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Lot 178
A GROUP OF FOUR GOLD AND ESSEX CRYSTAL BROOCHES, each depicting either a horse or a fox, with an additional gold brooch, and a pair of gold and Essex crystal cufflinks, various gold and sizesEssex crystal jewellery is reverse crystal intaglio that often depicts portraits of animals such as horses, dogs and foxes. It was popular during the Victorian era and worn by both men and women while hunting. During this period, specialised costume for sports developed, increasing the variety of dress jewellery available to consumers. Hunting jewellery, in the form of reverse crystal intaglio, included stick pins, buttons, cufflinks and bracelets. Reverse crystal intaglio involves making an engraving on the flat side of cabochon rock crystal and then painting in reverse with watercolour and oils, sometimes using a very fine brush of only a single strand. The painting is then sealed, often with a layer of mother-of-pearl, to preserve it. The effect when viewed from the front is that the image appears magnified and three-dimensional. The technique was invented in Belgium in approximately 1860 by E. M. Pradier and subsequently introduced to England by Thomas Cooke. However, despite Pradier and Cooke’s development of the craft, the jewellery is termed ‘Essex crystal’ after the celebrated miniaturist William Essex (1784-1869), whom the public assumed had painted the miniature animal portraits.
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