This pendant is the smallest of our Art Nouveau Maiden collection, but it is packed with stunning detail. The woman’s profile is crisp and clean, with her hair pinned up and wrapped with a headdress accent. The 18k gold pendant has a scalloped border that suggests a halo and is offset by three 1mm single cut diamonds, bead set into platinum quatrefoils. The border is reticulated, giving the pendant a light and airy feel with open space around the edges. Reminiscent of a Gibson Girl, these iconic Art Nouveau maidens were once considered the ideal for feminine beauty, and depicted women as autonomous, stylish, and sensual.
Gold Medal jewelry was hugely popular during the Art Nouveau era. Cameo and intaglio jewelry had recently gone out of fashion, and the jewelry trend shifted toward medallions that emulated Ancient Greek and Roman medals and coins. The expertise of French medal engravers, combined with new technology like the lathe, made these beautiful pendants accessible to the masses, and they quickly became a highly sought after trend, popular in both Europe and the United States. Jewelers, sculptors, and even poster artists collaborated to create the designs used in these pendants—which range from maidens and floral motifs, to Greek and Roman imagery.
The pendant is just shy of 3/4” across. The oval bail is 3 x 6 mm. It weighs 2 grams.
Circa 1910.
