Posted 12 years ago
nouveauchic
(5 items)
Found this one at a garage sale a few years ago. My first impression is Arts & Crafts or is it Nouveau or is it a modern piece? Settings on the glass dangles is interesting to me. Probably paid to much but can't say I've seen another one like it either. What do you think?
You never pay too much if you buy it because you love it. Can't really tell from the pictures, but if that is enamel, it is considered plique a jour - like cloisonné but without a backing metal - so you can see through it (like stained glass). You'll have to look closely at the clasp. Unless you can tell that it has been repaired, that type of clasp will tend to indicate that it was made well into the 20th century. It looks like a safety clasp (with the little rotating piece to lock the clasp closed) which came about later - but also indicates that the piece had some value at the time sinc the clasp was designed to keep it in place. Period nouveau pieces -which this is definitely styled as - would have a simpler clasp or a trombone/plunger clasp that would have been more common around 1900-1910. Can't tell if it has any marks from the pictures, but that doesn't mean much. Some beautiful pieces are not signed, and yours is beautiful.
Thanks Trustyhuckster for the information...I've not seen any marking at all on it and the pin back does look to be original.
It's beautiful and does have the Art Nouveau styling, but looks to be made later, and rather than plique-a-jour enamel, the inserts look more like "poured glass".