This beaker and its saucer were part of a tea and chocolate service given to Vittorio Amadeo II, King of Sardinia (1666-1732) by Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony, under whose patronage the Meissen factory was established. c1725 Johann Gregor Höroldt (1696-1775 ) the beaker is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York

As a commodity porcelain aided the growth of both the east and western world’s economies and benefited their social and cultural development for centuries. Porcelain is a translucent ‘hard paste’ ceramic ware first brought across the old silk road to the courts of Europe, from far-eastern Cathay (China) during the Ming Dynasty ( 1368-1644). The best came from the kilns at Jingdezhen. The secret of how to produce porcelain, as it was named by fourteenth century Venetian traveler to the ancient capital of Cathay Marco Polo, remained a mystery in the west for centuries. An ability to see through something so hard and impervious to liquid seemed magical to the princes of the courts of Europe and England. It represented a refinement of taste and was given silver and gilded mounts to protect its fragility and honour its brilliance and then put on display as a symbol of status, princely power and prestige. This wonder ware was painted brilliantly in cobalt (blue) at first, and then in an ever expanding variety of colours.

By the seventeenth century the English, and various other European trading companies, had increased their trade with China and Japan, who was also producing a rival product for Chinese porcelain. Their ships plied risky new routes, which saw many a cargo end up at the bottom of the sea. Back home in Europe and England local tin glazed earthenware provided the only alternative to the imported magical translucent ware from China, because the many who had tried to manufacture a hard paste style of ceramic had failed.

By the beginning of the eighteenth century however, the rituals associated with tea and coffee drinking were in the ascendancy in Europe, England and America, so the commercial advantages of producing a competitive product, to that of the long standing Eastern trade with China (Cathay), was highly motivating. It was Augustus the Strong (1670 – 1733) Elector of Saxony, a south-eastern state of modern day Germany, who took the risks, funded the experimentation and subsequently reaped the rewards.

During the first decade of the eighteenth century groundbreaking hard paste porcelain wares, produced at the town of Meissen under the patronage of Augustus the Strong would inspire and motivate others by their success. It was as early as 1694 that the German mathematician, physicist, physician and philosopher Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnahaus had discussed the possibilities of local porcelain manufacture with Augustus. He had a clear understanding of what constituted hard paste porcelain and desperately wanted to be the first European to discover the secret of China’s seemingly magically translucent wares, which had fascinated consumers at the European and English courts for centuries.

From 1700 Augustus the Strong was also involved with the fate of a young alchemist of dubious reputation Johan Friedrich Böttger, who was in trouble in Prussia for failing to transmute base metals into gold. Augustus was a powerful prince whose passion for porcelain was all consuming. So he provided Tschirnahaus with a laboratory for experimentation and brought he and Bottger together. Although he resisted at first, Bottger inevitably became involved with Tschirnahaus’s porcelain experiments.

Carrying out trials to test the heat resistance and chemical changes of Saxony’s earths and minerals at high temperatures by 1703 the duo had achieved a hard paste style stoneware, and produced a small range of products in imitation of imported Chinese red wares.

In 1708 Tschirhause died of dysentery, just a year before a report to the King on the 28th March, 1709 which claimed Böttger ‘could make good white, porcelain with finest glazing and painting in such perfection as to er at least equal, if not surpass, the Eastern production’. This was a boast because it took several more years for the porcelain to eventually rival oriental wares. By then the laboratory was too small for growth so in 1710 they moved it into an old fortress at Meissen in Saxony.

At the Leipzig Easter Fair of 1710, the Meissen Factory exhibited their wares for first time. Black glazed red stone wares (right) promoted Saxony’s industries and their  luxury goods. They were described in the Leipzig Gazette as ‘lacquered like the most beautiful Japanese products.’ The painting on these wares is traditionally attributed to Martin Schnell, who was known to have worked for Meissen between 1711 and 1715.

The manufacture of the new European porcelain differed from the Chinese by its relatively high proportion of the mineral kaolin. About 50% against the Chinese of 30%. They were experimenting and it would be wrong to imagine at all that they were very scientific about what they doing. All they really knew was that in order to reproduce porcelain they had to fire the wares at a very high temperature.

