A fine large Victorian sterling silver locket, the cover decorated with a superbly enameled pansy blossom. The scalloped border is highlighted with parcel gilding and a rope-twist inner edge. In the Victorian language of flowers, the pansy represented remembrance or tender thoughts--an appropriate sentiment for a piece of jewelry such as a locket. The pansy is flanked by small clusters of forget-me-nots, flowers that held a similar meaning. The back of the locket is fully hallmarked for Birmingham, 1901-02, and has an unidentified maker's mark "TW". The bale is also hallmarked. The interior retains the original frames.

Origin: England, 1901-02. Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, some pinpoint dings on the back side, no monogram. Size: 2" x 1-5/16" (excluding bale). Weight: 23.3 grams.

A stunning Viennese silver and gold brooch styled as a fully three-dimension horse’s head. The horse is fully rigged with a bit, bridle and reins, all worked in 14K yellow gold. The level of detail on both the front and back of the brooch is simply amazing. It has a sculptural quality rarely seen in animal-theme jewelry. The texture of the short hairs of the faces is palpable and even the veins running down from the horse’s forehead to its muzzle are picked out in detail. The base of the neck is marked with the maker’s mark “H & S” and the original c-clasp is stamped with Austrian silver hallmarks used 1872-1922. The brooch is presented in its original fitted box, the interior of the lid imprinted “Moppert/Baden-Baden”.

Baden-Baden was the leading European luxury spa during the last half of the nineteenth century, counting Queen Victoria and the French, German, and Austrian emperors as regular guests. Wilhelm Moppert established the town’s most exclusive jewelry shop and sold to Europe’s crowned heads and nobility. He was often in a position to purchase jewels, as well. Dostoyevsky writes of the shop in his novel “The Gambler”, frequently mentioning the unlucky gamblers in the renowned casino who were forced to sell their jewels at Moppert to settle their gambling debts.

Origin: Austria/Germany, ca. 1875. Condition: excellent, all original, never polished. Size: 1-3/4” x 1-3/4”. Weight: 17.4 grams.

A delightful Victorian stick pin, the head formed as an owl’s head. The face is entirely covered with seventy rose-cut garnets. Larger garnets, with smaller stones set around them in circles, suggest the eyes. The beak is worked in low-karat gold, the color providing a nice contrast to the silver settings of the garnets. The back is also worked in low-karat gold. The stem has the twisted style generally found on earlier stick pins. The pin shaft is signed “KER”.

Origin: England, ca. 1850. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: overall length, 3”; head, 11/16” x 11/16”. Weight: 3.6 grams.

A pretty Victorian sterling silver watch pin designed as a cluster of forget-me-nots. The repousse work is nicely detailed and very three dimensional. The back retains the original watch hanger, extended pinstem and c-clasp. The back is marked “Sterling”.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Size: 1-3/8” X 1-1/4”. Weight: 6.0 grams.

A wonderfully rare mixed-metal Curio Medallion brooch by George Shiebler. The pin comprises four individual medallion plaques, each in a different metal and each depicting a different Olympian god. From left: a diamond-shaped gilt-silver plaque shows Artemis/Diana, goddess of the hunt and protector of virgins; a round silver plaque shows Ares/Mars god of violence and offensive warfare; a square bronze plaque shows Dionysus/Bacchus, god of various debaucheries; and a triangular brass plaque shows Athena/Minerva, goddess of wisdom and defensive warfare. The surfaces retain their original patination and sharp detail. The back is marked with Shiebler’s wing hallmark, "sterling", and the design number “1488”. The pinstem is original, but the original c-clasp has been replaced.

Origin: America, ca. 1880. Condition: excellent, all original except clasp. Size: 2-11/16” x 7/8”. Weight: 12.0 grams.

A wonderful Imperial Austrian silver brooch set with three reverse-carved Essex crystals by Georg Adam Scheid, the royal jeweler. The domed pin is finely engraved in a basket-weave motif and is pierced by three Essex crystals, each depicting a lap dog, perhaps a Pekingese. The dogs are well carved and colored, with tiny blue bows under their chins. The crystals never had a mother-of-pearl backing like those produced in England. Essex crystals were not widely used in Continental European jewelry. The back retains the original extended pinstem and c-clasp. The hinge is stamped with Imperial Austrian hallmarks for 800 silver and with Scheid’s hallmark.

Origin: Austria, ca. 1880. Condition: all original, silver is excellent, some wear to the paint on the crystals.

A very nice Victorian silver brooch set with agates. The brooch is shaped as a modified Jerusalem cross. The stones, including banded agate and bloodstone, have good color contrast and are surrounded with delicate engraved decoration. Silver and gold jewelry set with Scottish agate became very popular when Queen Victoria started the fashion for all things Scottish. The back retains the original c-clasp and extended pinstem.

The Jerusalem cross, first appearing during the crusades, is made up of five interlocking crosses that represent the five European nations active in the crusades—Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The crosses also reference the five principalities of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the five wounds inflicted during the crucifixion.

Origin: Scotland or England, ca. 1860. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: 1-17/32” x 1-5/16”. Weight: 5.25 grams.

A very fine Imperial Russian icon pendant depicting a Patriarch in a parcel-gilt silver oklad. The facial and hand features are beautifully painted on a thin wooden panel. The silver cover (“oklad”) is engraved to represent the holy man’s vestments. The head is surrounded by a halo in which appears an old Slavonic inscription. The halo and elements of the clothing are highlighted with gilding. The icon is backed in faded red silk velvet. The oklad is hallmarked with the “84” standard, maker’s marks (transliterated as “IB”) and a partially-rubbed shield-shaped city mark.

Origin: Russia, ca. 1865. Condition: excellent, some wear to velvet backing and warping to the wooden panel not visible from the front. Size: 1-3/4” x 1-5/16” (not including jump ring).

Pretty Victorian sterling silver pin decorated with a floral appliqué. The floral design has realistic engraved details. These pins were very popular in the late Victorian period and were made in many different variations, often with a name worked into the design. The back is fully hallmarked for Birmingham, 1890-91, and has the maker’s mark “G.A.R.”.

Origin: England, 1890-91. Condition: excellent, all original, nice patina. Size: 1-11/16” x 3/4". Weight: 3.0 grams.

Very fine gilt silver bas-relief pendant showing two hunting hounds against a background of oak leaves and acorns and surrounded by a twig border. The design is pierced to lighten the overall visual effect and has a somewhat Art Nouveau feel. The detail is really superb. The back is marked “800” for the silver content.

Origin: Continental Europe, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, original gilding intact. Size: 1-9/32” diameter. Weight: 13.0 grams.

Gorgeous sterling silver pendant accented with enamel and paste stones. The pendant is comprised of a bale set with old-European cut paste stones, suspending a circle set with 30 paste stones, surrounding an articulated central plaque covered in translucent cobalt blue enamel punctuated with a finely worked silver floral motif set with paste. The edges of the central plaque are finely toothed and the reverse is decorated in a starburst pattern.

The reverse is marked twice with the French boar's head mark for silver. The pendant is presented with a contemporary 15" 14K white gold chain. The pendant is presented in its original velvet- and silk-lined fitted case, imprinted with the logo for "Edward Tessier Silver & Goldsmith/Mourning Ornaments". Tessier remains one of London's finest purveyors of antique jewels and is still located at its original New Bond Street location.

Early French paste of this quality is getting exceedingly difficult to find. This is a very fine piece of period French paste jewelry, and the combination of paste and blue enamel is especially pleasing.

Origin: France, circa 1840. Condition: excellent, no damage. Size: 7/8" diameter (excluding bale).