combs, bracelets, index finger rings,
girandole earrings with a gemstone at the ear lobe and three drops that
hang from it, crosses, buckles and memorabilia jewelry. Designs and
motifs used included cameos, intaglios, crowned hear design for rings,
mosaic, acorns, urns, doves, phoenix, wheat and plumage, floral
designs with a single stem or bouquet of flowers for brooches.
Victorian Jewelry
The Victorian era signifies the long period of rule
of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901 (64 years).
The era is divided into three periods :- 1) The Early Victorian Period
or Romantic Period (1837-1860) 2) The Mid or High Victorian Period
or Grand Period (1860-1890) 3) The Late Victorian Period or
Aesthetic Period (1890-1901).
1)
The Early Victorian or Romantic Period
(1837-1860) - This is
the period of Queen Victoria's youth, courtship, marriage and early
family life until the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert in 1861. Britain
was in the midst of its industrial revolution and living standards of
the people had increased, increasing their purchasing power. Jewelry was
purchased by a wider section of the people, which hitherto was owned
mainly by the clergy, aristocracy and upper classes of society. The
style of jewelry produced were from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,
that inspired the naturalistic themes common during this period.
Popular plant motifs were flowers, bouquets of flowers, branches,
leaves, grapes and berries. Animal motifs included the snake and serpent
motifs, love and song birds and insects.
Metals used in jewelry included 18k to 22k gold,
tri-color gold, silver, and rolled gold. Electroplating with gold that
covered the surface of a piece of jewelry made of cheap metal, with a
thin film of gold, that imparted a gold-like appearance to the article,
was also introduced. Early Victorian jewelry were still hand
manufactured, but the foundation for mechanization was being laid such
as the development of a method for cutting and stamping settings.
Gemstones used on jewelry were rose-cut and
brilliant-cut diamonds, and colored stones such as ruby, emerald,
sapphire, garnet, turquoise, amethyst, pink and golden topaz,
chalcedony, peridot, zircon, citrine, aquamarine, corals and seed
pearls. Cameos turned out of obsidian, shells, corals and quartz were
also popular. The type of jewelry included cameos, hair jewelry,
necklaces, brooches, earrings, rings, slides, tassels on pins,
stickpins, lockets and pocket watches. The techniques used were
filigree, piercing, cannetille, chasing and repousse, die rolling and
engraving.
2) Mid or High Victorian or Grand Period
(1860-1890) - In 1861, Queen Victoria lost her mother, the
Duchess of Kent, followed by her husband Prince Albert later in the
year. This double tragedy was a great loss to the Queen, and thrust her
and the nation into a state of mourning. In the immediate aftermath of this
loss, jewelry designs became more somber and austere. During the first
year of full mourning black clothing and black jewelry were worn by the
mourners. After the first year of mourning half-mourning colors such as
gray, mauve and purple clothing were used. Dark stones such as onyx,
jet, vulcanite, amethyst and deep red garnets were used in mourning
jewelry.
19th Century mourning jewelry-jet brooch
The Mid Victorian Period is also known as the Grand
Period, because of the grand way in which gemstones, and metals were
used in the manufacture of jewelry. The discovery of gold in America and
Australia made available this precious metal in large quantities to
jewelry designers, and with this came the revival of ancient
gold-working techniques and designs, such as Etruscan, Egyptian,
Classical, and Renaissance styles. After the discovery of silver in
Virginia City, Nevada in the 1860s, the price of silver dropped, and
silver metal was also used extensively in the production of jewelry.
Popular gemstones used during the mid-Victorian
period include diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, amethysts,
garnets, opal, onyx, black glass, jet ivory, tortoise shell etc. Opals
were previously believed to bring bad luck to its wearer, a belief that
originated in a book titled "Anne of Geierstein" written by Sir Walter
Scott, in which an opal hair ornament brings catastrophe to its owner.
