This Victorian moonstone necklace with diamonds, a freshwater pearl and enamel in antique style is crafted in 14k yellow gold, weighs 28.3g and measures 20 inches long. The elaborately designed and highly decorative pendant measuring 8.2cm long and 28mm wide epitomizes the avant-garde Holbeinesque design, a most acceptable and popular English neo-Renaissance style of the 1870’s inspired by the works of German Renaissance painter Hans Holbein. The Victorian Holbeinesque pendants were characterized by the use of a large, centralized oval gemstone, usually a carbuncle within a polychrome champlevé enamel and small gemstones or a pearl surround, often decorated with diamonds or chrysoberyl with a lozenge or pear-shaped drop. While the front exposed the main artistry of those items, the reverse of Holbeinesque pieces of jewelry were also highly decorative and embellished with floral patterns hand-engraved by skillful artisans. This exquisite antique style Victorian style moonstone pendant exposes a significant 15.34ct moonstone cabochon graded 'good' clarity, mounted within an ornately chased ovular bezel. This alluring gemstone with magical play of colors, termed 'selenite' by the ancient Greek civilizations, from 'Selene', their moon Goddess, is encircled by an exquisite and color-enriched enameled surround. The latter exposes geometrically themed profiles rendered in dark-blue, red and green enamel, complemented by 0.30cts of full-cut diamonds graded I color and SI2 clarity mounted within quadrangular settings. A pair of similar, Neo-Renaissance inspired openworked profiles with red, blue and green enamel accents, embellishes the alluring ovular plaque on upper and lower finials, the latter suspending an attention-seeking Baroque freshwater pearl 'en tremblant' measuring 11mm long and 8.5mm wide. This iridescent 'white' Baroque pearl is secured with a delicate tri-colored enamel belle-shaped cap, surmounting a decorative loop, identical to the ovular bale supporting the 14k yellow gold chain. The latter is designed in the antique 'flat' style of chains, composed of dual crescent-shaped components and secures with a spring-ring clasp closure.

The German Renaissance painter Hans Holbein was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, learning painting from his father, Hans Holbein the Elder. He moved to England in 1526 for two years and later in 1532 until 1543, considered to be an extremely turbulent period in English history. His arrival effectively brought Renaissance in paintings from continental Europe to Britain. For the first three years, Holbein worked under the patronage of Sir Thomas More, a friend and admirer of Holbein’s previous patron in Basel. He was regarded to be the first great British Renaissance artist with considerable impact on English cultural life. The largest and most important collection of Holbein’s work including his world famous portraits of Henry VIII, was shown at the ‘Holbein in England’ Exhibition held at Tate Gallery in London in December 2006. Holbein contributed greatly to the revolution in English decorative design and applied his sophisticated understanding of the classical decorative vocabulary to interesting goldsmiths designs. Popular jewelry throughout the Victorian era were inspired by the artist’s style and ideas which were highly praised. Holbein is well known for his subtle ability to display character and personality in his paintings and portraits of Sir Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII (National Gallery of Arts, Washington), display convincing proof of this ability.

EO725C4GP

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