the surface covered in clusters of gold granules surrounding pierced decoration with twisted wirework edges, topped with an ornate loop with circles of wirework, the hinge fittings terminating with stylised flower heads and beads.
Bearing the mark of Robert Phillips
Length: 6.5cm
Width: 3.6 cm
£6,850
Robert Phillips was one of the first jewellers in Britain to embrace the archaeological style. It had revolutionised jewellery design in Italy by the 1850s, most forcefully espoused by the Roman firm Castellani. From 1860, Alessandro and Augusto Castellani lectured and published on the revival of ancient goldsmithing techniques in Paris, London and later the United States.
It is thanks to his specialisation in coral (which he sourced from Naples) that Phillips was perfectly positioned to appreciate the popularity of this new fashion. He is recorded as exhibiting pieces in the classical taste as early as 1855.
Phillips became famous for his revivalist jewellery, embracing not only the Hellenistic, Etruscan and Roman styles, but also creating pieces in the Anglo-Saxon and Renaissance tastes. He received much acclaim for his display at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London and later received a gold medal for his display in Paris at the Exposition Universelle in 1867.