Charlotte Metcalf is the Editor of Great British Brands and the co-presenter of Break Out Culture, a weekly podcast with former Minister of Culture, Lord Vaizey. She is also a film-maker, author and journalist. She reports regularly for Thomas Lyte on cultural events, exhibitions, fairs and publications that are of interest to the communities of craftsmen we represent and celebrate, with a particular focus on goldsmiths and silversmiths.
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There is still time to catch Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians at the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. While many have flocked there to ogle the lavish gowns, towering powdered wigs and ornate buckled shoes, anyone interested in craft will be fascinated by the smaller treasures on display.
There is Queen Charlotte’s ring, given to her on her wedding day by her husband George III. It’s set with a miniature of her husband beneath a large flat-cut diamond, surrounded by smaller ones. Thought the jeweller is unknown, the portrait is by Jeremiah Meyer, a German-born miniature painter who came to England in 1749.
You can also see her ‘keeper ring’ to keep the wedding ring from slipping off, which is engraved with the ceremony date (8th September 1761). ‘It was recorded that she refused to wear any other rings on the middle finger of her right hand, even though fashion at times demanded it,’ says Anna Reynolds, Curator and Deputy Keeper of the King’s Pictures.
One fascinating and quirky example of intricate craftsmanship is the silver-gilt bracelet with nine gold, enamel and diamond-set lockets, six of which contain hair. One is painted with a miniature of the left eye of Charlotte, Princess of Wales. ‘Georgian jewellery could be highly personal and sentimental, incorporating images of a loved one, or hair, ‘says Anna, ‘though we don’t know whose hair it is or who it was intended for.’
There’s a necklace made from a set of pearl-adorned, enamel, gold-backed coat buttons from one of George III’s dress coats. The necklace was made for the Duchess of Clarence, later Queen Adelaide, who so loved the shade of blue that it later became known as Clarence blue. ‘It’s a perfect example of how much the Georgians repurposed clothing and jewellery, a key theme of the exhibition,’ says Anna. ‘The extraordinary expense of gemstones compared to the cost of the settings meant that 18th century jewellery was recycled and repurposed in the same way as textiles.’ It’s extraordinarily relevant to today as we strive to buy less throwaway fast fashion.
Apart from the jewellery, the snuff boxes are very worth seeing. Snuff, an aromatic powdered sniffing tobacco, was a craze for both men and women and precious snuff boxes were a way of showing off your wealth and taste, perhaps a little like gold lighters used to be. London, Berlin and Geneva were the cities most renowned for their gold boxes but those in Paris were sought after for the excellence of their craftsmanship via the strict guild system. Some had framed domestic scenes after paintings by Fragonard with enamel flowers and foliage, like the one on display. Goldsmiths, miniature painters, ceramicists, enamellists and gemstone cutters could all be involved in their intricate design and creation.
Another has a portrait inside the lid of Frederick, Prince of Wales by the miniaturist Christian Friedrich Zincke. It was presented by the Prince to his son’s new tutor in 1749. ‘In England snuffboxes formed part of a category of precious trinkets known as ‘toys’ and they were often acquired from “toymakers”’, explains Anna, ‘while in France these luxury retailers were known as the marchand-merciers.’
Other fascinating objects no longer in use today are the ‘chatelaines’, which women wore suspended from their waists to carry items like keys, tweezers or watches. These were made out of a variety of materials, sometimes precious and including gold. One gold chatelaine has five chains supporting a watch case decorated with the crowned cipher of George III and set with diamonds.
Perhaps most telling of all about an age obsessed with fashion and appearance is the silver gilt travelling toilet service, comprising as astonishing 100 objects. These came into fashion in France in the early 18th century and were known as ‘necessaries’. The one in the exhibition was made from mahogany, brass and leather, with silver gilt, steel, ivory, glass, mother-of- pearl and silk by the goldsmith Pierre Leplain, a French goldsmith who worked with the ébéniste (a cabinet maker specialising in ebony) Felix Rémond and the steel worker Reynard Schey supplying travelling services to Napoleon. An example created for Empress Josephine in 1806 is in the National Museum of the Château de Malmaison.
What’s so telling about this exhibition if we compare it to fashion today is how gold and silver objects were such important indicators of status, wealth and style. Discretion was utterly abandoned in favour of showing off with glee and for today’s silver and gold craftsmen this exhibition is a dazzling display of showmanship and a joyous celebration of their skills.
The exhibition runs until Sunday 8th October at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
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All images used in this article were provided courtesy of Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023.
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