A sublime antique Art Nouveau brooch hailing from Germany. Crafted in 800 silver and superb quality the brooch is in the stylised form of a Gingko leaf and features beautiful Plique-a-jour enamelling shaded in vivid peacock colours of green and blue. The edges of the leaf are accented in seed pearls and a tooth shaped rare Mississippi river pearl dangles from the bottom. The brooch is a miniature work of art and it is stamped with a makers mark that is difficult to read, it looks like the intertwined 'HL' mark used by Henrich Levinger & Bissinger, of Pforzheim, Germany Plique-à-jour (French for "letting in daylight") is a jewellery technique where powdered glass is introduced into a silver or gold framework and kiln fired, the end result is a transparent enamel that light can shine through. Essentially a miniature version of stained-glass it is an extremely challenging technique of jewellery making with a high failure rate. German Plique-à-Jour jewellery hailing from the Art Nouveau period is held in high regard and it is particularly collectable today. MATERIALS: 800 silver, plique-à-jour enamel GEMSTONES: 8 natural seed pearls 2.5mm diameter, 1 Mississippi river pearl drop 8.5x7.5mm MEASUREMENTS: 1-1/2 inches across and 1-3/4 inches high (approx. 38x45mm) DATE: circa 1900, Art Nouveau/Jugendstil WEIGHT: 4 grams HALLMARKS: Stamped '800' along with a makers mark. Also stamped "Gesc HU" (for Geschutzt, a German mark for patent protected). CONDITION: In excellent antique condition with no enamel loss and the pin back in perfect working order. The pearl drop looks jagged at the base in the photos but the edges are smooth so it is likely its natural form rather than breakage. We have more photos & video of this piece on our website at www.mercymadge.com At Mercy Madge we offer antique and vintage jewellery that is special and each piece is hand selected by us for you. We rarely come across two identical old treasures, once they are gone, they are truly gone! ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SHIPPING - FREE SHIPPING worldwide, orders are despatched next business day and sent with full tracking and insurance. RETURNS - you can return your item for a refund for any reason. Just get in touch within 3 days of receiving your order if you wish to do so. DISCOUNT? - find special discount and no sales tax on our website at www.mercymadge.com BUYING A GIFT? - all items will arrive gift wrapped in a Mercy Madge custom jewellery box. LAYAWAY? - we offer a free layaway plan on any item over £150. A 25% deposit will secure and reserve the item for you with the balance due in 60 days. If you would like to place an item on layaway, please send us a message and we will assist in setting this up for you. FOLLOW US for our latest antique and vintage fine jewellery: Instagram: @mercymadge Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercymadge YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MercyMadge Twitter: https://twitter.com/MercyMadge Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Mercymadge Read our blog at https://mercymadge.com/blogs/blog
