Large Black Enamel Mourning Brooch Made of Gold, c. 1850

In past centuries, death was still omnipresent. Life expectancy was low and the confrontation with passing was as present as it was unavoidable. Jewellery had a deep symbolic meaning in this context. Up to the earliest times, its special role for jewellery can be proven for the area of death, mourning and commemoration. A multitude of rules and norms of behavior were intended to ease the grief of the bereaved and to satisfy society's standards of decency. According to the degree of kinship, the times of mourning were meticulously determined in which special clothing was obligatory to wear. The colour of mourning was basically black in various shades. The mourning clothes also included special jewellery, the shapes and symbolic contents of which dealt with mourning and remembrance. This large brooch is an oval with an engraved gold frame. It holds a black enameled inlay with a golden rose bush against a black domed ground. One natural pearl is set in the center of a rose, and a bud leans toward the ground. The rose as a symbol of love is used here in the sense of a love that is stronger than death. The very large brooch is decorative and shows up in beautiful colour contrast of black and gold. She found here in Berlin to us.

Estimate:£742.55

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