Crowned Victorian Blackamoor Stickpin Set with Rose Cut Diamonds, c.1870

This Victorian stickpin from around 1870 presents a finely modelled blackamoor bust crowned and adorned with shimmering rose cut diamonds. The darkened metal and warm gold provide a striking contrast, giving the figure a gentle gravitas that feels rooted in the Grand Victorian taste for exotic motifs. Its sculptural quality suggests the hand of an artisan attentive to expression and movement, making it a small yet evocative relic of its period.

Jewellery Type
tiepin or stick pin

Condition
very good condition
more info on our condition scale

Country of origin
unknown

Style
Victorian - Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the middle east and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a regrettable excess of ornament. The Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetic movement, Anglo-Japanese style, and Art Nouveau style have their beginnings in the late Victorian era.
See also: Victorian
more info on styles

Style specifics
The Grand Victorian Period - Experts divide the reign of Queen Victoria, also called The Victorian era (1837 - 1901) into three periods of about twenty years each; The Romantic Victorian Period (1837 - 1860), The Grand Victorian Period (1860 - 1880), and the Late or Aesthetic Victorian Period (1880 - 1901).

We consider this to be of the Grand Victorian Period.

This second Victorian period is famous for its ostentatious pieces set with pearls and diamonds (from South Africa). From ca. 1850 wealthy English had reported about jewelry from India and Japan, which heavily inspired the jewelers of this period. This period also corresponds with the death of Queen Victoria's husband King Albert making mourning jewelry (set with heavy dark stones) the type of jewelry specific for this period.

Period
ca. 1870
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Theme
crowned blackamoor

Material 18K
white gold and silver (touchstone tested)
more info on precious metals

Extra information
Blackamoors have a long history in decorative art, stretching all the way back to 17th century Italy and the famous sculptor Andrea Brustolon (1662–1732). They are often recognized for depictions of slaves and the ornamental pieces that they inspired.

Diamonds
Thirteen rose cut diamonds and senailles . A senaille is a simplified rose cut diamond, a small diamond chip with perhaps a few polished facets. We do not have the weight of the rose cuts diamonds nor the senailles which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cut diamonds and senailles. - All diamonds, regardless of their size or shape, in our vintage and antique jewellery are verified as 100% natural by the IJGC laboratory.

- We do not sell lab-grown (synthetic) diamonds.

Birthstones
Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April.
more info on birthstones

Hallmarks
No trace.
more info on hallmarks

Dimensions
head 2,68 cm (1,06 inch) x 1,02 cm (0,40 inch), total length 8,25 cm (3,25 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
5,00 gram (3,21 dwt)

Adin Reference Nº
25321-0230

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

Additional information
our latest acquisitions
jewelry glossary
wall of fame
visit us in Antwerp
subscribe to our mailinglist