The Jeweled Menagerie: The World of Animals in Gems Book

A compendium of design, from the best-known practitioners in modern jewelry, and an invaluable sourcebook for designers, collectors, and dealers in fine jewelry. The desire to depict animals in art has always been strong, and the early history of jewelry, from Celtic brooches to Renaissance pendants, shows abundant examples of its appeal. The Jeweled Menagerie begins by painting a picture of this historical context, but its unifying focus is the great efflorescence of jewelry design in the modern period. It was not until the nineteenth century, with the growth of a middle class eager to show off their recently acquired wealth, that a whole new group of designers and manufacturers, mainly in France, sought to satisfy the appetite for jewels of all types made of precious metals, precious or semiprecious gems, and enamel. There was a revival of Egyptian and Etruscan styles in which animals of all sorts were incorporated: birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and fish. The discovery of Japanese crafts also had an influence on the jewels that were created during the century. Prominent jewelry houses, such as Fontenay, Falize, Fabergé, and Tiffany & Co., all created a spectacular array of animal jewels that are much prized today. The new design developments from the turn of the century and through the whole of the twentieth—Art Nouveau and Art Deco before the Second World War, but also a plethora of forms in the decades since—contributed impressive animal jewelry, from Lalique's intricate insects to Cartier's panthers to the sophisticated imagery of Verdura. Here for the first time the contents of this "jeweled menagerie" are examined in detail, showing the great imagination and skill that have gone into the fashioning of these precious objects. They exhibit not only meticulous craftsmanship, but grace, humor, and refinement. All lovers of fine jewelry will be intrigued by the many examples of a demanding art, displayed lavishly here in color. 250 color illustrations. Read More