When large deposits of opal were discovered in Australia in 1870, one of
the several countries of the vast British Colonial Empire where the sun
never set, Queen Victoria herself dispelled the superstitions
surrounding opals, by wearing opal-set jewelry.
Sentimental lockets, engraved bangle bracelets and
monogram and name brooches became popular during this period. Motifs
of the period include acorns, anchors, monograms, bells, sphinxes,
stars, hearts, birds, swans, bees, and daisies.
3) The Late Victorian
or Aesthetic Period (1890-1901) - During this period the
automobile was revolutionizing transportation, and Darwin's
controversial theories on evolution were being widely publicized. After
over 25 years of mourning, the Aesthetic Period ushered in a sense of
fun and light-heartedness to jewelry, characterized by motifs such as
crescent moon and stars, griffins and dragons, and butterflies and
salamanders, which were crafted into jewels of extraordinary
beauty. Diamonds mined from the recently discovered Kimberly Mines
in South Africa, reached the United Kingdom, and were used in large
quantities in jewelry settings, that added sparkle to the jewelry, in
contrast to the darker, somber tones of the mourning jewelry. As Queen
Victoria grew older, her daughter-in-law Princess Alexandra became the
royal trend setter. Some of the jewelry designs popularized by
Princess Alexandra included the star and crescent motif, encrusted with
diamonds, pearls, corals and sapphires or turquoise, and the dog collar
design known as the choker.
Towards the end of the Victorian era the manufacture
of jewelry shifted from hand crafting to mass production by machine. One
of the first pieces of machine-made jewelry introduced to the markets
were the curb-link bracelets with dangling hearts and keys. The
Darwinian controversy and new botanical discoveries, once again
popularized jewelry motifs based on natural themes such as plants and
animals. Some of the popular designs included gem-set
butterflies, enameled beetles, and gold houseflies. Hunting and
sporting motifs also became popular during this period.
Art Nouveau
Jewelry
Art Nouveau is an international movement that
originated in France affecting the style of art, architecture and
decorative arts, around 1890 and lasted until around 1915. The name Art
Nouveau was derived from a gallery for interior decoration and the new
art form opened by a Japanese art collector Siegfried Bing in Paris in
1895, known as "La Maison de l'Art Nouveau." It was a style
adopted for all decorative arts including jewelry. The Art Nouveau
jewelry designers experimented with new forms, new materials and new
techniques. The Art Nouveau designs featured free-flowing, curving lines
with asymmetrical natural motifs, such as the human female form, and
other natural and organic forms both plant and animal inspired. The
common representation of the female form was as a female head with long
flowing hair. Motifs from nature included insects, birds and
reptiles. Common insect motifs included butterflies, dragonflies, and
bees; bird motifs peacocks and swans, and the snake was the reptile
motif. The plant motifs included undulating vines, leaves such as that
of Gingko biloba, ferns and a variety of flowers such as orchids,
irises, water lilies, poppies, ivy etc.
Art Nouveau brooch with female figure
©
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In Art Nouveau jewelry, the aesthetics of design were
considered more important than the intrinsic value of the materials.
Thus apart from gold, silver and diamonds, other materials such as
copper, clarified horn, ivory, mother-of-pearl, crystal and carved glass
and plique-a-jour enamel were used. Cabochon gemstones such as opal and
moonstones, and spherical pearls with their rounded surfaces, matched
well with the stylized motifs from nature with their curvilinear
features. Faceted diamonds and colored gemstones were used only if
necessary to enhance the beauty of a piece. The Art Nouveau style
affected all types of jewelry such as, necklaces, pendants, bracelets,
brooches, rings, tiaras and diadems, and accessories such as cufflinks,
hatpins, hair combs, belt buckles and corsage ornaments.
