Rare Antique Georgian Iberian Portuguese Rock Crystal Collarette

A scarce survivor and an entirely unique and quite incredible antique 17th/18th century riviere style necklet. The centrepiece is a large Silver filigree set sévigné or lazo with a detachable pear shaped drop below. Our images below show a very similar sevigne which is in the museum of Milan. A sévigné is a type of bow brooch or ornament that was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, worn on the bodice and named for the famed Marquise de Sevigne, a member of the French Court of Louis XIV. It retains the original attachment to clip over a bodice to the reverse. 

Each and every section of this unique necklace is different; depicting garlands and ribbons; each a part of an older jewel (we believe some parts of earrings) linked by chain to allow the whole to lie around the base of the neck; and the gems are a mix of hand faceted Paste, Topaz and Quartz rock crystals; the jewels these elements originate from would have been in the realm of only the privileged few. We are confident that the sections are all of Iberian origin; both Spanish and Portuguese and that likely the gems originated from the Brazilian Minas Novas which were under Portuguese control at the time. The conversion work has been very neatly achieved; together a romantic imagination and the hands of an artisan jeweller have combined to create this unusual necklace. 

Every day is a school day for us and as we’d never encountered a jewel such as this we’ve worked hard to research and trace evidence of the origin of each section so that we can understand this and pass it on. We hope that one of you will be as enchanted with her as we are. She has centuries of herstory to share...

We found it as her as she is now; we have only repaired one break to the Silver filigree and re-foiled the largest Crystal. Excited to offer her up for a new journey into the future; every small part of her loved; lost; repaired; recycled down the centuries to live again! 

The Sevigne is of Quartz or Rock Crystal with some Paste and Topaz replacements and we believe dates to the 17th century. The pear shaped drop is of foiled hand facetted Paste and has a later 18th century origin. The next two mismatched bow sections with gold beaded elements originally belonged to Portuguese earrings and date to around 1860. The two mismatched garlands are of one of Topaz and one of Paste (circa 1770). The next matching bow sections are of Rock Crystal with some Paste (Portuguese earrings again) and finally, the beautiful decorative clasp section is of Quartz Rock Crystal.

The necklace measures 16 inches end to end so is designed to sit around the base of the neck.