Gold and marble dove pendant “Laurel”

Description

This new TransfÓ or transformation signed ÓNÍSÌ PARIS is an old nineteenth-century brooch converted into a pendant with a mobile bail. The pendant consists of a polychrome marble marquetry or pietra dura, representing a dove holding a flowered branch on a black background. This refined piece is haloed with a gold border worked in cables and ivy leaves. A sumptuous piece that bears witness to an ancient and refined know-how.
Length: 2.6cm with bail, 3.2cm without.
Width: 2cm
Weight: 3.35g
This unique piece had a previous life in France.

The story: Marquetry is a decorative art that consists of assembling fine pieces of materials — traditionally wood, but also mother-of-pearl, metal or stone — to create ornamental patterns of great delicacy. In the nineteenth century, this technique also extended to jewelry, where compositions appeared combining marble, fine mosaics and precious inlays, bringing texture and relief to jewelry and decorative objects. In this very piece, marquetry depicts a dove (or turtledove), a symbol of peace and fidelity, holding a laurel branch, an emblem of victory and honour. The combination of these elements gives the work a dimension that is both poetic and deeply symbolic, characteristic of the artistic refinement of the nineteenth century.