Art Nouveau dragon fly pearl brooch with rubies and
diamonds
©
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Tarantula Brooch,
based on a recurrent naturalistic theme since very ancient times
Thus the Tarantula Brooch designed by Steffan
Hemmerle is based on a recurrent naturalistic theme, that had
appeared from time to time in the history of jewelry manufacture since
very ancient times. The theme first appeared in ancient Egyptian and
Mesopotamian jewelry, and then reappeared in the Minoan and Mycenaean
jewelry, jewelry of classical period of Greece and Rome, the Medieval
period, the Renaissance period, Georgian period and reached a climax in
the Victorian period, which continued into the Art Nouveau Period and
Edwardian Periods. After the Art Nouveau period of 1890-1915, the use of
animal and plant motifs in jewelry are being reintroduced by individual
jewelry designers based in different countries. Steffan Hemmerle of
Hemmerle Jeweliere, Munich, Germany, is one such designer who turned out
the Tarantula Brooch, that has become internationally famous after its
display in the traveling exhibition, "Pearls : A Natural History."
The source of the
orange-red pearl
The large oval-shaped orange-red pearl that occupies
the abdomen of the Tarantula Brooch, originated in the Horse Conch, a
species of snail, native to the marine waters of the southeastern United
States and northeastern Mexico. The snail is commonly found in the
waters of Florida, and the horse conch shell has been designated
Florida's state shell since 1969.
Classification of the
Horse Conch - Pleuroploca gigantea
Kingdom :
Animalia
Phylum :
Mollusca
Class
: Gastropoda
Order
: Neogastropoda
Family :
Fasciolariidae
Genus :
Pleuroploca
Species :
gigantea
Pleuroploca gigantea
- Habitat, characteristics of the shell and feeding habit
The Florida Horse Conch also known as the "giant band
shell," is one of the two largest
univalves in the world, that can reach a length of up to 2 feet (24 ins
or 60 cm). The natural habitat of this large sea snail is the Atlantic
coast of America from the U.S. state of North Carolina in the north to
Brazil in the south. It is more common in Florida found on both coasts,
from the estuary to a depth of about 30 meters. In other areas the
species is found from the low inter-tidal zone to a depth of about 6
meters.
Horse Conch Shell
The shell is spindle-shaped, covered with bands and
nodules, but rarely the shells can be smooth without nodules. The young
shell is pale-orange in color. The adult shell is orangish, cream
or brown in color, with a thin scaly covering, called the periostracum.
Very rarely the shell can be pure white in color. On one side of the
shell is an orange-red aperture, through which the head and the foot of
the mollusk can jut out or be retracted inside when necessary.
The body that is divided into the head, visceral mass
and foot, is protected by the hard spiral shell. The head has two pairs
of tentacles and the proboscis with the mouth at its end. The "horse
conch" is a predatory species, feeding on other marine gastropods such
as the "tulip shell" and "lightning whelk" and bivalves. The radula with
denticles is used to chip a whole in the prey's shell, and allow the
proboscis to be inserted. Thus the "horse conch" is a voracious
carnivore.
Pearls produced by
the Horse Conch
Pearls are produced not only by bivalve mollusks such
as oysters and mussels, but also by univalve mollusks (gastropods), such
as snails and sea-snails. Three of the gastropod sea-snails that are
known to produce pearls are 1) The queen conch (Strombus gigas), found
in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. 2) The horse conch (Pleuroploca
gigantea), one of the largest sea-snails found along the Atlantic coast
of the Americas from North Carolina to Brazil, and 3) The melo melo
sea-snail found in the South China Sea. Pearls produced by sea-snails
are not considered to be true pearls, as they do not produce the nacre,
that causes the luster and iridescence of true pearls. These
non-nacreous gastropod pearls are known as calcareous concretions.
Because of their similarity to porcelain or ceramic, which has a
matte-like appearance, these non-nacreous pearls are said to be
porcellaneous. However, most conch pearls exhibit a unique flame-like
shimmering effect on its surface known as a "flame structure," which is
an optical effect, a form of "chatoyancy" caused by the interaction of
light with the calcite microcrystals on the surface of the pearl. In
some conch pearls the shimmering effect is so spectacular, that some
gemologists think, that conch pearls should be reclassified as
true pearls.
What are brown Umba
sapphires ?
