Design for a Gold and Red-Gold Earring with Turquoises, Black Pearls and Scrolling Motifs

Drawing with a design for a gold earring with turquoises, black pearls and scrolling motifs that is part of a collection of 85 drawings with figurative designs for earrings, brooches, pendants and other jewels, possibly real-sized, created with graphite and gouache and heightened with gold inside lithograph frames. These designs are all characteristic of the period between 1870 and 1900, when jewelry design saw a great degree of innovation and creativity in both style and technique. Some of the most important innovations that took place at this time included the setting of diamonds without metal on the back to reinforce the refraction of light on the cut surfaces of the stones, and the use of gold granules and cannetille (scrolls of metal strips) in the creation of fine metal surfaces. (Semi-)precious stones continued to be used in jewelry design at this time, especially with the discovery of diamond mines in South Africa, although alternative techniques, many of them inspired on ancient jewelry, were also common: Enamel in its different application techniques (including champlevé, cloisonné, and low-relief) was particularly popular. In addition to enamel, colored glass was used to add touches of color to the metallic structures that formed the base of the jewels. In general, jewelry design during this period became more complex, and the colors in nature were mimicked by the color of gemstones used for jewelry design: the designs were elaborate and relied in the natural beauty of cabochon gems, curving, and figurative designs with symbolic meaning, typical of the Arts and Crafts movement. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Art Nouveau movement created sinuous and organic pieces that moved away from conventional stones and put emphasis on the subtle effects of materials such as glass, horn and enamel. The European Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as civilizations of the Mediterranean, and even Japan, became important sources of inspiration for jewelry design at this time.

This design for a gold earring is made up of a gold disc with a square-shaped cut-out from which hang five thin gold strips, each ending with a small round cabochon turquoise. From the bottom edges of the gold disc, formed by the square cut-out, hangs a red-gold frame with naturalistic red-gold cannetille scrolls, and from its lower edge hang seven strips of a gold granule and a teardrop-shaped black pearl; the central pearl is slightly larger than the rest. The turquoises and black pearls could have been replaced by enamel or colored glass beads in the manufactured jewel, both techniques very popular in jewelry design at the time of creation of this drawing. The different tonalities of gold were most likely achieved by using gold alloys, the red having a higher percentage of copper in its composition. The drawing lies over a black gouache background inside a cream lithograph frame.