Rococo Ruby & Diamond Rosette Jewels

A matched pair of Rococo hair or dress rosette jewels, c. 1750-70, of floral openwork roundel form, set with natural rubies / pink sapphires and ‘mirror’ rose cut diamonds in rocaille-worked silver and 18k rose gold. During the Edwardian era, these jewels were converted to brooches and retailed by the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company at 112 Regent St. London; it is still cased in a custom fitted box from this period. Floral medallion-like jewels have been made since antiquity, but jewels of the present form—that is, openwork and resembling a flower head—began to be popular fashion accessories around the mid-17th century and were known as rosettes (or ‘rosa’ in Spain). The openwork lattice-like frame was intended to facilitate direct sewing onto fabric, and many rosette jewels were made in sets of multiples. The c. 1720 portrait of Maria Cantemir by Ivan Nikitich Nikitin for instance shows the subject wearing at least three identical rosettes, with two sewn on the shoulder and sleeve, and one worn in the hair. The 1718 painting ‘Entry of Viceroy Archbishop Morcillo into Potosí’ shows ‘rosa’ jewels adorning the brims of gentlemen’s hats. Period portraiture suggests diverse and versatile use of these jewels, bridging across hair and dress. The present rosettes may be Italian in workmanship origin: its rather strong contours and and notched milgrain-like lineations resemble Italian rococo jewels illustrated in ‘Gioielli di Sicilia’ by Maria Concetta Di Natale (see p. 245, 248). More broadly speaking, the present rosettes belong to a group of early-mid Rococo jewels with floral rocaille motifs, mixed gold and silver settings, and a gem pairing of rubies with diamonds. For a mid-18th c hair jewel of this type, see State Historical Museum of Russia inv OK 2099.
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