This bowl of hard-paste porcelain (left) has two delightful loop handles that extend from its interior. They are formed as twisted rose stems and extend out over the surface in modeled and applied foliage and flowers. The body itself is a creamy paste with a slightly greenish glaze. It was all about trial and error and the construction of the kilns . These remained a carefully kept secret, almost as precious as that of the composition of the paste. European pieces were fired twice, against a single Chinese firing process. After the first firing they were painted and the colours embedded by the high temperatures of the second firing.

The immediate public response was disappointing, because many of Böttger’s original stonewares were left plain, or had minimal gilded decoration, which we would today think was wonderfully minimalist. However at the time they were competing against a highly coloured and sophisticated product from the established market of China, and the burgeoning market of Japan, so this would have been viewed in a different light. Enamelers, outside the factory, often acquired slightly imperfect, or outdated white pieces quite cheaply. They would then embellish them with fashionable designs to sell at a profit. To assist the factory Augustus the Strong asked court Goldsmith Johann Jakob Irminger to provide both designs and ideas for new shapes.

This large jug of Böttger porcelain (right) made c1715 has ‘Irminger overlay’, a technique he developed for applying delicate reliefs, in this case beautiful blossoming branches. This style of porcelain was meant to be fashionable and valuable.

At Meissen they copied the palette of colours of iron/red, bluish/green, yellow and light blue used by Japanese potter Kakiemon Sakaida with sometimes the surface enriched with additional gilding. In this case the additional painted decoration is beautifully restrained and it is easy to see why Meissen would go on to great things.

With improvements Boettger’s red stonewares (left) also became extremely fashionable at court. Much use was made of Chinese models at first, but within a very short time an indigenous style emerged with its own shapes, symbols and styles.

New techniques for polishing and engraving were developed and eventually, with artistic innovation, the appropriate response came from the public. The Meissen Porcelain factory was well on its way to success.

Around 1716 Böttger produced beautiful porcelain wares with pink-lustre inner surfaces. The lustre was achieved by a dangerous technique whose recipe included mercury, which gave a metallic glow to the glaze.

The mixture for making lustre also contained pure gold and enamels and was therefore extremely expensive. Only a few experimental pieces survive where lustre is applied as lavishly as with this tea bowl and saucer.

This tea bowl has a matching saucer and is a now rare example of the earliest type of porcelain developed by Böttger who wrote to the King in 1717 saying

‘these works are, so to speak, my first-born children and I trust you will therefore not take it amiss, when I say that, for myself, I love them tenderly and… I try to bring them into the high esteem and opinion of others‘.

Böttger and his key workers were sworn to secrecy about the many different factory processes they refined, as well as those in development. They were well treated and given reasonable salaries, but security was tight and they were virtually prisoners.

Böttger, we are told, eventually took to drink and bad companions and died in 1719 at the early age of 37.

The coffee pot (left) with its hinged cover is painted in enamels and gilt, with the addition of a silver-gilt mount; It was made around 1720, but the decoration was added in Augsburg, attributed by scholars to the workshop of Johann Auffenwerth, ca. 1725-30.

The colours green and mauve are similar to those of a palette preferred at the court of the Chinese Emperors named for the longest reigning Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty who ruled on the throne of heaven from 1661 – 1722.

Böttger’s contribution to the glory and fame his princely patron Augustus the Strong enjoyed would live on in the traditions he established at Meissen. At the time of his youthful demise the factory was in the ascendancy in Europe. Appointed manager in 1720 Samuel Stolzel earned respect when he improved the kilns for the factory. He brought to Meissen the man who would take its reputation world wide.

Gregorious Horoldt, who became Court Painter in charge of decorating the wares. Horoldt’s work was so much in demand by 1725 he had ten journeymen and five boys working for him. By 1731 that had increased to twenty five journeymen, eleven boys and two colour grinders

Johann Gottlob Kirchner was put in charge of the modeling. He taught drawing and modeling to the apprentices and recorded all the new and existing patterns in use at the factory at that time. The king’s greed for porcelain never diminished and with these two workers he had the ability to decorate with porcelain the newly bought Hollandische Palais (later renamed the Japanese Palace).

