Gold ornament

“ It should be a general principle, that what is intrinsically ugly should be utterly destitute of ornament, that the eye may not be drawn to it. The pretended skulls of the three Magi at Cologne are set in gold, and have a diamond in each eye ”

“ A jewel, or a piece of jewelry, is a costly ornament, especially of gold, platinum, or precious stones; or of stones set in one of these metals.
A precious stone is one highly prized for human adornment. Its value is measured mainly by its beauty, its rarity, and its durability. The precious stones are, by general understanding, limited to the diamond, the ruby, the emerald, and the sapphire. The pearl, though strictly not a stone and far less durable, is nevertheless, because of its beauty and the rarity of superb specimens, included among the precious gems. ”

“ The women wore silver and gold ornaments across the forehead, rich and fantastical, but not particularly becoming; and those who were wealthy enough, loaded themselves with a great variety of tasteless incumbrances—chains and bells of precious metals, a profusion of ear-rings, and silver fringes pendent over the eyes, while their bracelets, necklaces, amulets, nose rings, finger rings, and clasps of various kinds of coloured stones, were innumerable. ”

“ THE raised gold ornaments, which form so brilliant a relief, amidst the gaiety and contrast of well-arranged colours and matted gold, are subjects which require a great deal of practice; they should be used, therefore, sparingly at first, on account of their difficulty, and they should always be introduced with great judgment, since a profusion of bright ornamentations distracts the eye from the main subject, and becomes extremely vulgar, resembling much that ginger bread appearance of the French class of tinsel and emptiness ”

“ It adds, also, a brightness to the gold and on colours, when judiciously applied. The artist can extensively avail himself of it, and may modify its intensity as circumstances require. It forms a hard enamel over the gold size, which then may be painted over with gold or silver from the shell; and when perfectly dry, may be burnished richly over with the agate, and forms a 43 bright gold or silver raised ornament. ”

“ The crown is suspended by four chains from a foliated ornament encircled with pendent pearls and sapphires, and surmounted by a capital of rock crystal. A massive cross 41⁄4 inches long and 21⁄2 inches wide hangs below the crown. It is set with eight enormous pearls and six large and brilliant sapphires, the latter mounted in high open bezels. From its foot and limbs hang three paste imitations of emeralds, with pear-shaped sapphires below. The combination of the pure gold with the violet sapphires and the somewhat faded lustre of the pearls produces an exceedingly harmonious effect of colour. ”

“ Gold, apart from backgrounds and large surfaces, is used very cleverly in small pieces in borders of garments, and more especially in thin outlines to make out the drawing and certain flowing forms of ornament. ”

“ I do not know anything so perfectly commonplace in design as most modern jewellery. How easy for you to change that and to produce goldsmiths’ work that would be a joy to all of us. The gold is ready for you in unexhausted treasure, stored up in the mountain hollow or strewn on the river sand, and was not given to you merely for barren speculation. There should be some better record of it left in your history than the merchant’s panic and the ruined home. We do not remember often enough how constantly the history of a great nation will live in and by its art. ”

“ The treasure was there, heaped in staggering profusion—piles of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, turquoises, opals, emeralds; ziggurats of jade, jet and lapis lazuli; pyramids of gold wedges; teocallis of silver ingots; jewel-hilted swords in cloth-of-gold sheaths; golden helmets with colored horsehair crests, or black and scarlet plumes; silver scaled corselets; gem-crusted harness worn by warrior-kings three thousand years in their tombs; goblets carven of single jewels; skulls plated with gold, with moonstones for eyes; necklaces of human teeth set with jewels. ”

“ English furniture, French clocks and looking-glasses, Chinese porcelain, gorgeous draperies, golden thrones studded with jewels, costly weapons inlaid with gold, enormous quantities of jewelry—in fact, wealth of all kinds to an almost fabulous value. ”

“ A small Necklace, all dull gleams and unusual tints, strung finely and strongly and beautifully on shining gold. The sweet Soul droops like a wilted lily under even its slight weight. Strong fine rivets hold it firm-clasped and the weight of the two charming imitation pendant-stones keep it gracefully in place. ”

