Antique Georgian Foiled Flat Cut Garnet Brooch in Gold, c. 1820

How did the fashionable lady of high English society show up to the ball in the fall season of 1824? The London Sun suggested: In a pale pink underdress with a tulle overdress embroidered with rose motifs and pearls, her hair twisted into curls and adorned with a fragrant white feather, and accompanied by white satin shoes with garnet rosettes and a garnet brooch. This brooch would have been the perfect companion for this occasion. It is set with natural garnets that shine in the colour of deep red cherries. The garnets, arranged to form a large flower, are held in closed, foiled gold settings. Even after two centuries, the garnets still sparkle deeply and expressively. Their flat cut with a large table, the so-called "flat cut", gives them a brilliance not seen in later garnet jewelry. We were able to discover this well-preserved brooch in England, where it was probably made. The passage mentioned at the beginning is from [Anon.], "Female Fashions", The Sun, September 2, 1824, p. 3. A comparative piece, mounted there as a pendant of a parure, can be found, for example, in: Ginny Reddington Dawes / Olivia Collings: Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830, Woodbridge 2007, p. 11. Another brooch of this type, also dated to around 1820, is in the British Museum, Inv. No. 1978,1002.692.a-c.

Estimate:$3,020.75

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