Gold "Stuart crystal" mourning slide England, late 17th century...
Gold "Stuart crystal" mourning slide
England, late 17th century
Of oval form, with enameled skeleton holding hourglass and arrow, against hairwork ground and under faceted rock crystal, the reverse engraved, "William Whitemore ESV," with loop attachments securing slide to black ribbon, seemingly unmarked.
L: 1/2 in. (slide); 3/4 in. (overall)
PROVENANCE:
The Collection of Irvin & Anita Schorsch.
Argentum & The Leopard's Head, San Francisco, California, January 3, 1987.
Similar to the contemporaneous Dutch Vanitas paintings, the 17th century jewelry in the Collection relies on macabre iconography--skeletons, skulls and crossbones, hourglasses-- as statements of life's transiency. Slightly later slides include an ominously hovering monogram of the deceased, becoming specific statements of the mortality of an individual.
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Gold "Stuart crystal" mourning slide
England, late 17th century
Of oval form, with enameled skeleton holding hourglass and arrow, against hairwork ground and under faceted rock crystal, the reverse engraved, "William Whitemore ESV," with loop attachments securing slide to black ribbon, seemingly unmarked.
L: 1/2 in. (slide); 3/4 in. (overall)
PROVENANCE:
The Collection of Irvin & Anita Schorsch.
Argentum & The Leopard's Head, San Francisco, California, January 3, 1987.
Similar to the contemporaneous Dutch Vanitas paintings, the 17th century jewelry in the Collection relies on macabre iconography--skeletons, skulls and crossbones, hourglasses-- as statements of life's transiency. Slightly later slides include an ominously hovering monogram of the deceased, becoming specific statements of the mortality of an individual.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