“ The loss by the gems and precious metals of the glamour that belonged to them as forms of concentrated wealth left the taste free to judge of the real aesthetic value of ornamental effects obtained by hanging bits of shining stones and plates and chains and rings of metal about the face and neck and fingers, and the view seems to have been soon generally acquiesced in that such combinations were barbaric and not really beautiful at all."
"But what has become of all the diamonds and rubies and emeralds, and gold and silver jewels?" ”

“ Silken hose with golden borders,
Golden belts with silver buckles,
Jewelry that dims the vision,
Blunts the conscience of the virgin.
Silver leads one to destruction,
Gold entices from uprightness. ”

“ The cross which occupies the centre of the crown and is attached to the gem by a long golden chain, is not less remarkable for its elegance of form and richness of material. It is in massive gold relieved by six lovely sapphires and eight big fine pearls, each jewel is set in relief in open claws, and behind is still the fibula that hooked it to the royal mantle. ”

“ He then commences the operations belonging to his department or art; which is to arrange, display, and set the gems so as to produce the best effect, and present the most striking and captivating appearance, according to the nature of the ornament required: whether it be an elegant groupe, richly combined, a necklace, an ear-drop, a ring, or a pin. The setting should be as little shewn as possible, for it is by concealing his art that the jeweller displays the gem to the greatest advantage. ”

“ Her jewels were both numerous and curious: the head ornaments resembling a white lion with a fly on his side, a golden fern-branch with a lizard, ladybird, and a snail upon it, an Irish dart of gold set with diamonds, a golden rose with a fly and spider upon it, a golden frog set with jewels, a golden daisy, and emerald buttons, gown studs of rubies and pearls, and a chain of golden scallop shells, with chains of agate and jet. A sumptuous magnificence was the characteristic of the costume of this reign. ”

“ The jewels we examined were, however, magnificent in their antique gold settings. Three collars of wonderful green gems, each emerald the size of one’s thumb nail, and each set separately to form drops, were the first ornaments we drew forth—emerald collars of which we knew the world had never seen the equal. Several bracelets, pairs of earrings, and pendants were also among the collection; one emerald, unset, and evidently the greatest treasure, being almost the size of a pigeon’s egg—a truly marvellous set of gems, the like of which none of us had ever before set eyes upon. ”

“ It is urged against them that they are crude, incomplete and imperfect in execution. The truth is, these two artists—whom I bring into conjunction, although their work is dissimilar, save from their common regard for freedom in the use of materials—have, above all, a love for natural forms. Out of a flower, a piece of seaweed, or any humble motif, vegetable or animal, they construct jewels in gold or oxidised silver, discreetly relieved by stones, which, if of no great intrinsic value, are nevertheless highly decorative. ”

“ In addition to the enormous quantity used, a distinctive feature of Renaissance ornaments is the preference shown for colour. The placing together of bright-coloured gems with delicately worked gold invariably enriched with polychrome enamels is the fundamental motive of the jewellery of the period. So admirable was the craftsman's taste that each jewel forms in itself a scheme perfect in design and colour, and the rubies, emeralds, and sapphires introduced for the sake of their colour values, serve the composition as a whole without overwhelming it ”

“ Even when enamels cover the various parts of jewels in a wondrous harmony of colour, the artists of the period contrived with extraordinary tact to leave small portions in gold: the hair of the figures, manes of horses, armour, weapons—glittering points that enhance the beauty of the whole. ”

“ Crystal goblets, candlesticks, pattens, lamps, chains, reliquaries of fine gold; ewers, caskets, rings and staffs set with pearl, with sapphire, with ruby and emerald; vases and dishes of glowing enamel; statues and images in ivory and silver; rosaries in rare gems; lace vestures worth as much as gold; stoles, gloves, and staffs all of incomparable workmanship and all sparkling with jewels; books with gold covers ”

“ Goldsmiths make exquisite forms from precious material: they fashion the bracelet and the ring from gold. God maketh His precious things out of base material; and from the black pebbles of the defiling brooks He hath taken up stones, which He hath set in the golden ring of His immutable love, to make them gems to sparkle on His finger forever. ”