He planned to furnish all the rooms with vases, life sized sculptures of animals, the apostles and, in the chapel, even a ceramic altar, pulpit and organ. Nothing on this scale had been attempted before and new techniques had to be invented and mastered. The enormity of the task was hindered by the impatience of Augustus. Kirchner was the only man capable of undertaking such a daunting commission and he employed Johan Joachim Kandler to help extradite matters.

Joachim Kandler (1706 – 1775) was trained as a sculptor in Dresden and was destined to become the greatest German porcelain modeller, responsible for much of the success of the Meissen porcelain factory during the 18th century. A bust of Gottfried Schmiedel (right) modelled by Johann Joachim Kandler c1739  delights through its virtuosity. It is a work of great skill and invention.Kandler found nothing too difficult to attempt and his efforts were extremely productive.

His works were naturalistic in style and imitated throughout Europe. He joined the factory in 1731 and produced seven large birds about four feet high and one of the apostles for the Japanese palace and was designing its table ware when the King died, his successor vowing to complete the task.

During his forty four years at Meissen the reputation of the factory reached dizzying heights. His elaborate vases were nothing short of sensational. The best known of all Kandler’s works are his figurines of  characters from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte which are among the best works of this kind. They include Harlequin, Columbine and Pierrot, All his figures were engaging and delightful. The production was enormous – more than a thousand different subjects in all including people, animals,  mythological and allegorical pieces.

It was around 1728 that Kandler produced the ‘swan’ set whose embossed decoration on plates depicted swans floating on water surrounded by water plants and bullrushes.

The tureens were in the shapes of enormous shells adorned with mermaid handles and the oil and vinegar cruets, took the form of little putti riding swans. Its new style of floral decoration, inspired by the work of Japan’s wonder ceramicist Sakeida Kakiemon would in the end become a wholly new European concept.

The disastrous Seven Year’s War in Europe 1756 – 1763 heralded the death knell of Meissen glory. The factory was ransacked and pillaged by Frederick the Great. Throughout this period Kandler held the workers together. Following the peace of 1763 the new Elector Frederich Christian attempted to put his country and the factory back onto its feet. But while they were recovering other European and English factories were in the fashionable ascendancy while the struggling Meissen was in decline. Although the porcelain marked with the crossed swords, symbolic of the Elector of Saxony may have been preferred by many, it was not enough to save Meissen from closure. Kandler, whose originality, fertile imagination, skill and determination, together with an unsurpassed artistic talent had given the factory its greatest success died in 1775. Though it was later resurrected and continued it was never again to reign supreme. Today Augustus the Strong’s claim to fame rests on his patronage, his well known passion for porcelain and subsequent ownership of the first European factory to produce porcelain in the west,  rather than on the battles that he fought.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

Related posts:

1. A ‘Compleat’ Gentleman, more than a leader of style
2. EVOLUTION OF ART, DESIGN & STYLE
   Course Outline
3. WHAT IS: Art Deco

Cupid and Pschye - Sculptor Antonio Canova in Le Louvre at Paris

The story about the classical pairing of Psyche and Cupid is about the soul being pursued by desire. What more inspirational work of art could we have for artisans making love jewellery than this superb sculpture in the Louvre at Paris. Commissioned by Colonel John Campbell in 1787, purchased by Joachim Murat in 1801 and carved at Rome by sculptor Antonio Canova in 1793 when he was 36 years of age, this amazing work captures our imagination provoking an emotional response. Surely his skill at injecting stone with human emotion is rivaled only by that of old master sculptor Michaelangelo.

Realism is the antithesis of Romanticism. Romance is not about being ‘rational’. It is all about being ‘emotional’, which was at the heart of most aesthetic creative experiences during this time. The arts, architecture and timeless traditions from many other cultures were also held up to scrutiny for their noble and uplifting characteristics, as well as for exploiting their picturesque qualities.