Umba sapphires are a type of fancy sapphires
discovered in 1962 in the Umba valley, at a small bend in Tanzania's
Umba River near the Kenyan border. The corundum deposit in this area has
a radius of about 2 miles, and produces almost every color of sapphire
imaginable. In spite of the variety of colors in which they were found,
initially Umba sapphires were considered to be less valuable than the
variety of sapphires originating from Sri Lanka and Tanzania's other
sapphire deposit Tunduru. One of the most popular shades of Umba
sapphires, is pinkish-orange or salmon color, equivalent to the
pinkish-orange color of the padparadscha, for which Sri Lanka is world
renowned. The pinkish-orange Umba sapphires were marketed as African
padparadscha to differentiate it from the original Sri Lankan
padparadscha. One drawback in the African padparadscha is the presence
of a strong tinge of brown that is noticeably absent in the Sri Lankan
variety.
The Umba sapphires mounted on the cephalothorax of
the Tarantula Brooch has a distinct brown color, and are actually brown
Umba sapphires, one of the multitude of colors in which Umba sapphires
occur.
Other colors in which Umba sapphires are found are
purple, yellow and golden, and the famous color change sapphires, that
are green or grayish-blue in daylight and violet to cranberry red in
incandescent light, similar to the color change in Alexandrites. Besides
this, the entire range of fancy color sapphires are also produced, but
the colors are too pale for jewelry use. The assortment of colors are
however combined in bracelets and necklaces and seem to have some appeal
when so combined.
The House of Hemmerle,
designers of the Tarantula Brooch
The House of Hemmerle situated in Maximilian Strasse
in Munich, Germany, represents a unique family heritage of superior
craftsmanship. The company was established in the 19th century by two
brothers Joseph Hemmerle and Anton Hermmerle. The historic breakthrough
came when Hemmerle was appointed court jewelers to the Bavarian court,
supplying ornaments and medals to the royal family. The jewelry store
along Maximilian Strasse was opened in 1904, that offered traditionally
designed jewelry of exceptional quality and craftsmanship, and thus
cultivated a branding associated with the prestigious name of Hemmerle,
throughout Germany. Today, the House of Hemmerle has become a fourth
generation family business, with Stefan Hemmerle, the grandson of the
co-founder Joseph Hemmerle, at the helm of affairs of the company.
Stefan Hemmerle is assisted by his wife Sylveli, and son Christian and
daughter-in-law Yasmin. The entire family is involved at every stage of
each intricate design, giving a unique stamp of personality to every
piece that leaves the Hemmerle workshop. The intricately designed
Tarantula Brooch that passed through the Hemmerle workshop is no
exception.
You are welcome to discuss this post/related topics with Dr Shihaan and other experts from around the world in our FORUMS (forums.internetstones.com)
Related :-
1)
Queen Mary Conch Pearl Brooch
2)
Susan Hendrickson's Conch Pearls
References :-
1) Passion for Pearls - International Art
Treasure Web Magazine, August 2004
2) Tarantula Brooch - Pearls - Fun Facts
3) Tarantula Anatomy - giantspiders.com
4) Tarantula - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5) About Tarantulas -
www.desertusa.com
6) Bronze Age Greece - the Minoans and Mycenaeans-
www.flowofhistory.com
7) Antique Jewelry Glossary - Baroque Jewelry -
www.adin.be
8) History of Jewelry - Parts 1-6,
www.jewelsforme.com
9) Jewelry - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
10) Victorian Jewelry - From the Antique Jewelry
University
11) Georgian Jewelry - From Antique Jewelry
University
12) Victorian Jewelry - A Little Bit of Everything -
By Judith Anderson, www,jewelryexpert.com
13) Art Nouveau jewelry - www.senses-artnouveau.com
14) Hemmerle -
www.hemmerle.com
15) Umba Sapphire - David Federman,
www.modernjeweler.com
16) Horse Conch (Pleuroploca gigantea) - The Whitney
Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida.
