
Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
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£500 - £700
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Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
'Essex Crystal' pieces are formed from a rock crystal cabochon (polished domes of rock crystal with a flat base), whereupon an image or motif is reverse carved into the flat base and then meticulously painted. This technique gives the impression of a three dimensional object or floating image encapsulated in the cabochon, especially when viewed from above. The process of carving into the back of the cabochon is referred to as a 'reverse carved intaglio' and this process was created in the 1860s, in what is known as the 'High Victorian Era'. This was a time of increased prosperity and as a consequence there was a higher demand for jewels, eye-catching adornment and novelty items. Peter Hinks in Nineteenth Century Jewellery observes that "a new adventurousness in the treatment of gems" was very much present in the 1860s and 70s, with reverse carved intaglios one of the most adventurous!