Brooch by Rene Lalique 1904-6 Gold, enamel and fire opals. V & A Museum at London

The Romantic era originated in the second half of the eighteenth century in Europe, peaked around the middle of the nineteenth century and then petered out, albeit slowly until the advent and establishment of the movement known as Modernism. This gained momentum in the latter part of the nineteenth century, had its first creative climax in the Edwardian period and again in the 20′s and early 30′s following World War I, especially in America.  There it evolved into becoming an important aspect of pop art and the advertising world set around Madison Avenue, New York where in the late 40′s and early 50′s there was a great need for graphics that were easy to produce, eye catching and simply stylised.

Style movements in the evolution of creative art, design and culture do not neatly end one day so that the next one can start a day later. The late eighteenth and nineteenth century in England, across Europe and America was a period overlaid with many complex movements in art, literature and music. Intellectual ideas and social change also impacted on their development and ensured that the whole period was a melting pot of creativity. The revival of the ‘classical’ ideal with the acceleration of considered archaeology during the latter half of the nineteenth century, elevated notions of goodness, unrequited love and the pursuit of perfection. An admiration for the ancient Medieval past in England espoused Gothic notions of horror and awe of vampires and the undead.

Embracing the exotic had a boost, especially following the opening of Japan to the west by American Commodore Perry (confirmed with the Treaty of Kaagawa in 1854). Designer Rene Lalique researched mediums of glass and enamel, producing a design dialogue exclusively his own. He worked in a new stylistic languaged, which was based on sinuous interpretations of forms in nature we now know as Art Nouveau. He also championed non precious materials, producing dramatic pieces that influenced and inspired others

Rene Lalique’s early production was retailed by famous jewellery houses, including Boucheron and Cartier and he dedicated himself to developing a personal and completely original style. Art nouveau was short lived in jewellery design lasting from about c1895 to c1910 and his pieces clearly prove that he had a complete grasp of the style in which nature and its association with femininity was the leitmotif-  the aim was to evoke, rather than realistically portray or copy nature.  The human form, minutely sculpted in gold, was an important theme and personifications of the idealised female beauty were particularly popular meant to portray carefree elegance.

Love Jewellery in the V & A Museum at London

Romanticism was all about escaping the mundane aspects of real life and burgeoning industrial ugliness, especially in England. There the sleek tenets of Modernism were trying to take hold amongst the confusion. Led by luminaries such as arts and crafts genius William Morris and his Pre-Raphealite associates, jewellery design used materials that provided an alternative to what many believed were flashy diamonds.

The delightful ring illustrated was a romantic present donated to the V & A by authors Geoffrey and Caroline Munn. Curators tell us the French word ‘pensées’ means both pansies, as painted on the bezel of this ring, and ‘thoughts’, although in this case the pansies stand for ‘pensez’, meaning ‘think’. The flowers and words taken together read ‘Pensez à votre ami’, ‘think of your friend’. Geoffrey is the BBC’s expert on Jewellery for the Antiques Roadshow and has written many definitive books on jewellery.

Cupid & Pschye Cameo British Museum

This final in our series about Love Jewellery has us now entering a world well on the way to becoming global …

…one in which cameos had yet another revival. Carved from various materials  lava, conch shells, coral, various man made materials as well as sardonyx and chalcedony – comprising of semi precious gemstones such as moss agate, carnelian, heliotrope and onyx they were surrounded in a gold frame to be worn as a brooch or pendant on a gold chain. They were an indispensable aspect of any lady of quality’s costume.

Stunning Collection 19th century archaeological Jewellery V & A Museum London

During the last fifty years of the nineteenth century any lady of fashion visiting Italy would consider her tour of Rome incomplete if she did not call into Castellani’s shop near the Spanish Steps to acquire a piece of archaeological revival jewellery.

Early in the eighteenth century a retail premises for fine archaeological jewellery had been founded by Roman antique dealer, goldsmith and designer extraordinaire Fortunato Pio Castellani (1794-1865). He pioneered the classical revival in his Roman workshop and he and his sons would inspire others to produce stunning examples throughout the century.

