Victorian 18ct Gold & Reverse Intaglio Rock Crystal Brooch Of A Horse’s Head

A very finely executed reverse intaglioAn engraved stone, the opposite of a cameo, with a recessed design cut below the surface of the stone. Intaglio designs are common for signet rings and fob seals. crystal of an Arabian horse with a white blaze, small pointed ears and such an alert look in his face. The art of reverse crystal intaglio is incredible. The crystal was sourced in Brazil and Madagascar. A well-formed cabochonA polished, not faceted, dome shaped stone – either round or oval with a flat polished base, primarily used as a cut for phenomenal stones such as cat’s eyes and stars.
is the key to a beautifully made reverse intaglio and the tedious process of hand polishing it to perfection had to be completed before the design work could begin. A watercolour with the image was painted on the underside of the cabochon and an oil and diamondA precious, lustrous gemstone made of highly compressed carbon. Diamonds are one of the hardest materials known to mankind. Colours of diamonds range from colourless, yellow, orange and brown to almost black. Natural coloured (or ‘fancy’) diamonds can be extremely rare. The cut, colour, clarity and carat weight of a diamond are the criteria jewellers use… dust mixture was used along with up to 250 scribing tools to carve the design into the interior of the crystal “…the deeper the carving the more pronounced trompe l’oeil effect.” Once the carving was established the painting process began using very fine brushes and paint work in reverse to create highly detailed images, so that when viewed through the top, the image appears three-dimensional. Finally, the back was sealed in order to preserve the painted areas. The technique originated in Belgium c.1860 and is attributed to an artist named Emile Marius Pradier. In England Thomas Cook made crystals for Lambeth & Co. Mr. Cook was succeeded by his apprentice, Thomas Bean. Bean’s son and grandson carried on the tradition of reverse crystal intaglios.
Reverse crystal intaglios were set as stickpins, values and studs, mounted on tie pins, cuff links, lockets, pendants and brooches. This relatively secret process, with its techniques passed through family members, kept it exclusive and expectations of quality were very high. They remained in fashion until poorly made glass and plastic imitations flooded the market c. 1920.
This example is really fine quality, and mounted in an 18ct75% pure gold (or 750 parts pure gold and 250 parts other metals) gold.