“ Ornaments were worn in less profusion than in Switzerland; but the torque for the neck, the bracelet, the ear-ring, the pin for the dress and for the hair, were all in use, though brooches were unknown. Necklaces, or gorgets, formed of amber, jet, and bone beads were not uncommon; and the ornaments of glass and ivory, such as those lately mentioned, were probably obtained by foreign commerce. Gold, also, was often used for decorating the person, though coins, and apparently even the metal silver, were unknown. ”

“ Fixed upon the velvet ribbon, and drawing it together just above the cross is a slide or coulant, in the form of a bow, rosette, or heart, and of the same style as the cross itself. In many provinces of France, such as Savoy, gold is reserved exclusively for married women—custom having it that all their jewels should be of that metal. Silver, on the other hand, is often employed solely for girls' jewellery, possibly because it is considered the natural symbol of virginal purity, just as in ancient times it was consecrated to the virgin goddess, Diana. ”

“ Each little girl that was born found in her cradle her necklets, her bracelets, and her rings, even as the little ones of former days had found their toys. But jewellery now had no value, gold had simply become so much beauty. ”

“ The beads were of various forms, sometimes round or oval, and at others, rectangular or oblong; besides the stones in general use, such as the emerald, carnelian, agate, lapis lazuli, amethyst, rock-crystal, beryl, jasper and garnet, beads of gold, silver, glass, faience, and even of clay and straw, were employed. To complete the efficacy of the necklace, small images of the gods and of the sacred animals were added as pendants. Even on the mummies and mummy cases such ornaments are painted in imitation of necklaces or collars of precious stones, with flowers, etc., as pendants. ”

“ The Frenchman has a natural love for the beautiful, and the French jeweler shows his taste in the arrangement of his window. A large space, covered with diamonds, set and unset, of fine gold jewelry, artistic designs in rubies, pearls, opals, or emeralds, is in itself a beautiful sight, but when they are all arranged so as to show them all to the best advantage, then the effect is marvelous. ”

“ To glance at a list of the gold- and silver-smiths’ work—the jewelled and enamelled chaplets of gold, the jewelled girdles, and buckles, and braids for the hair, and the cups, some of silver with crystal covers or wrought with enamel and precious stones, and others of jasper mounted with silver work—reads like a fantasy of hidden treasure in some fairy tale. ”

“ The master craftsman, his bookkeeper, his workers and his apprentices are all busy at their tasks. We see them selecting, cutting, grinding, firing, shaping, setting, polishing, with tools that have changed little in 3000 years. The jewels we know today are all present there: diadems, earrings, brooches, bracelets, rings, girdles, anklets. The necklace seems to have been, in most cases, a wide tight band, almost a collar; on many a mummy such a “choker” has been preserved, studded with jewels, the gold between often in the shape of a falcon, or a lotus, or a sphinx. ”

“ They cast their proud or kind eyes hither and thither. Once in the intense light of a jeweller’s shop, spangled with pearls, diamonds, and gold, a large red hand, cold and not quite clean, appeared from within, holding in three fearful, careful fingers a brooch of gold and diamonds, which it placed among the others, and then withdrew itself slowly, tremulously, lest it should work harm to those dazzling cressets. ”

“ They are clear and brilliant, and being without color, so richly and brilliantly reflect the light, as to be almost next to the diamond in appearance, and are often palmed off on the unpracticed for the latter gem. They are extensively used in many of the plainer kinds of jewelry, and when set over gold-leaf, or thin paper of delicate tinges, are often made closely to resemble some of the richest gems known. ”

“ There will be no answer, only a silence made more desolate by the continuous throbbing round of a distant drum. Slowly from the mingled light of the jewels a form will rise in garments of the colour of ripe pomegranates worked with flowers in gold; some apple-green ribbons will fall from her shoulder, and under her breasts will be a sash of vivid crimson. She will wear on her head a crown of jewels and flowers and dull gold leaves ”