Large Antique Brooch with Diamonds in Gold & Silver, England c. 1890

In the late 19th century, especially in the years around 1890, photographs, drawings and even paintings with the motif of the crescent moon can be found time and again. For example, the so-called "paper moon", a crescent moon cut out of cardboard or wood, was a popular prop for traveling photography studios. Most people at that time did not yet have their own camera and therefore had themselves photographed at fairs, often sitting on the crescent moon. Some of these photographs have survived to this day and are coveted collector's items. So it is a longing that lies in the symbol of the moon. However, the moon not only stands for the actually unattainable distance, but also symbolically for the seductive vastness - of the Orient. Unlike in the 18th century, when the Turks stood before Vienna, the Ottoman Empire was no longer seen as a threat, but as a desirable, foreign and exotic counterpart. People longed for the adventurous and exotic faraway lands, often as an escape from the constraints of life in the present. Pieces of jewellery such as this moon brooch are children of this fashion. 19 cushion-shaped old-cut and rose-cut diamonds set the silver display side on a frame of high-carat gold. This combination of materials was widespread before the invention of white gold, when platinum could not yet be processed: The silver was intended to make diamonds shine brighter, not tint them through the warm gold. This, together with the cuts of the diamonds, allows us to date the moon to around 1890. The luxurious moon is wonderfully preserved and came to us from London, where it was probably created. A magnificent piece of jewellery straight out of the Arabian Nights.

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