Locating the Pendant

When and where was this pendant made? It would appear that both the glass and silver-gilt mount date to the Renaissance. The glass panels are reverse-painted (a technique known today by the French name, verre églomisé [1]) and resemble German or Italian examples from the early seventeenth century. Pendants in the shape of books were fashionable during the Renaissance, especially in the sixteenth century.[2] 

Left: The Courtauld’s pendant, measuring 3.2 x 2.8cm, excluding top and bottom loops. Right: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s pendant, silver gilt set with reverse painted glass, measuring 4.4 x 2.9 cm, including loops.

However, the earliest record for this pendant dates to 1871—and, interestingly, in that same year the Victoria and Albert Museum purchased a remarkably similar pendant from a dealer in Nuremberg.

Left: The Courtauld’s pendant, measuring 3.2 x 2.8cm, excluding top and bottom loops. Right: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s pendant, silver gilt set with reverse painted glass, measuring 4.4 x 2.9 cm, including loops.

The similarity between the two pieces makes one ask the question: could the seventeenth-century glass and metalwork have been re-used materials, combined during the Victorian period to make both the Courtauld’s pendant and the V&A’s?

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