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Gold necklace composed of ten ovals connected with an upper and lower gold chain. Each oval is outlined in blue with an inner image of Italian architecture. Necklace is part of a set.

Details

  • Title: Micro-mosaic
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: 1800–25
  • Physical Dimensions: w455 x h4 x d28 cm
  • Type: Necklace
  • Rights: Gift of Frederick Saal in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Saal
  • Medium: Glass mosaics, gold
  • Viewing Notes: The finely detailed micro-mosaic plaques in this parure were made in Rome, and they show a variety of famous architectural monuments and ancient ruins in the area, including St. peter's Square, the Parthenon, the Coliseum, and the Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli. Such a suite of jewelry wouldhave been considered well mateched to the neoclassical fashions that prevailed across Europe and England in the early years of the nineteenth century.A parure is a matching suite of jewelry designed to accent various points of the body at once. Parures usually consist of a necklace, bracelets, earrings, and a brooch or pin. Tiaras, hair pins, pendants, finger rings, buttons, belt buckles, and other ornaments might also be included. A demi-parure, or half-parure, can be made up of any two or three of these elements. Such parures were especially popular during the nineteenth century and were generally made for women. Large suites of jewelry made for men were less common during this period, existing mainly in military decorations and royal regalia.
  • Exhibitions: "Body Language: Jewelry and Accessories from the National Design Museum," Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, March 14-August 21, 1994.Design for Life. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, New York, Sept. 30, 1997 - Jan. 4, 1998.Rooms With A View: Landscape and Wallpaper. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York, April 24 - Oct.14, 2001."Excavating Design: Eighteenth-Century Drawings and Prints from the Permanent Collection," Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, November 04, 2005- January 08, 2006."Set In Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels," Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York, NY, February 18-Juy, 4, 2011.
  • Dimensions: Lying on flat surface: .4 H x 45.5 W x 2.8 D cm (3/16 x 17 15/16 x 1 1/8 in. )
  • Bibliography: Yelavich, Susan. Design for Life. New York: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Rizzoli, 1997. pp.42 (il), 184

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