c. 1850 Swiss Enamel Pendant

A fine and large c. 1850s Geneva enamel brooch-pendant, featuring a painting miniature entitled “Les Deux Pigeons” (the two pigeons), signed G. Lamunière to the left corner, set within a Renaissance revival setting of 18k gold, pearls, and rubies. Gaspard Lamunière was born in Geneva in 1810 and passed away 1865. Due to a strong watchmaking tradition in Switzerland, Geneva hosted a community of enameling workshops and artisans since the late 16th century, supplying fine enameled watch cases, portrait miniatures, and various sentimental genre paintings to be set in jewelry. A philosophy of ‘Fabrique’ communalism defined this community, which was clustered around Geneva’s Saint Gervais district, leading to most enamels to be unsigned. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the rare privilege of signing one’s work was reserved only for the most respected and well-known Geneva enamelers.

In 1844, the famous English art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) visited Geneva and stopped by Messrs Bautte & Moynier, then the leading retailer of Geneva’s finest enamels. Of this experience, Ruskin wrote: “One went to Mr. Bautte’s with awe, and of necessity, as one did to one’s bankers. You ascended a winding stair wide enough for two only, and there you paused to summon courage to enter. […] You told what you wanted; there was no showing things for temptation at Bautte’s. You wanted a bracelet, a brooch, a watch. Choice of what was wanted was quietly given. There were no big stones, nor blinding galaxies of wealth. Fine enamel for the most part, for colour rather than jewels. Absolutely just and moderate price; wear— to the end of your days. You came away with a sense of duty fulfilled, of treasure possessed, and of a new foundation to the respectability of your family.”

Jewelry set with Geneva enamel are well illustrated in books: refer to pl. 510, “Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria” by Charlotte Gere and Judy Rudoe; pl. 116 & 125, “Understanding Jewellery” by David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti. It should be noted that the present piece’s setting is unusually fine for Geneva enamel (which is often set in plain settings to accentuate the central composition). The use of tracery and lozenge motifs in black and white piqué enamel is very typical of mid-Victorian neo-Renaissance design, and would appear ubiquitously on jewelry from firms such as Carlo Giuliano. The painting, “Les Deux Pigeons”, refers to a fable by Jean de la Fontaine (Book IX.2) that was adapted as a ballet by André Messager in the 19th century.