Victorian Border Collie Stickpin
Border Collie |
| A vigilant border collie watches from behind a
dome of rock crystal. The pooch is beautifully modeled
with soulful eyes, a finely detailed coat and alert, twitching
whiskers. Known as a "reverse intaglio" this stickpin was
created in 18kt gold around 1880.
Sometimes called "Essex crystals," reverse intaglios were first embraced by Victorian jewelers during the 1860s. These miniature masterpieces were created by an artist meticulously carving the image into the back of a polished dome of rock crystal. Then, using brushes sometimes as small as a single horse hair, the image was carefully painted with fine lifelike details. The back of the crystal is often closed with mother of pearl to give the image a luminous, back lit quality. The finest reverse intaglios present a lifelike, three dimensional portrait of the subject that appears to rise out of the crystal to engage the viewer. This Victorian stickpin of a border collie is a wonderful example. Cost: Although this elegant stickpin has sold, you will find many more fine stickpins in the Antique Stickpin Gallery. |
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The reverse of the stickpin is as nicely crafted as the front. The back is enclosed with gold to help protect the intaglio crystal and the mother-of-pearl backing. The pin stem is attached with a rams head mount, a form favored by British jewelers in the late Victorian period. Just to the left of the pin stem "18" is stamped for the purity of the gold. |
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Here are a few more elegant jewels from the
past ...
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| Antique Jewelry Galleries Antique Stickpin Gallery If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, I can be reached at arthur@jewelryexpert.com or 978 412-6633.
Or, if you prefer snail mail, my postal address is: |
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