Detail of Brooch by Castellani, Glorious Antique Jewelry NY

Superb Bracelet by Castellani Glorious Antique Jewelry NY

Castellani approached antiquity with an open mind and together with his sons, Alessandro (1822-1883) and Augusto (1829 – 1914) became world famous. Their jewellery was enormously popular in England, extensively imitated there as well as in Italy, France and the United States.

Concerned at declining standards of craftsmanship Fortunato Castellani had become interested during the late 1820′s in Etruscan jewellery, seeking to learn the method of producing its granulated gold.

This was gold used as decoration on the surface of jewellery by fixing minute round grains to the metal base. The grains were made by pouring into water molten gold, which formed drop like granules. An alternative method was placing gold cuttings in a crucible with charcoal and heating and rotating it so the gold formed small spheres.

They were then soldered onto the object by a technique that meant the soldering was invisible. In the finest Etruscan examples minute gold granules sometimes only 0.25 mm were sprinkled on the surface. The technique had been long forgotten and people were fascinated with its rediscovery.

Pendant by Carlo Giuliano V & A Museum London

Agate Scarab Pendant by Giuliano in the Egyptian taste

In his workshops Castellani trained many new goldsmiths and they produced outstanding works. It is disputed by some scholars that Carlo Giuliano was perhaps one of them.

Curators at the V&A Museum at London, which has a collection of Giuliano jewellery, have published that he accompanied Castellani to London after probably training in his workshop at Rome. Whatever the story about these two jewellers they are now renowned for the superb quality of the objects they produced and collectors clamour to find them.

Carlo Giuliano and his sons Carlo Joseph and Arthur Alphonse arrived in London c1860 and at first opened a manufactory in Soho before opening a retail premises in 1874 in Piccadilly, producing exquisite jewels in the neo-Renaissance and archaeological revival taste.

One of his most colourful English patrons was the wife of the Prime Minister.  Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith was a socialite, wit and author whose works were not always critically accepted.

The most famous review of Asquith’s work came from New York wit Dorothy Parker, who wrote, “The affair between Margot Asquith and Margot Asquith will live as one of the prettiest love stories in all literature”as well as wife of the Prime Minister. She certainly horrified Giuliano’s London staff by sitting on the table swinging her legs when considering new additions to her own jewel collection.

An interest in Egyptology was greatly enhanced in England at this time by the work of the indefatigable Miss Amelia Edwards, who founded the Egyptian Exploration Society. Carlo Giuliano and his sons over the years brought vast numbers of impressive antiquities to London, including Egyptian scarabs and faience, which were collected by Carlo Giuliano and mounted in jewellery.

Art Nouveau Snake Motif Locket

Arthur Alphonse Guiliano not only inherited his father’s business but also left his wife to live with the woman he loved and whose children he had fathered. When Carlo Giuliano died (1895), the business was handed down from father to sons, remaining open until 1914.

For many of the jewellers of this time the return to nature resulted in a rejection of the antique and metaphors for love rejected in favour of an often morbid eroticism, in which women were associated with the insect world, sleep and death, metamorphosis and sapphism. These were considered at the time extremely risque and quite without precedent in the history of jewellery design.

Bow Brooch in the Garland Style by Cartier

Louis Francois Cartier (1819-1904) opened his shops in London and New York in 1902 and 1909 respectively. His jewels were delicate, had finesse and complemented the clothing designed by the Worth Brothers, the most fashionable of all the Parisian couturiers. They dressed all the most fashionable women of their day in delicate softly coloured silks; lilac, pink, yellow, mauve, straw and hydrangea blue.

Cartier encouraged his designers to consult original eighteenth century pattern books and also wander through the streets of Paris taking sketches of eighteenth century architectural detail.  This type of inspiration resulted in the garland style, one he made his own and others copied, with swags, bows and trails of diamond set flowers characterize it.

