Featured Victorian or Georgian?

Hello all!

I got lucky enough to find this amazing pendant at a yard sale in Belgium. The seller described the pendant as a regional butterfly cross or "croix a la Jeannette", but when I look at examples it doesn't match the pictures. For me it looks like the hook was added later which makes me wonder if it was converted from a larger parure. As far as I can tell it looks like black dot paste with a foiled back and collet settings. The frame is silver and the paste looks like it's cut by hand. The piece is in good condition with one of the paste stones replaced by a rose cut stone. Does any one have any idea when this would likely have been made? My guess is late Georgian/early Victorian but I could be way off the mark since I don't often have the opportunity to get find a piece this old.



I'm also curious about a ring I picked up from the same seller. It looks to me like the amethyst paste/halo ring portion are older than the shank. Originally the halo looks to me like it had seed pearls and some of them have been replaced with newer metallic balls. I think the 'stone' would have been foil backed but it's hard to tell as it looks like the setting was glued or soldered onto shank. This one is in less good condition but I'm still curious to know when it would have been made and curious to know anything I can about its origin.

I sincerely appreciate any help or advice! Thank you for your time.

 

Oh my goodness. Go look at the thread I posted on the "hidden" forum. I do agree yours is black dot.

@Any Jewelry

 

Seconded. You can literally see the black dots. Bingo!

 

I gotta read up on black dot. Never heard of it. Nice finds

 

Any chance you can fill me in on this or provide a link?

 

Yay! I'd read about black dot paste but it's really interesting to see it up close and see the craftsmanship involved in a piece like this. I'm sorry, I wasn't able to find the forum, would it be possible to have a link?

 

I'm so glad I decided to go! I was very ready to sleep in.

 

Here you go.

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/backdoor-question-georgian-rose-gold-pendant.73260/

 

Thank you! What a beautiful pendant you found! I love how delicate the details are.

 

Isn't it fine? I'm delighted he decided to sell. Yours is gorgeous.

 

https://www.georgianjewelry.com/reference/helpful_terms
(under "Antique Paste Jewelry")

Black dot paste is paste which has a tiny black dot "painted" on the very bottom underside of the stone. In setting the paste, often pitch or similar sticky material was utilized to anchor the stone during setting. This black then shows through. It is thought to have mimicked the open culet of early diamond cuts, which often look quite dark or black. The culet is the bottom of the stone, where in today's modern stone cuts all the facets come to a perfect point. In years past, the facets did not meet in a point but joined around a flat area on the bottom. Black dot paste is one hallmark of very fine quality paste. However, there are many examples of excellent paste which do not have these tiny black dots.

 

Late to the party, sorry about that.
But.... did anyone see this thread:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/georgian-pendant.72328/#post-4512751

Exactly the same pendant, with replacements in the same places. So I guess Fionna didn't buy it.

It is not a croix Jeannette, which is a plain cross suspended from a plain heart pendant. Those crosses were bought on the feast day of St John, hence the name croix Jeannette (John = Jean), without the "à la". It is a French cross style. I notice the Belgians have added à la, but that is not the original name.

I have been wondering about the configuration, btw, with the butterfly as central element below the round element. You only see that in earrings of the period, imo.
I have been browsing through my 'bible' of Dutch period jewellery ("Juwelen en mensen" by M.H. Gans), and similar earrings were made in The Netherlands as well. Pendants too, but in a different configuration.
I'll add this info to the other thread as well.

 

Here it is now, what a journey! Fingers crossed it will continue
https://belleepoquejewelers.com/pro...endant-c-1800-antique-butterfly-paste-pendant

 

Thanks for posting it, kyra. That pendant is certainly well traveled.
Please keep us updated if you spot it again. It is turning out to be the continuing story of the adventures of the Georgian butterfly pendant.

 

The ring is also on the same site:
https://belleepoquejewelers.com/pro...60410&pr_ref_pid=8001209696570&pr_seq=uniform

 

These jewelry pieces really travel, don't they?