Beautiful Antique Bangle with Diamonds in Gold & Silver, Vienna, c. 1900

This bangle takes us back to Vienna at the turn of the 19th century. The capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was one of Europe’s most significant cultural hubs. During this turbulent era, a remarkable concentration of new ideas emerged in literature, art, architecture, music, and science, shaped by figures such as Gustav Klimt, Otto Wagner, Arthur Schnitzler, and Sigmund Freud. The jewellery of Vienna’s upper class c. 1900 was still largely influenced by late historicism. The aristocracy and the upper middle class favored precious diamond and pearl jewellery sets in Renaissance, Baroque, or Rococo styles. In the Habsburgs’ imperial capital, prestigious court jewelry remained an important means of social self-expression; modern artistic movements, which today particularly shape our image of this era, initially reached only a small circle of avant-garde collectors. This tension can be wonderfully observed in our bangle. Right on trend, it wraps around the wrist as a narrow golden band. On its upper side, it features lush floral ornaments in silver and a rich diamond setting. The finely crafted naturalistic leaf motifs reveal an engagement with Art Nouveau, without, however, being too risqué. The settings of the large diamonds in their openwork “buttercups” also draw from the classical repertoire of historicism. The cushion-shaped cuts of the larger stones reveal that they were reused here, a common practice we encounter time and again in antique jewellery. The central brilliant-cut diamond, on the other hand, was added at a later date. The bangle, which came to us directly from Vienna, embodies the elegance of the turn of the century as an original of its time and has lost none of its charm to this day.

Estimate:£5,929.02

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