This book rewrites the history of jewellery in the age of
Victoria. The age of Victoria is taken in its widest sense to
encompass jewellery made throughout Europe and America, displayed
at the great international exhibitions and distributed through
foreign trade, illustrated publications and a burgeoning tourist
industry. Throughout, links with other disciplines will provide
both the specialist and the non-specialist with the information to
understand how jewellery permeated all walks and conditions of life
in the 19th century. The focus of the book is on the attitudes of
owners to their jewellery and the symbolic weight that it was
expected to carry. Rather than concentrating on the major figures
at the top end of the jewellery trade, or indeed offering a
chronological survey of the development of jewellery styles and
fashions, it is oriented towards the social aspects of owning,
wearing and displaying jewellery. The authors show, for example,
how novelists use jewellery to add a moral or metaphorical
dimension to a character, while jewels depicted in portraits would
often have disclosed multiple messages which could be immediately
decoded by the viewer. The achievements of science, the fascination
with nature and the Victorian sense of humour are all embodied in
jewellery. Topics discussed in depth include the importance of
jewellery in the life of the Queen herself, jewellery and dress,
the language of jewellery, the cult of novelty, the importance of
nationalism in the revival of historical styles, and the
contribution of archaeological discoveries. The volume is
sumptuously illustrated with contemporary reportage, photographs
and portraits as well as examples of jewellery from the British
Museum and other collections.
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