Iberian Baroque Earrings, Circa 1725 – 18K Gold with Foiled Paste Stones

Pair of Iberian earrings in 18K yellow gold, dating to around 1725. Their rounded settings are decorated with simple engraved details in the Baroque style and set with paste stones that shift in colour from dark green to violet, originally enhanced with coloured foils. Although showing signs of age and wear, particularly at the back, they remain appealing from the front. A characteristic example of early 18th-century Spanish or Portuguese jewellery, reflecting the taste and techniques of the period.

Jewellery Type
earrings short hanging

Condition
not perfect condition.
The earrings show noticeable wear at the back edges, where the filling lacquer has become visible. From the front, however, they remain in acceptable condition.
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Country of origin
Although it carries no legible control marks, we believe this piece to be of Spanish or Portuguese origin, as the design is typical of 18th-century Iberian earrings.

Style
Baroque - Baroque is an artistic style that dominated Europe from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. Often described as "the leading style in European art between the Mannerist and Rococo periods, characterised by dynamic movement, heightened emotion, and bold expression."
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Style specifics
Baroque is a style in art and decoration that developed shortly before 1600 and remained current in Europe until the emergence of the Rococo style c.1730. It was started in Italy, and spread to Germany, Austria, the Low Countries, and Spain and Portugal, with only a somewhat severely classical version being popular in France under Louis XIV. The style was a development of the Renaissance style and is characterized by lively, curved, and exuberant forms, by vigorous movement, and by rich ornament, based on classical sources, being symmetrical as distinguished from the asymmetry of the following Rococo style.

Period
ca. 1725
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Material 18K
yellow gold (touchstone tested)
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Precious stones
The two stones are paste, showing a dark green to purplish sheen that shifts with the light. This effect is most likely the result of remnants of coloured foil once placed behind them, a technique commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries to enhance brilliance.

Hallmarks
No trace.
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Dimensions
width 0,90 cm (0,35 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
2,60 gram (1,67 dwt)

Adin Reference Nº
25115-0312

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

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