L’Ecrivain, Pierre Jaquet-Droz, 1774 

Crown

• Place of origin:

  Germany (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1863 (made)

• Artist/Maker:

  Unknown (production)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Silver, parcel gilt, gilt metal set with paste gems

  This crown was made for a statue of the Virgin Mary, to remind worshipers of her coronation by Jesus Christ and her high status as ‘Queen of Heaven’.

Mrs. Alexander Cumming, née Elizabeth Goldthwaite, later Mrs. John Bacon

• Artist: John Singleton Copley, American, 1738-1815
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dates: 1770

Umbrella

Spray ornament

• Place of origin:

  Russia (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1750-1770 (made)

  This jewelled spray of flowers would have been worn in the hair or attached to the bodice of a gown. Flowers were a fashionable theme in jewellery during the second half of the 18th century, and could form large and intricate compositions. This piece was originally part of the Russian Imperial Collection. The Bolshevik government sold it after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

  Artist/Maker:

• Unknown (production)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Rubies and diamonds set in gold and silver, with enamelled stem

Parasol

• Place of origin:

  Great Britain (made)

• Date:

  1870-1880 (made)

  The parasol was a popular accessory during the 19th century, a period before the sun-tanned face became fashionable. Many parasols were made of lace, and like this example, lined with a contrasting silk to show off the design of the lace and enhance its sun-shading properties. The handle is made of elephant tusk ivory.

• Materials and Techniques:

  Linen, silk, composition ivory, machine made

Parasol

• Place of origin:

  London (probably, made)

• Date:

  1810-1811 (made)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Silk trimmed with fringe, steel, silver, paper, morocco leather and hand-sewn

  An ingenious telescoping handle features on this parasol, heralding the folding compact umbrellas of the 20th century. The slender silver handle is made in five sections, each slightly smaller in diameter so that they slide inside each other when the parasol is not in use

Pair of shoes

• Place of origin:

  Great Britain (made)

• Date:

  1720s-1730s (made)

• 
  
• Materials and Techniques:

  Leather, covered with silk satin, and decorated with silver-gilt braid and embroidery

  Ladies could have worn richly trimmed or embroidered shoes such as these with several different garments. Indoor shoes for women were usually made of patterned silk although it was very rare for them to match the fabric of the gown worn with them. The criss-cross and parallel lines of embroidery look like the designs on quilted petticoats that women wore with the fashionable open-fronted gowns. Broad bands of silver-gilt braid became popular in the 1730s and 1740s. These shoes would have been fastened with a buckle. The toe curves upwards rather like the prow of a ship.

Pair of shoes

• Place of origin:

  France (possibly, made) 
  Italy (possibly, made) 
  Germany (possibly, made)

• Date:

  1750s (made)

• 
  
• Materials and Techniques:

  Couched straw splints, embroidered with silk and metal thread, silk satin covered heel, and matching silk lining

Shoe buckle

• Place of origin:

  England (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1780s (made)

• Artist/Maker:

  Unknown (production)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Silver set with pastes, with steel prongs

Pair of shoe buckles

• Place of origin:

  England (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1780s (made)

• Artist/Maker:

  Unknown (production)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Inner gold rim edged with white pastes set in silver, and prongs of steel

Shoe buckles

• Place of origin:

  London (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1790 (made) 
  1779-1780 (hallmarked) 
  1779-1780 (hallmarked)

• Artist/Maker:

  Ballantine, William (maker) 
  Whitford, Mary (maker)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Silver and leather buckles; wooden case covered in shagreen (fish skin) with a paper trade label

Shoe buckle

• Place of origin:

  England (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1760 (made)

• Artist/Maker:

  Unknown (production)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Silver set with pastes

Pair of shoe buckles

• Place of origin:

  England (made)

• Date:

  ca. 1770-ca. 1780 (made)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Stamped gold on brass, steel prong

Shoe buckle

• Place of origin:

  England (probably, made)

• Date:

  ca. 1780s (made)

• Artist/Maker:

  Unknown (production)

• Materials and Techniques:

  Silver set with pastes and pyrites (commonly known as marcasites)