Platinum was also coming into wider use. It didn’t tarnish, was useful in that it contributed to the development of jewellery that used a minimum of metal as it was quite a bit heavier and stronger than gold. It maximised the use of diamonds as in Cartier’s Bow Brooch, which was inset with panels of carved quartz crystal

Edwardian Garland Paste Necklace

Garlands, laurel wreaths, bow knots, tassels and lace motifs were among Cartier’s most favourite decorative devices and his royal, aristocratic articulate, light and insubstantial creations were received with great enthusiasm by his clientele on both sides of the Atlantic and copied by others in semi precious stone and paste.

World War 1 began in 1914 and profoundly changed society. A new mode for living emerged – lets live and forget the past, The fashions and values of pre war society changed with freedom of expression a new rule. When the war ended women, proud of their emancipation also stayed on in their jobs favouring a masculine look, characterised by a thin, flat silhouette and short hair cut. Cutting a woman’s hair at this time was a dramatic social change, as they were encouraged to keep it long until they were married. Accompanied by the emergence and flourishing of a revolutionary style of fashion, design and illustration the reality of this change was a great deal for many people to deal with.

Actress Gertrude Lawrence

Gone was the overpowering opulence of the late Victorian period and the quiet gentle elegance of Edwardian times. In its place were clear, clean lines of angular geometric shapes, refined detailing and super draftsmanship and craftsmanship. It was the beginnings of the jazz age with racy music, retro design and the emancipation of women now looming large.

Brooch by Cartier Rock Crystal, platinum and diamonds

The ideal jewel of the 1920′s  had to complement a particular dress, or a particular woman and was chosen to suit her tastes, lifestyle and features. Actress Gertrude Lawrence was photographed by Cecil Beaton revealing the sense of drama and confidence women of the age exuded. The popularity of pearls encouraged a group of Japanese scientists, led by Mikimoto, to develop the technique of pearl cultivation.

The first cultivated pearls appeared on the market in 1921 and notwithstanding the strong  opposition from natural pearl merchants, quickly became a typical feature of the 1920′s. Worn both day and night either alone or combined with precious or hard stones important technical advances facilitated superb combinations of surfaces, metals, gems and colours. Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Moderns in Paris in 1925  lent its name to the terminology Art Deco.

The aim of the exhibition was to promote a ‘social art’ or better still, establish a closer working relationship between art and industry. The war effort advanced technology quickly so designers found many new avenues for surmounting the challenges of production, paving the way for imagination and innovation. While Cartier always embraced new fashion the aim was at maintaining moderation, style and balance to meet the tastes and requirements of a privileged elite, their target market

Coco Chanel Fashion Leader

An avant-garde woman during the 1920′s and 1930′s wanted a style of jewellery inspired by designs such as those of the exciting Ballets Russes, exotic forms of Oriental, African and South American art and other contemporary movements in art that reduced each object to utilitarian lines. The new standard for excellence in jewellery design was led triumphantly by the trusted and established firm of Cartier. Coco Chanel was the rage designer in France at this period. Her classical two piece suits were accompanied by yards of strings of pearls, natural or imitation.

Gold and gilt chains also became the indispensable accessory for all fashionable women. In some ways the modern movement that began c1880 was endeavouring to correct the retrospective phase of the nineteenth century but in the end ended up inspired by finds from antiquity began returning to it.

Fueling the change was the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in November 1922, which set the western world on fire. Carter’s excavations would reveal stunning jewellery especially his famous gold mask, gold pectoral, armlets, diadem and rings among all the other wonderful objects.

Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef and Arpels were all firms strongly influenced by a fascination with Egypt and they inspired gem cutters to experiment with new shapes.

Silver and Lapis Lazuli Sautior

The favourite necklace of the 20′s was the sautoir, a long rope decorated with a tassel of a pendant. Produced in many materials; diamonds, pearls, coral and so forth and it was the ideal accessory for the low waisted dresses of the time.

This stunning example is silver, with lapis lazuli beads, silver scarabs moonstones, sapphires & diamonds.  The pendant opens to reveal a watch

Silver and Lapis Lazuli Sautoir Open to reveal Watch c1920

Lapis Lazuli is a gemstone with a grand past. Archaeologists have established that this deep blue stone was popular thousands of years ago with the people of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome. In the Middle East it was thought to have miraculous powers. It was among the first gemstones worn as jewellery.

