In search of En Esclavage

For a college course this summer, I studied the history of jewelry. My textbook was the book, Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present by Clare Phillips. It was a relatively easy read, but did not illustrate all of the foreign or obscure terms. I sure this was due to budgetary concerns. One term that was on our test but not in the book (I think) was the phrase, En Esclavage. It was presented as a type of necklace with a removable pendant as in the picture below.

After further research, I don’t know if I entirely agree with this definition. The direct translation from French means “in slavery.”


The Antique Jewelry University website defines it as “Bracelets and necklaces in a style with plaques connected with multiple chains is called en esclavage.”

The website ADIN Fine Antique Jewelry gives this definition:
“Esclavage, French for slavery. A type of necklace composed of three chains or strings of beads or jewels in which the chains or strings hang approximately equidistant from each other. They were worn in Normandy as peasant jewelry in the mid-18th century.”

From the sold archives of One of a Kind Antiques .com was this piece:

The description also give a little history:

“Collier d'Esclavage. "slave necklace". A complete example of early 19th century French regional jewelry. The gift of a "slave" necklace was a marital tradition in most of France's most fortunate regions. It symbolically represented the transmission of wealth and at the same time the bride's engagement made on the wedding day to produce a bounty of children for each additional plaque of gold and its chains corresponded to a subsequent birth. The "esclavage" was an important investment reserved for those with important means. Each chain of the esclavage necklace represents the price of a pair of oxen, or a thousand francs, which in the 19th century was a very important sum.”

This definition is echoed on other sites such as the French blog, Jewelry and Precious Stones which posted several examples.

Roughly translated from the blog “The collar of slavery, in gold, was in the nineteenth century, the greatest gift a husband can give to his young wife, the Empire or the Restoration.
It usually consists of several chains in festoons, generally has three connected ovals, rectangular, glazed or not.”

Side note- festoons are the floral and fauna elements draped and swaged between larger focal components.

This example is from BijouxAnciens:

Musées en Haute-Normandie has a nice piece in their collection.The term could certainly have been used for any manner of necklaces over the years evolving with fashion trends. In fact, contemporary examples tend to be of the fetish persuasion. Since words have different meanings depending on period and region, the example shown in class may very well be en eslavage but I believe the other examples above illustrate a more common usage of the term

The Quest for Dormeuses

In conjunction with the jewelry history books I mentioned in a previous post, I am also reading Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary by Hans Nadelhoffer.

I tend to leave pieces of paper on the pages with words I don't understand as I am reading so that I may look up their meanings later. This book, though very well written, doesn't make enough of an effort to explain the french terminology. The words are just italicized and the writing moves on. Since my french is not very good, this book is riddled with my little notes.

This morning I attempted to look up the word dormeuses. Which on some online translators comes to nightcap, mopcap, or sleepers. None of which make sense in relation to jewelry.

Finally, with great relief, I found a video on youtube of an old French jeweler being interviewed and his responses were translated into English.




Les dormeuses pronounced [Fr. dawr-mœz ] translates to The Sleepers. They are earrings that have a main portion with a hook that goes through the ear. An extra ornament can be hooked on the main part's loop in order to dress it up. Called 'Sleepers" because the wearer would sleep with the main portion still in the ear and wear for everyday, only adding the dangle for special occasions or for church.

If one performs a search on Google for dormeuses earrings, all sorts of single drop and straight dangle earrings turn up which leads me to believe the term has been commandeered by uninformed jewelry marketers.

I'm going to believe the old timer on this one.

Jewelry Book Censorship

Today's trip to the library was rather odd, so I thought I would share. I have just finished a Maymester class focusing on the history of jewelry which I greatly enjoyed. The book that we used as a textbook was Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present by Clare Phillips. It was a thorough text and an easy read, but I wanted to research other titles on the subject. I am in the habit of checking out a library book, either from their catalog or from the interlibrary loan system, in order to peruse a title before purchase.

While flipping through the hardcover version of 7000 Years of Jewelry by Hugh Tait, I noticed something rather strange. Purple sticky notes were placed on some of the pictures. I've been known to use stickies to mark a place in a book, but not in the middle of the page. After viewing the second set I realized the intention of their placement. They were covering up nude images in the artwork. Seriously? In the adult non-fiction section? In the twenty-first century? So for your education, I present to you:

Purple Sticky: Cleansed for Your Protection

The makeshift censorship starts very soon in the book with the covering of a performance scene from an Egyptian tomb painting.

I'm going to guess that the topless dancers on the right were too distracting for the previous reader. I'm not completely certain what he/she found objectionable about the seated double pipes player on the left. Perhaps it was because they kept such bad company.

Was the reader offended by the poorly defined grapes or the satyr's lack of clothing?

.

Looks like the cardinal virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity had wardrobe malfunctions. Please note, the reader must have been running low on sticky notes or else the piece only warrented partial censor. Though in my opinion, that upper putti is suspect. Never trust a putti.

Noah's family was in too much of a rush to properly cover their naughty bits in the above cameo. But there was a storm a brewin'! The chickens needed to be covered 'cause everyone knows that chickens are dirty.

