Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Sautoir, 1795-1810


Sautoir
Enameled Gold, Diamonds and Pearls
1790-1800
The Victoria & Albert Museum




This long necklace, known as a sautoir, was worn in the 1790s and early 1800s.  Style dictated that such necklaces should be worn over one shoulder and under the other--inspired by military dress.

As the V&A states, “Once the prohibition against wearing jewels had passed in post revolutionary France, light and delicate gold jewellery became fashionable.”

A masterpiece of enameled gold, the sautoir is set with rose-cut diamonds and pearls.  Either made in Switzerland or France between 1705 and 1810, it is the work of an unknown jeweler and was once part of the collection of Dame Joan Evans.




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