The Egyptians loved it and even crushed it to a powder that when mixed with water could be painted on the ceiling of their tombs with the addition of gold stars. The Far East, India and Persia continued as very strong influences on Jewellery throughout the 20′s and 30′s and Chinese mother of pearl inlaid plaques were often used in creations of oriental inspiration. American socialite and divorcee Mrs. Wallis Simpson married her King in 1937 and became the Duchess of Windsor. An enthusiast of jewellery, fashion and the prevailing modern style she led fashion the world over.

Duchess of Windsor

He had stunning jewellery fashioned for her by Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Belperron and Harry Winston and gave it to her in love.  First as a Prince, then as King, and finally as a Duke the inscription ‘My Wallis from her David’ says it all. What more could any woman want than a man who would give up being a King for love.

The Wall Street crash of 1929 in New York and the consequent economic crisis changed life dramatically all around the world. The creations of the mid 1930′s before World War II exhibit an opulence of gemstones and designs unknown in the previous decade as jewels became larger and bolder as consumer confidence returned. After the War designer, wholesaler, retailer and diamond cutter Harry Winston became the world’s largest individual dealer and leading connoisseur of diamonds.

Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Taylor/Burton Diamond set by Cartier

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor set the world on fire when they met on the set of the movie Cleopatra. They became a world famous celebrity couple when they met, and married, divorced and married again with Richard showering Elizabeth with jewellery, including a wonderful array of diamonds, some purchased from Harry Winston.

The most stunning single 69 carat stone that became known as the Taylor/Burton diamond was originally owned by Cartier Inc. who paid the record price of $1,050,000 for the gem at auction. Richard Burton bought the stone the next day for Elizabeth Taylor as he wanted to give to her with love for her 40th birthday present.

Renamed the Taylor-Burton diamond she first wore it publicly at a party for Princess Grace’s 40th birthday in Monaco. It just had to be diamonds…as they are forever and,  after all, everyone knows they are a girl’s best friend. In 1978 Elizabeth Taylor sold the Taylor/Burton diamond to build a hospital in Botswana.

…and if I give away all I have and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing…Love is patient and kind; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love…1 Corinthians 13

Carolyn McDowall©The Culture Concept Circle, 2009, 2010, 2011

This is the final part of a four part series. Read the rest of this series.

Read the 4 Installment Series in Chronological Order

Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance

Love Jewellery – Restoration to Revolution

Love Jewellery – Regency to Revival

Love Jewellery – Romantics to Retro

Bibliography

The Bible
Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette by Madame Campan 1823 Henry Colburn & Co & M Bossange & Co
The Last Medici Harold Acton Macmillan 1980
The Triumph of Love Geoffrey Munn Thames & Hudson 1993
Louis and Antoinette Vincent Cronin Harper Collins 1974
Works of Jane Austen Jane Austen Folio Society 1975
Mme de Pompadour Nancy Mitford Hamish Hamilton 1968
Six Wives of Henry VIII Antonia Fraser Weidenfeld & Nicolson1996
Folio Golden Treasury Various Poet Folio Society 1988
Madame du Barry Joan Haslip Grove Weidenfeld 1991
Understanding Jewellery David Bennett David Mascetti Antique Collectors Club
All the Queen’s Men Neville Williams Cardinal 1974
Elizabeth 1 From Contemporary Documents Maria Perry Folio Society 1990
Treasures of the Medici Anna Maria Massinelli Thames & Hudson 2000
Gem Kingdom Paul Deautels Grossett & Dunlap 1971
Henry VIII and his Court Neville Williams Chancellor Press
Splendors of the Roman World Anna Maria Liberati Thames & Hudson
Civilization Timothy Potts Australian National Gallery 1990
Meditations on Love Sister Wendy Beckett K Publishing 1995
V & A Museum Website

Related posts:

1. Love Jewellery from Cupid to Cartier
2. Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance
3. Love Jewellery – Restoration to Revolution