Featured Pietra Dura Pendant from Marienbad

Bought this lovely pendant today. It has a locket on the back. Am I right to think Victorian? It looks very well made, but I think it is base metal. Was it a cheap piece back in the day?

 

That enamel may be lower grade silver. A little tourist souvenir from someone who took the waters in the late 19th C.

 

For some reason, I just really love the thought of Victorian era tourists. I don't know why. It really provokes my imagination.

 

Grand Tour.

 

As souvenirs go, this one looks very well designed & manufactured. Metal could be 800 silver. Still looks in very good condition, too.

 

Me, too. I love the image of people dressed to the gills at expensive resorts or by a river bank (as in an impressionist painting), and exhibiting suburb manners.

That's as opposed to our modern day jeans, shorts, t-shirts, etc. and relatively loud and impolite behavior.

I wouldn't actually fit all that well into what I see in my mind, but it is a lovely image!

 

Since I collect cameos, mostly 19th century, I feel like I'm hobnobbing with this crowd all the time.

 

Very nice piece. I'm with bronwen on the silver being low grade (80%-). I always polish pieces like this so I can see what the oxidized metal looks like. It may polish to a silver color then rapidly tarnish to a goldish color which just means that the other 20% is high in copper. The Mari----- inscription looks pretty ratty and looks as though it could easily be removed which would improve the looks of the piece tremendously.

 

No way would I remove the town name. Given the history of the place, it adds considerably to its interest and value. A Sunshine cloth is all I'd use.

I suspect the plaque itself was made in Italy.

 

Looking at the art style it is of the Victorian era and the metal might be silver, I guess.
Here is the link of the technique used in creating such items.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietra_dura

 

Lovely locket, Barn.
The enamel looks a bit like niello, is it greyish black?

I agree, never, ever remove the name, especially not Marienbad.
It wasn't just any old village, it was grand but still dainty enough to be truly elegant (or ott to some). I think it is the prettiest of the old spa towns.
With interest in Grand Tour souvenirs and renewed interest in things Austro-Hungarian there is a market for these. The name proves the connection.

Some pics of the spa buildings:

 

The place name has been painted on, so the pietra dura plaque was made as a blank, suitable for use by any popular watering spot. Could have been done more durably - & expensively - as micromosaic.

Quite possible, although Germany has its own strong lapidary tradition, centered around the agate beds of Idar-Oberstein.

 

It is possible, Idar-Oberstein is not far from Bohemia (Czechia) where Marienbad is.
But Bohemia had a lapidary tradition as well, which got a boost when Italian craftspeople moved from Florence to Prague in the 16th century. They used local Bohemian stones.
Marienbad, Marianske Lazne, is a stone's throw from Prague.

 

When the mines at Idar-Oberstein got played out, by the start of the 19th century, many of the lapidaries went to Rome. When German immigrants to South America found vast supplies of agate there, the industry revived. The S.A. material is near colorless & has to be dyed, nothing new in that.

 

Yellow base metal, I agree, black is either vitreous enamel or paint.
Very pretty!!!
Don't remove the Marienbad part if you polish...

 

I disagree with those who hold that the name should not be removed. It's flaking off slowly now and before long will be gone and/or unreadable. I feel that jewelry is/was made to be worn and that jewelry should be enjoyed. It should be displayed at it's best. Yes, if used and worn it will wear out. If put away and never worn, it will last, but enjoyed by very few. Natural "patina" many times looks great but also many times looks spotty and unkempt. It is up to the owner as to what they prefer. As a compromise I would recommend polishing the backside and see what exactly could or couldn't be accomplished then proceed or cease from there.

 

I like my old jewellery to look old, not brand new. I also like to keep its history - and yes, I wear all of it. But not at once.

 

I have never seen natural patina that looked spotty and unkempt. Just tarnish, verdigris and filth that look messy, but those should be removed anyway.

I would polish the metal of the locket, but not remove the Marienbad name, it is part of the design and the history.
The mirrored fountain design would look a bit silly anyway without a name in that broad central band that parts the fountain from its mirror image, imo. And since it is a fountain design, the logical name would be that of a spa town, like Marienbad. Or, if it were Belgian, Spa of course.

I like antique jewellery because of its design and history. If you mess with the design and buff away the patina, you might as well buy repro or modern jewellery.

 

only completely culturless people would think of removing the name. this was and is not Bellefourche South Dakota or another place at the lower backbone of the world.

furthermore it would destroy the appeal to the whole mid-European market if offered for sale.
many people like Marienbad better than Karlsbad because there are less Russians.

 

Maybe you could send it to France for a touch of kyratisation.