This Art Nouveau buckle is obviously a depiction of a woman lacking virtue and was in need of purple paper to shield viewers from her feminine wiles. Sigh. Isn't Office Depot just the best!?

Once again the puttie on the left escaped censor. Maybe it's because they are just so darn cute!

Lastly, apparently cleavage is also a sin. Cover that up woman! St. Eligius, the patron saint of goldsmiths, might be incited to lust should he gaze upon thee.

The picture is so innocuous that I barked out a laugh when I uncovered it.

Censorship? Bored student prank? I have no idea. But I do live in the bible belt and it would not surprise me if a future TX-Board-of-Education Nutjob decided that children were not to view the above images without some intervention.

I showed the library clerk the book- she thought it was funny. I, on the other hand, was disturbed. Why are depictions of the human body in art thought of as wrong, evil, dirty, or something to be hidden? None of the images covered were even remotely erotic.

If that wasn't irritating enough, the glue from the culprit's notes has left an ooky residue on the color plates. That make them twice the twit in my book.

It's All About the Rocks

My obsession with Okenite continues…



The gentleman in the above video mentions that the puffs can tolerate a little bit of petting. Good news, as I assumed it was so fragile that breathing on it was risky.

This Saturday at the Dallas Market Hall, the International Gem & Jewelry Show will be occurring. From their list of dealers, it appears that a heavy amount of bead vendors will be present.The majority of my current designs do not feature beads; therefore, I should be able to navigate through the show fairly quickly.

As I literally have buckets of uncut rocks to be slabbed or formed, I am having difficulty justifying the need for more stones. The issue lies in expertise; I know how to cut cabochons but faceted gems are not in my skill set.

The Pleasant Oaks Gem and Mineral Society was nice enough to send me a free admission ticket, so I really don’t have an excuse not to go. I’m certain my wallet won’t thank me though.

Trip to Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Earlier this month, my husband an I went to Washington, DC. I had timed the trip during the cherry blossom festival and the trees did not disappoint. We visited several museums, but my personal favorites were the Renwick and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I spent an almost absurd amount of time in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. It’s a shame that the website doesn’t have more images of the permanent collection- I believe it is still under construction.

I found several gems in the collection to be more interesting than the infamous Hope Diamond. The Napoleon Diamond Necklace has several old mine-cut diamonds in an elegant design. I was especially interested in the construction of the piece which did not look to be as well-built as more modern works. I was expecting cleaner looking settings, but thinking back, it was likely due to the rough and irregular shapes of the diamonds. More information on the piece can be found here.

The Napoléon Diamond Necklace. Photograph by Chip Clark, Smithsonian

The number of cases containing minerals and cut gems from every corner of the planet is a bit overwhelming. I was amazed and shocked at not only the multitude of specimens in cut and natural forms, but also the number of minerals I had never heard nor seen before (though I am admittedly no expert). Stibnite and okenite had to be included in my notebook for future research. Both are either soft or fragile, which explains why neither are mentioned in my jewelry references. Somehow, Smithsonite, had also escaped my notice.

My current obsession is Okenite, though. More information on its properties can be found on webmineral.com

Photo Copyright © John Betts - Fine Minerals

I am aware that one false move, and the delightful fuzzy crystals will break off and shed worse than my cat. I suspect my attraction to the mineral is due to my love of hamsters and tribbles.

I haven’t reached a solution to the display/wearablity problem but I’m letting the issue stew a bit before experimentation.

Trip to Washington DC- The Renwick

Earlier this month my husband and I had the opportunity to museum hop in Washington, DC. One of the highlights of the trip was the Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection exhibit at the Renwick Museum. What an outstanding show! Not only were the pieces well crafted, but the displays were well thought out. Hand cut plexiglass supported collar/bib necklaces and half round metal tubes prevented straight/collapsed alignment of pendants on chains. Enough room was left in the display cabinets to allow viewers, like me, to peek around at the backs. Looking at pictures online or in books is always inspiring, but rarely are the backs of the pieces photographed. As my interest is technical in nature, it was nice to be able to see how the items were constructed. On a couple of brooches, I noticed double pin closures or multiple tie tacks.

The pieces are not for everyday, and would take a special kind of person with an outgoing personality to pull off wearing them. Most are not practical and some, I believe, were both designed and collected for their sculptural qualities rather than wear-ablity. Mrs. Drutt also collected design sketches of several of the works; a real treat to see a little bit of the creative process.

The piece above is by Gerd Rothmann, With 81 Fingerprints- a necklace made of gold discs.

I went ahead paid the $$ for the exhibit book, which is not a light tome by any means. By the end of the day, I felt like I had been dragging around a half grown kid. If I truly enjoy a show, I will purchase the book. I’ve never understood why people take pictures in museums (photography was prohibited in this show- to boost book sales I imagine). The glass creates such a terrible reflection and getting the details is very difficult. I’ll leave it to the professionals! Bonus: the book has a fuzzy touchable orange cover. Yes, I am a sucker for good design.

If in the area, I highly recommend viewing the exhibit which ends July 6, 2008.