A Liberty gold and blister pearl necklace

Price range: Reserved

Back to work after the Exhibition, and I have some really lovely pieces I will be posting, fresh to the market and not exhibited.  Starting with a “bang” is this really stunning gold Cymric arts and crafts necklace set with blister pearls.   The necklace is unmarked but appears as model 822 in the Liberty jewellery sketch book in the Westminster Archives, page 199.

The designer of this necklace is unknown.  There are approximately seventeen necklaces in the sketch book in this style all with model numbers between 800 and 866.  Model 843 appears in Dr Stephen Martin’s book Archibald Knox, but the other designs are less Knox like.  It is possible these are Oliver Baker designs.  Whilst they lack his traditional “heavy” design style seen in silver, the curling gold metalwork is very similar to applied designs on a known vase (see image) and buckles of his.  Irrespective of the designer, this is a wonderful, wearable necklace that captures the modernity Liberty brought to jewellery of this period.

The condition is excellent and original.  There is one partial crack to one of the gold wires, visible only under magnification, and quite possibly original to manufacture.  The blister pearls are all in excellent condition.  The clasp is original and works well.

I have not tested the gold, but typically Liberty made these better necklaces in 15 or 18 carat gold.

Maker:  Liberty

Designer:  Unknown

Date: c 1902

Marks: Unmarked

Material: Gold, blister pearl

Condition: Excellent

Size: Length c. 41cm, central drop 4cm

Weight: 12 grams