Necklace

Object Type
The necklace is composed of a plaited gold chain on which are strung alternating gold pendants and gold collars, each collar mounted with a pearl. The pendants are enamelled in white and black on a green ground on one side, and on a red ground on the other.

People
Robert Phillips was the dominant partner in Phillips Brothers, goldsmiths and jewellers, when this necklace was made. The firm won a gold medal at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867.

Design & Designing
Mrs H. R. Haweis, in her book, The Art of Beauty, published in 1878, described a visit to the Cockspur Street premises of Phillips Brothers: 'Under the direction of Messrs. Phillips, the most perfect models are sought for the ornaments they furnish. Museums and picture galleries are ransacked for devices of necklaces, earrings and pendants.' The model for the necklace was an 18th-century Mughal thumb ring (displayed beside the necklace). The motifs and scale of the design of the inner surface of the ring match the pendants exactly. The colour has been copied on one side while one of the most characteristic colours found in Indian enamelling, the bright, translucent red, has been used for the other. It appears that the jeweller must have carefully drawn the design from the ring, which in 1867 was probably in the collection of Colonel Guthrie. He sold the ring to the Indian Museum in 1868.