Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria

A richly illustrated British Museum publication exploring Victorian jewellery and its cultural meaning, symbolism, fashion and social history.In the age of Queen Victoria, jewellery, more than any other branch of the applied arts, reflected the preoccupations and aspirations of its owners. This revelatory, wide-ranging book – first published in 2010 and recently reprinted due to popular demand – explores how the Victorians used jewellery and what it meant to them, both literally and metaphorically. The intrinsic value of jewellery is only one aspect of its importance to its owners, for whom it could also display fashion, celebrate events, express mourning, or send intimate messages, often with pieces of little or no monetary value at all. Novelists used jewellery to add a moral or symbolic dimension to a character, while jewels depicted in portraits disclosed multiple meanings, which could be immediately decoded by the viewer. The book shows how the achievements of science, the fascination with nature, the impact of topical events or popular entertainment and the Victorian sense of humour are all embodied in jewellery and illuminates the Victorian passion for cameos.The ‘age of Victoria’ is here used in its widest sense to encompass jewellery made not only in Britain, but throughout Europe and in America. The opening account of the life of Queen Victoria as seen through her jewellery establishes the influence of the royal family and provides a context for the topics that follow. These cover the central role played by jewellery in all aspects of Victorian life and culture, from its relationship with dress to its use as a political tool at the great world’s fairs. The trade that such exhibitions fostered, combined with a burgeoning tourist industry, meant that jewellery from all parts of the world became familiar and had a profound effect on existing fashions. Nineteenth century plundering of the past for inspiration is often seen as betraying a lack of ideas, but this book reveals the way in which the styles of former ages were appropriated in jewellery as much as other art forms by European countries struggling to create a national identity.Based on research carried out by art historian Charlotte Gere and British Museum curator Judy Rudoe and featuring many exciting discoveries, the volume is sumptuously illustrated with contemporary advertisements and cartoons, photographs and portraits, as well as examples of jewellery from the British Museum and other international collections. It is the result of the authors’ collaboration over thirty years and will be indispensable for anyone interested in Victorian art and life.